Global Issues: Population
Introduction
The population of the globe was predicted to be over 2.6 billion people in 1950, five years after the United Nations was established. In 1987, it hit 5 billion, and in 1999, it hit 6 billion. The world's population was expected to be 7 billion people in October 2011. To commemorate this achievement, the global initiative 7 Billion Actions was started. The population of the world is projected to rise by 2 billion people during the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion people today to 9.7 billion in 2050, with a potential peak of approximately 11 billion people around the year 2100.
These significant changes in fertility rates, rising urbanization, and quickening migration have all contributed to this remarkable development, which has been primarily driven by an increase in the number of people who have reached reproductive age. Future generations will be affected significantly by these developments.
The two most populous nations are China and India.
Approximately 4.7 billion people live in Asia, 1 billion in Africa, 750 million in Europe, 650 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 370 million in Northern America and Oceania, making up the remaining 5% of the world's population (43 million). The two most populated nations in the world continue to be China (1.44 billion) and India (1.39 billion), both of which have populations of over 1 billion, or 19 and 18% of the global population, respectively. India is anticipated to surpass China as the world's most populous nation around 2027, whereas China's population is anticipated to fall by 31.4 million, or roughly 2.2%, between 2019 and 2050. World Population Prospects 2019, as source
The anticipated population of the entire planet is 8.5 billion people in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100. These most recent population forecasts are not without some degree of uncertainty, as with any sort of projection. These numbers are based on the medium projection version, which anticipates a reduction in fertility in nations where large families are still common and a minor increase in fertility in a number of nations where the average number of children per woman is less than two. Additionally, all nations' survival prospects are expected to increase.
Quickly growing continent
Africa is anticipated to see more than half of the world's population growth between now and 2050. Among the major regions, Africa is experiencing the fastest population growth. By 2050, it is anticipated that sub-Saharan Africa's population would have doubled. Even if fertility numbers significantly decline in the near future, a high population growth in Africa is predicted. Despite the uncertainty surrounding future trends in fertility in Africa, the region will play a significant role in determining the size and distribution of the global population over the following decades due to the large number of young people who are currently living there and who will become adults in the coming years and have children of their own.
European population decline
By 2050, it is projected that fewer people will live in 55 countries or regions around the world, with 26 of those populations possibly seeing declines of at least 10%. By 2050, it is anticipated that the populations of a number of nations, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine, will have decreased by more than 15%. In most cases, fertility has been below the replacement level for many years. Fertility in all European countries is currently below the level needed for full population replacement over the long term (about 2.1 children per woman).
Aspects affecting population growth
Fertility rates
Future fertility trends will have a significant impact on population increase. The World Population Prospects (2019 Revision) predicts that by 2050, there would be 2.2 children for every woman worldwide, down from 2.5 in 2019.
Lengthening lifespan
Overall, recent years have seen a significant increase in life expectancy. Globally, 77.1 years is predicted to be the average life expectancy at birth by 2050, up from 72.6 years in 2019. Although there has been significant progress in reducing the disparity in longevity between nations, there are still significant inequalities. 2019's life expectancy at birth gap between the least developed nations and the rest of the world is 7.4 years, partly as a result of continuously high rates of infant and maternal mortality as well as violence, war, and the HIV epidemic's ongoing effects.
International migration
Compared to births or deaths, migration abroad makes up a substantially lower portion of population change. However, there are some nations and regions where migration has a considerable impact on population size, particularly nations that send or receive high numbers of economic migrants and those who are impacted by refugee flows. Ten nations will see a net outflow of over one million migrants between 2010 and 2020, while fourteen countries or regions will experience net inflows of over one million migrants.
The role of the UN in population issues
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs have long been active in the UN system's efforts to solve these intricate and interconnected problems.
UN Population Division
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs' UN Population Division compiles data on topics such global migration and development, urbanization, population prospects and policies, and marriage and fertility statistics. It encourages the execution of the Programme of Action issued by the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and supports UN organizations like the Commission on Population and Development (IPCD).
Through its participation in the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities, the Population Division strengthens coordination of related UN system activities and creates the official United Nations demographic estimates and projections for all nations and regions of the world. It also assists States in developing the capacity to develop population policies.
UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
In order to play a prominent role within the UN system in supporting population programs based on the human right of people and couples to freely choose the size of their families, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) began operations in 1969. UNFPA was given the primary role in assisting nations carry out the Conference's Programme of Action, and its mandate was expanded at the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) to place more focus on the gender and human rights components of population concerns. Currently, UNFPA works in the fields of population and development, human rights, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, and youth programs.
The United Nations has addressed the population issue through three conferences, two special General Assembly sessions, and a summit in 2019.
The eleventh of July is designated as World Population Day. It commemorates the day in 1987 when there were 5 billion people on the planet.
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