The global population is projected to reach 8 billion on this November 15, and India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, according to World Population Prospects 2022. “This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added. Bangladesh shares 2.2 percent of the global population, the eighth largest (population-wise) and one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 171 million of population, according to the World Population Prospects 2022. Read more: Ageing population in Bangladesh is fast growing: UN expert Mahler However, according to the projected estimate by the UN, Bangladesh will be the 10th most populous country with 204 million people by 2050. Today, 171 million people in the country means 171 million opportunities for a healthier Bangladesh, empowered by rights and choices, said Dr Mohammad Mainul Islam, a professor and former chairman of the Department of Population Sciences at Dhaka University, in his recent article. The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 percent in 2020, according to the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100. World Population Prospects 2022 also states that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman, roughly the level required for zero growth in the long run for a population with low mortality. The populations of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1 per cent or more between 2022 and 2050, owing to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, elevated rates of emigration. Read more: UN projects world population will reach 8 billion on Nov. 15 More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050. “The relationship between population growth and sustainable development is complex and multidimensional” said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “Rapid population growth makes eradicating poverty, combatting hunger and malnutrition, and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult. The share of global population at ages 65 and above is projected to rise from 10 percent in 2022 to 16 per cent in 2050. At that point, it is expected that the number of persons aged 65 years or over worldwide will be more than twice the number of children under age 5 and about the same as the number under age 12. Global life expectancy at birth reached 72.8 years in 2019, an improvement of almost 9 years since 1990. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in an average global longevity of around 77.2 years in 2050. Yet in 2021, life expectancy for the least developed countries lagged 7 years behind the global average. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all three components of population change. Global life expectancy at birth fell to 71.0 years in 2021. “Further actions by Governments aimed at reducing fertility would have little impact on the pace of population growth between now and mid-century, because of the youthful age structure of today’s global population. Nevertheless, the cumulative effect of lower fertility, if maintained over several decades, could be a more substantial deceleration of global population growth in the second half of the century,” added John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The United Nations estimated Monday that the world’s population will reach 8 billion on Nov. 15 and that India will replace China as the world’s most populous nation next year. In a report released on World Population Day, the U.N. also said global population growth fell below 1% in 2020 for the first time since 1950. According to the latest U.N. projections, the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and a peak of around 10.4 billion during the 2080s. It is forecast to remain at that level until 2100. The report says more than half the projected increase in population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just eight countries: Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania. The report, “World Population Prospects 2022,” puts the world's population at 7.942 billion now and forecasts it will reach 8 billion in mid-November. John Wilmoth, director of the U.N. Population Division, said at a news conference to release the report that the date when the U.N.’s projection line crosses 8 billion is Nov. 15. But, he noted, “we do not pretend that that’s the actual date … and we think that the uncertainty is at least plus or minus a year.” Nonetheless, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called 2022 a “milestone year,” with “the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant.” “This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” Guterres said in a statement. “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another.” The report projects that next year India, with a current population of 1.412 billion, will surpass China, with a current population of 1.426 billion, but Wilmoth said there is more uncertainty about that date than the Earth reaching 8 billion inhabitants on Nov. 15. Read:Rising incomes more harmful to environment than population growth: UN report Wilmoth said the U.N. moved the date forward from 2027, especially as a result of China’s 2020 census. India had been planning its census in 2021, but he said it was delayed because of the pandemic. The U.N. will reassess its projection after it takes place. The U.N. projects that in 2050 the United States will remain the third most populous country in the world, behind India and China. Nigeria is projected to be No. 4, followed by Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil, Congo, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. Russia and Mexico, which are in the top 10 most populous countries in 2022, are projected to lose their ninth and 10th spots in 2050. “The population of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1% or more between 2022 and 2050,” the report says. “In countries with at least half a million population, the largest relative reductions in population size over that period, with losses of 20% or more, are expected to take place in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia and Ukraine.” In other highlights, the report said global life expectancy improved almost 9 years from 1990 — to 72.8 years for babies born in 2019 — and is projected to reach 77.2 years in 2050 as death rates continue to decrease. But in 2021, it said, life expectancy in the world’s poorest countries lagged 7 years behind the global average. As for gender balance, the report says, “Globally, the world counts slightly more men (50.3%) than women (49.7%) in 2022.” “This figure is projected to slowly invert over the course of the century," it says. “By 2050, it is expected that the number of women will equal the number of men.” The share of working age people between ages 25 and 64 has been increasing in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean “thanks to recent reductions in fertility,” the report says. The U.N. said this “demographic dividend” provides an opportunity for accelerated economic growth for those countries. In another trend, the report said, “the population above age 65 is growing more rapidly than the population below that age.” “As a result, the share of global population at age 65 and above is projected to rise from 10% in 2022 to 16% in 2050,” it said. Wilmoth said high life expectancy and very low levels of fertility and birth rates in European countries, Japan, North America, Australia and New Zealand are driving the tendency toward rapid population aging, and eventually potential population declines. As a result, over the next few decades, international migration “will be the sole driver of population growth in high-income countries,” the report said. “By contrast, for the foreseeable future, population increase in low-income and lower-middle-income countries will continue to be driven by an excess of births over deaths,” it said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged all to ensure the reproductive health rights of everyone, everywhere noting that resources for sexual and reproductive health services were diverted with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read:FM greets UN chief Guterres on re-appointment “As we mark World Population Day, let us pledge to ensure the reproductive health rights of everyone, everywhere,” he said in a message marking the World Population Day that falls on July 11. Guterres said the Covid-19 pandemic continues to upend the world, reaching one grim milestone after another. Read: Next 10 years final chance to avert climate catastrophe: UN chief In addition to the millions of lives tragically lost, there has been a less visible toll:  a shocking rise in domestic violence as women were forced into isolation with their abusers; empty maternity wards as women postponed motherhood; and unintended pregnancies due to curtailed access to contraceptive services, he said. “Our latest estimates indicate that Covid-19 will push 47 million women and girls into extreme poverty. Many girls who are out of school may never return,” said the UN chief. Read: Let's work together to defeat COVID-19: UN chief In every corner of the world, he said, they are seeing a reversal of hard-won gains and an erosion of women’s reproductive rights, choices and agency. “These gaps in access to health rights are unacceptable. Women cannot be alone in this fight.”

