The world has reached a milestone, with its population now reaching eight billion. In contrast, we previously reached seven billion back in 2011.
It seems a bit concerning that we reach another full billion in just a little above a decade, but there is no need to be worried, according to Gizmodo. The global population growth rate has dropped since the baby boomer era, back in 1946 to 1964.
Population Growth in the Coming Years
Our 8th billion was achieved in just 11 years, but reports say that the next will not be reached until another 15 years. According to the prediction by the UN, the world population will reach 9.7 billion by the 5th decade of the second millennium.
They have also forecasted a growth of 10.4 billion in population by 2080. In retrospect, we now have 4.7 billion more people than back in 1964. Looking forward to the same amount of year difference, we will only gain 2.4 billion more.
People have been worried about population growth throughout the years, even when the global population was just at 800 million back in 1798. Thomas Malthus, an economist in the fields of political economy and demography, published an essay containing predictions of famine if the population growth does not stop.
Paul Erhlich wrote "The Population Bomb" back in 1960. By then, the world had three billion people. He also declared that world hunger is imminent as there will no longer be enough to go around.
Stephen Emmott also wrote a book called "Ten Billion," painting a horrific picture of the Earth that we'll see in our future. It's undeniable that there are risks to worldwide overpopulation, but so far, humankind has been faring okay. Not to mention, the growth rate has dropped.
The Decline in Population Growth Rate
As previously mentioned, we are slowing down in terms of population growth. This could be due to societal breakthroughs in several fields like education and medicine. We now have access to things like birth control and knowledge about birth and reproduction. Certain cultures have now leaned toward body autonomy, where people are not obligated to have children and can choose on their own.
The fertility rate for women has also dropped in several countries. 75% of the world's population live in areas where women are at the rate of having around 2.1 births in their lifetime. The future population growth is predicted to come mostly from certain countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Tanzania, and the Republic of the Congo.
According to N-IUSSP, there are benefits from the decline in growth rate. It will increase economic opportunities, and increase wages. It will also decrease humankind's contributions to climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and pollution from commercial, industrial, agricultural and domestic activities. Furthermore, lesser people will mean that governments, schools, civic, religious, and other organizations will be able to respond to demands better.
