The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is set to celebrate and drive conversations related to population, demographics, sexual and reproductive health, among others, as the world’s population hits eight billion on November 15.
The Media Associate of the Fund in Nigeria, Kori Habib, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, describing the milestone as “a world of infinite possibilities.”
She quoted the world body’s statement to mark the feat as saying “Asia and Africa drove much of that growth, expected to drive the next billion in 2037, while Europe’s contribution will be negative due to declining population.
“India, the largest contributor to the eight billion (177 million) will surpass China, the second largest contributor (73 million), while China in the next billion will be negative as the world’s most populous nation by 2023.
“Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, has a consistently high population growth rate.”
The Fund added that the population of 61 countries is projected to decrease by one per cent or more between 2022 and 2050 owing to sustained low levels of fertility and in some cases, elevated rates of emigration.
The world body stated that lower-middle income and low-income countries contributed majority of the eight billion world population milestone, while upper-middle income and high-income countries whose population will be driven by international migration in the coming decades contributed about 250 million.
It indicated that some countries saw reduced births due to COVID-19, while others saw little impact as more than half of the projected increase in global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.
It added that “more than 400 million will be people 65 years and older, 150 million will be 15-29 and the population of children aged 14 and younger will be declining.
“Let our challenge be to do more than exist; let us dare to thrive.”
