On Tuesday, the global population crossed the 8-billion mark, doubled since 1974 when it marked 4 billion, 48 years ago. Around 1 billion humans were added to the population within 11 years, which was the fastest addition of 1 billion humans to the population. The world population hit the 7 billion mark in October 2011 and now, Earth has 8 billion humans on it from November 15, 2022.
The United Nations Population Fund said, “The growth of our population is a testament to humanity’s achievements, including reductions in poverty and gender inequality, advancements in health care, and expanded access to education.”
Giving a statement on the population rise, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,”
The global organization that addresses major global issues assigned the population growth to human development, with people living longer thanks to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene, and medicine.
The effects of economic development on the environment have also been amplified by population growth.
There were just about 1.6 billion humans on Earth during the 19th century which indicates that the global population has increased five times more since the 1990s. This has been due to modern medicines, industrialization, and boosted global food supplies.
The UN, however, claims that population growth might slow down from now onwards. The UN also says that the decline in population is caused by low and falling fertility levels.
Elon Musk expressed his views about the increased population being at risk of falling due to low birth rates.
https://mobile.twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1563020169160851456?
India to take over China
By 2023, as per the United Nations’ prediction, India’s population is to take over China’s population. The two are the world’s most populous countries and together they account for over 36% of the total population.
While China’s population is on the verge of saturation, India’s population is projected not to shrink before 2064.
Data from the United Nations show that the lower economic countries contribute more people to the population than the developed countries. High-income countries homed 28% of the population in 1950 and now, only 16%. Low and lower-middle-income countries have 53% of the world’s population which is up from 36% in 1950.
What do experts say?
However, the growth in population has worried some people who fear that this number is too much for Earth. But most experts opine that the main problem is the overconsumption of resources by the wealthiest people.
Natalia Kanem, United Nations Population Fund chief said, “Some express concerns that our world is overpopulated. I am here to say clearly that the sheer number of human lives is not a cause of fear.”
John Cohen of Rockefeller University’s Laboratory of Population told the global news agency AFP that the number of people the Earth can support has two sides: natural limits and human choices. Our choices and manner of consumption of fossil fuels and biological resources such as forests and land are prime reasons for global warming. He said, “We are stupid. We lacked foresight. We are greedy, we don’t use the information we have. That’s where the choices and the problem lie.” But he holds that humans are not a curse to the planet rather they should have better choices.
The annual growth fell from a high of 2.1% between 1962 and 1965 down to 1% in 2020. UN estimates this to fall 0.5% by 2050 on account of decreasing fertility rates. The growing population is projected to rise to about 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and peak at around 10.4 billion in the 2080s.
An Indian economist and journalist Swaminathan Aiyar, citing economist Julian Siman, wrote that human ability is the greatest source, not land, food, or minerals. He said, “Short-term scarcities will constantly occur, induce more investment and research into alternatives, and hence increase supply, replacing scarcity with abundance.”
The economist points out that developed countries pollute the world more than developing countries. “According to the UN, poor and lower-middle-income countries account for only a seventh of the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide. But 90% of population growth over the next decade will come from these less-polluting countries.”
It can be theorized that little evidence of population growth contributes to global warming as much as the current human lifestyle.
