The world's population surpassed 8 billion people: United Nations.

The United Nations Population Fund recently announced that the world's population has surpassed 8 billion people.

More on the news:

• Reasons for the increase: This unprecedented increase is due to gradual increases in human lifespan as a result of advancements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene, and medicine.
• According to the UN, it is also the result of high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries.

Reaching 9 billion:

• According to the UN, the global population increased from 7 billion to 8 billion in 12 years.
• It will take about 15 years — until 2037 — to reach 9 billion.
• It indicates that the global population's overall growth rate is slowing.

Forecasts for the peak:

• According to the UNFPA, the world population will reach 10.4 billion in the 2080s and remain there until the end of the century.

Growth trends:

• Slowing growth: According to the United Nations, falling mortality rates initially resulted in "spectacular population growth," but as fewer children were born generation after generation, growth began to slow.
• According to the United Nations, countries with the highest fertility rates also have the lowest per capita income.
• International migration: With 281 million people living outside their country of birth in 2020, international migration is now a major driver of growth in many countries.
• In recent years, all South Asian countries — India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka — have experienced high levels of emigration.
• The "youth bulge" in India: According to UNFPA, India has its largest ever adolescent and youth population.
• According to UNFPA projections, India will continue to have one of the world's youngest populations until 2030, and it is currently experiencing a demographic window of opportunity, known as a "youth bulge," that will last until 2025.
• It was noted that India's fertility rate has reached 2.1 births per woman (replacement-level fertility) and is declining.

India has surpassed China:

• By 2022, Asia will have more than half of the world's population, with China and India having more than 1.4 billion people each.
• According to the United Nations Population Fund, while India's population growth is slowing, it is still growing at a rate of 0.7% per year and is on track to overtake China as the world's most populous country in 2023.
• According to the UN, China's population is no longer growing and "may begin declining as early as 2023."

Challenges:

• Rapid population growth can exacerbate hunger and poverty.
• Rapid population growth makes it more difficult to eradicate poverty, combat hunger and malnutrition, and expand access to health and education systems.

India's Challenges and the Future:

• A population of more than 1.4 billion people will necessitate policymakers' unwavering focus on areas critical to human well-being, such as education, nutrition, healthcare, housing, and employment.

Economy and productivity:

• The youth must be equipped with skills that are essential in the knowledge economy.
• For any given per capita income, people's productivity must rise.
• Policies to increase job opportunities will be required, as will policies to increase labor force participation rates for both men and women.

Climate change:

• Due to the climate crisis and other ecological imperatives, many activities will leave small footprints.

Democratic difficulties:

• Most importantly, the challenges will spark debate, discussion, and even dissension, necessitating the inclusion of diverse voices.
• To move forward, India's democratic traditions and the strength of its institutions will be required.

The population of the elderly:

• The 65+ category is going to grow quite fast and it faces several challenges. Provisioning of social security is obviously a big challenge. This will stretch the resources of future governments.
• If the aged stay within the family set-up, the burden on the government could be reduced. “If we go back to our roots and stick around as families, as against the western tendency to go for individualism, then the challenges would be less.

State-wise focus:

• Much more needs to be done on this, of course, in large parts of the country, including in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, whose TFR is higher than the national average and where gender discrimination has deep social roots.

The choice to women:

• To actually achieve Population Control, the government should prioritize educating women and giving them the freedom to make and implement their own decisions.
• The state must ensure that contraceptives are accessible, affordable, and available in a variety of forms that are acceptable to those who use them.

World Population Day.

• Every year on July 11, World Population Day is observed.
• Its goal is to highlight overpopulation issues and raise awareness about the effects of overpopulation on the environment and development.
• This year's World Population Day [July 11, 2022] falls in a watershed year, as we prepare to welcome the planet's eighth billionth inhabitant.
• World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.
• It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day, the approximate date on which the world's population reached five billion people on July 11, 1987.

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