This is considered a milestone in human population growth and development. This was possible only because of huge developments that took place in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine in the last two centuries. As a result, there was gradual increase in human lifespan with global life expectancy at all-time high in 2019 – 72.1 years.

Let’s look back - How long it took for us to reach “8 billion”

• Stupendous change happened during the period of industrial revolution (1760 to 1840)

• Until around 1800 for world population to reach one billion,The second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in 30 years (1960), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987). It took the global population 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion.

• In 1970, there were roughly half as many people in the world as there are now in 2022. It has been projected that because of declining growth rates, it will now take over 200 years to double again

• UN population projections reveal that it will take approximately 15 years — until 2037, for it to reach 9 billion, a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing.

Which countries were the major contributors to world population?

• About 70 percent of the growth to eight billion from seven billion happened in low- and lower-middle-income countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.

• The most populous regions are in Asia, with China and India - each more than 1.4 billion strong - the main contributors. India’s population is expected to surpass China’s at some point in 2023, according to the U.N.

• The organisation further added “When the next billion is added between 2022 and 2037, these two groups of countries are expected to account for more than 90 percent of global growth” 

• The fertility rate has dropped globally. In high-income nations, the number of people under 65 is expected to decline in the coming years, but the fertility rate remains high in poorer countries, where more women and girls lack access to sexual and reproductive health care, including contraception and other family planning services.

Top 5 populated counties in the world (Projected population)

1.      China - 1,452,596,318

2.      India - 1,412,888,613

3.      U.S.A. - 335,660,784

4.      Indonesia - 280,546,872

5.      Pakistan - 231,542,303

What will be the trend of world population in the future?

• Decline in the world’s population is not expected for another half-century, and depends largely on the future pace of fertility decline in the high-fertility countries.

• The growth rate, which is expected to slow globally over the coming decades, will be uneven around the world. Slowing growth rates in populous nations like China (births hit a historic low in 2021) and the United States has threatened them to upend their societies.

• The Rising birth rates in poorer nations threaten to strain systems that are already struggling.Globally the expected decline in the population may take place after 2080, when the death rate surpasses the birth rate. The population scientists call this phenomena as “Stage of decline” which is the stage 5 of the demographic cycle.

The concluding lines....

It was expected that world would hit the 8-billion mark in 2028, but we landed much earlier (6 years) ahead.

Are we heading in the right direction…Will we be able to make the earth a sustainable place to live for all?

Let’s not think only for and about humans but also for the rest of the lives in the planet…