World population to hit 8 billion this year
As the world marked the 35th World Population Day, the United Nations (UN) has announced that the Global population is projected to hit 8 billion in 2022.
Having hit the 7 billion mark in 2011, the global population was at 7.9 billion in 2021, with the expectation that it will grow further to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.
According to the Worldometer, the current world population is 7.96 Billion, which is distributed to the different continents as follows:
- Asia: 41.84%
- Africa: 17.20%
- Europe: 9.59%
- North America: 7.60%
- South America: 5.53%
- Australia/Oceania: 0.55%
- Antarctica: 0.00%.
Uganda has about 0.59% of the total world population. She ranks number 31 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population. The population density in Uganda is 229 per Km2 (593 people per mi2).
According to the UN, since the middle of the 20th century, the world has experienced unprecedented population growth as the world’s population has more than tripled in size between 1950 and 2020.
The statement further revealed that the growth rate of the world’s population reached a peak between 1965 and 1970, when human numbers were increasing by an average of 2.1% per year.
During the period from 2000 to 2020, even though the global population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2%, 48 countries or areas grew at least twice as fast: these included 33 countries or areas in Africa and 12 in Asia.
The statement attributed the dramatic growth in population to increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age, major changes in fertility rates, increasing urbanization and accelerating migration.
“Reaching a global population of eight billion is a numerical landmark, but our focus must always be on people. In the world we strive to build, 8 billion people means 8 billion opportunities to live dignified and fulfilled lives,” said António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General in a statement.
“These trends will have far-reaching implications for generations to come. The recent past has seen enormous changes in fertility rates and life expectancy. In the early 1970s, women had on average 4.5 children each; by 2015, total fertility for the world had fallen to below 2.5 children per woman,” reads the UN statement in part.
The life span of adults in the developed world has increased since the middle of the 20th century with the number of people reaching the age of 100 years at its highest.
In Uganda, the 35th World Population Day celebrations have today been held in Kumi district under the theme “Mindset change for wealth creation, ending teenage pregnancy and child marriage.”
