There are now 8 billion people living on Earth despite the slowing of population growth in recent years, according to the United Nations, which called the number reached Tuesday a “milestone of human development.”
It took hundreds of thousands of years for the global population to reach its first billion people, but took only 12 years for the number of humans on the planet to climb to 8 billion from 7 billion, the UN said.
“This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human life span owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine,” the UN said in a statement. “It is also the result of high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries.”
Middle-income countries, primarily in Asia, accounted for the bulk of the population growth in the past decade, gaining some 700 million people since 2011. India added about 180 million people alone, and is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation next year.
Despite the population reaching its highest point ever, the growth rate is still at the slowest it has been since 1950, having fallen under 1% in 2020. With that in mind, experts have predicted the world will not boast a population of 9 billion people until 2037. It’ll likely take another 50 to 60 years to reach the 10 billion milestone, they noted.
According to UN projections, the global population will peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100.
“This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended life spans 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.”
