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.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has put forward a five-point suggestion for ensuring a resilient food system globally as it will be crucial in the coming days amid the falling food production due to the climate change and growing global population. Hasina came up with the proposals while addressing the "United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021" in her prerecorded speech. UN Secretary General António Guterres convened the event on Thursday. Describing the proposals, the Prime Minister said first there should be research, investment and advanced technology sharing for agricultural development, and then there should be increased funding for developing countries for achieving a sustainable food system. Read: Want actions, not words: Hasina to global community over Rohingya crisis

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across the planet, millions worldwide still lack Internet access, UN Secretary-General   António Guterres said on Monday. In his message for World Telecommunication and Information Science Day, celebrated annually on 17 May, the UN chief called for action to conquer both the pandemic and the digital divide, reports UN News. “On World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, let us commit to work together to defeat COVID-19 and ensure that digital technologies are a force for good that help us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind,” he said. Innovative and protective “Digital technologies sustain life, work, health and learning for billions of people. In the face of COVID-19, businesses, governments and the digital community have proven resilient and innovative, helping to protect lives and livelihoods. These challenging times have accelerated the transformation everywhere,” he said. However, the Secretary-General reported some 3.7 billion people, or nearly half the world’s population, remain unconnected to the Internet.  Most are women. “They, too, must be included if we are to make the possibilities of 5G, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, digital health and other technologies truly transformative and sustainable,” he said. “We must also protect against the dangers of digital technologies, from the spread of hatred and misinformation to cyberattacks and the exploitation of our data.” Read Also: 54pc Bangladeshi rural families lack internet access: Survey Encouraging investment World Telecommunication and Information Science Day marks the signing in 1865 of an agreement to form the International Telegraph Union (ITU), making it the world’s first modern international organization. ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said the UN agency will use the Day to unite the world in pursuit of digital transformation in all areas of business and life. “It will be an opportunity to strengthen national strategies on ICT development, implement smart policies and effective measures to encourage investments in ICTs and digital skills, and upgrade our services with new technologies ranging from AI (Artificial Intelligence) to 5G that are central to the digital economy,” he said in a video message. Inclusive and affordable for all Last June, the UN launched a Roadmap for Digital Cooperation that lays out eight key actions, including achieving universal connectivity by 2030. Also read: 100mn rural people to get high-speed internet access within 2020 Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, said the Roadmap, together with the vital work of the ITU, aims to make the digital transformation equitable, safe, inclusive and affordable for all, while also respecting human rights.

Covid-19 pandemic has presented the world with some unprecedented situations and brought about some previously unthinkable changes to people’s lives. Similarly people have been forced to rethink some of the old, set ways of doing some things; things we could take for granted just 6 months ago, may not survive the scrutiny today in a new light.

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.