World population reaches 8 billion with continued increase predicted

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The United Nations predicted in a recent report that the world population would reach eight billion people on November 15 this year and around 9.7 billion in 2050, the Associated Press reports.

According to the report by the UN’s population division, the global population will continue to rise, reaching around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 10.4 billion in 2100, AP said.

Notably, half of the world’s population will come from just eight countries, the UN said. Those eight countries are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, and Tanzania, i24 News reports.

Among the countries with the fastest growing populations are Egypt, Pakistan, the Philippines, and India, which is predicted to overtake China as the world’s most populated country next year, AP said.

Concern is mounting over limited resources and buckling infrastructure in developing countries with growing populations: “The population in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double between 2022 and 2050, putting additional pressure on already strained resources and challenging policies aimed to reduce poverty and inequalities,” the U.N. report said.

In a separate statement, Dr. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India told AP: “There is also a greater pressure on the environment, increasing the challenges to food security that is also compounded by climate change. Reducing inequality while focusing on adapting and mitigating climate change should be where our policy makers’ focus should be.”

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