The Population Graphic Truth: 8 billion, but nowhere near equal and not near basic rights

The world's population hit 8 billion on Tuesday Nov 15, according to UN projections. So, why should you care about this particular milestone? For one thing, population growth is slowing down, which means it'll take longer to reach 9 billion. That’s mainly a result of declining birth rates in Europe and East Asia. For another, 8 billion humans are now competing for increasingly scarce resources and territory in a planet already suffering the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, countries in sub-Saharan Africa are still having babies like there's no tomorrow — precisely where people have the least access to basic stuff like food, electricity, the internet, or water.

In?demographics, the?world population?is the total number of?human?beings currently living. It was estimated to have exceeded 8?billion in November 2022. It took over two hundred thousand years of?human prehistory?and?history?for the human population to reach one?billion?and only 219 years more to grow to 8?billion.

To mark the day, here are 10 facts on the world’s population.

1. 12 years to grow from seven to eight billion

It?took 12 years?for the global population to grow from seven to eight billion. It is estimated that this figure?will peak at 10.4 billion?in the 2080s, and remain at that level until 2100.

1. Slowing population growth

It will take approximately 15 years —until 2037— for the world population to reach nine billion, a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing.Over the next few decades,?population momentum will maintain the growth?that resulted from the high fertility of previous generations. This is despite the decline in the number of births per woman observed today. But after half a century of declining fertility, this growth is slowing. The European Union’s?average fertility rate in 2020?was 1.50 children.

1. One of the world’s most densely populated countries is in Europe

The Principality of Monaco is among the most densely populated countries in the world. In 2016, the recorded population density was?25,411.4 people per km2. Iceland has the lowest population density on the European continent.

1. Longer lives In 2019, global life expectancy at birth stood at?72.8 years, and at?80.4 years?in the European Union in 2020. While life expectancy has been rising since the 1950s, the gaps between countries are not closing fast enough. In low-income countries, life expectancy at birth is around 63, almost 10 years below the global average. The EU region with the highest life expectancy at birth was the French island of Corsica (84.0), followed by the Balearic Islands in Spain (83.9) and the Epirus region in Greece (83.8). The EU regions with the lowest life expectancy at birth were all in Bulgaria.
2. Almost 5 % more women than men in the EU As of January 1 2021, there were?229 million women and 219 million men?in the U.More boys than girls?are born worldwide (for every 100 girls born, there are nearly 106 boys), but women live longer than men almost everywhere in the world.
3. More than a fifth of the EU population are over 65 In 2019,?20.8% of the EU’s population?was aged 65 years or older. Due to demographic change, the proportion of working-age people in the EU is decreasing while the relative number of retirees is increasing.
4. 281 million people live outside their country of birth While nearly?29 out of 30 people?remain in their country of birth, more and more people are moving across borders.
5. 44.1 years is the median age of the EU population This means that half of the EU’s population is?older than 44.1 years. The European regions?with the lowest median age?are the French overseas regions of Mayotte and Guiana, with a median age of 17.7 and 26.3 respectively, followed by Melilla in Spain (34.4) and Brussels (35.9).
6. Over two million COVID-19 related deaths in Europe The COVID-19 pandemic has had a measurable impact on the population, particularly on mortality rates. Since the beginning of the pandemic,?more than two million people?have died from the disease in the European Region.
7. India and China are the world’s most populous countries? By 2022, more than half of the world’s population will live in Asia. India and China, each with?over 1.4 billion people, are the most populous countries today. China’s population is no longer growing, and may start declining as early as 2023, while India, which is experiencing population growth, is expected to surpass it as the world’s most populous country.
8. According to?World Population Prospects 2022, released today on World Population Day. “This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added.
9. The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 per cent in 2020. The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.
10. World Population Prospects 2022?also states that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman, roughly the level required for zero growth in the long run for a population with low mortality. The populations of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1 per cent or more between 2022 and 2050, owing to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, elevated rates of emigration.
11. More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050.

The human population has experienced?continuous growth?following the?Great Famine of 1315–1317?and the end of the?Black Death?in 1350, when it was near 370,000,000.?The highest global?population growth rates, with increases of over 1.8% per year, occurred between 1955 and 1975, peaking at 2.1% between 1965 and 1970.The growth rate declined to 1.1% between 2015 and 2020 and is projected to decline further in the 21st century.?The global population is still increasing, but there is significant uncertainty about its long-term trajectory due to changing rates of fertility and mortality.?The?UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs?projects between 9 and 10?billion people by 2050, and gives an 80% confidence interval of 10–12?billion by the end of the 21st century,?with a growth rate by then of zero.?Other demographers predict that the human population will begin to decline in the second half of the 21st century.

The total number of births globally is currently (2015–2020) 140 million/year, is projected to peak during the period 2040–2045 at 141?million/year and thereafter decline slowly to 126?million/year by 2100.?The total number of deaths is curr ently 57?million/year and is projected to grow steadily to 121?million/year by 2100.The?median age?of human beings as of 2020?is 31 years.