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said health services at all levels of the sector should be equally ensured during the Covid-19 outbreak in country.

The United Nations on World Population Day on Saturday showed in its world population trend that the number of global population stands at about 7.7 billion.   “It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion but in just another 200 years or so, the global population grew sevenfold,” the UN data shows.   According to the global population trend by the UN, in 2011, the global population reached 7 billion mark, and today it stands at about 7.7 billion.   The global population is expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100, the UN predicts.   This dramatic growth has been driven largely by increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age, and has been accompanied by major changes in fertility rates, increasing urbanization and accelerating migration.   These trends will have far-reaching implications for generations to come. The recent past has seen enormous changes in fertility rates and life expectancy.   According to the Global Population Trend by the UN, 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.   Meanwhile, average global life spans have risen, from 64.6 years in the early 1990s to 72.6 years in 2019.   In addition, the world is seeing high levels of urbanization and accelerating migration.   The year 2007 was the first year in which more people lived in urban areas than in rural areas, and by 2050 about 66 percent of the world population will be living in cities.   Megatrends & far-reaching implications They affect economic development, employment, income distribution, poverty and social protections.   They also affect efforts to ensure universal access to health care, education, housing, sanitation, water, food and energy.   To more sustainably address the needs of individuals, policymakers must understand how many people are living on the planet, where they are, how old they are, and how many people will come after them.  

COVID-19 pandemic  is deepening existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, particularly for women and girls, said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in a  message marking the World Population Day on Saturday,   “The pandemic affects everyone, everywhere, “but it does not affect everyone equally,  said the UN Chief.   He also said that “With many countries on lockdown and health systems struggling to cope, sexual and reproductive health services are being sidelined and gender-based violence is on the rise”.