India to become the most populous country in next 8 years

Guwahati: India, so far the second most populous country in the world is soon going to become the most populous country surpassing China in the next 8 years. The current population of the world is estimated to increase to 9.7 billion by the year 2050 which means there will be an addition of 2 billion population from the earlier 7.7 billion.

As stated by a new United Nations report that was launched on Monday, by the end of the current century, the global population might reach its peak and the estimated population by then is around 11 bn. With the population of the world increasing and the earth lacking its place for sheltering the growing populace, this is a severe issue of concern which has been going out of control with each passing year.

The report states that the global fertility rate was 3.2 births per woman in 1990 which fell to 2.5 in 2019 and expected to decline to 2.2 in 2050. The total fertility rate of India stands at 2.2 births per woman.

There are nine such countries which are marked to be capable of making up more than half of the projected growth of the global population from now to 2050. Threes nine countries are India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the United States of America.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Liu Zhenmin says, “Many of the fastest growing populations are in the poorest countries, where population growth brings additional challenges in the effort to eradicate poverty, achieve greater equality, combat hunger and malnutrition and strengthen the coverage and quality of health and education systems to ensure that no one is left behind.”

Among other estimates stated in the report, it is said that the population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to go double by 2050. Some other regions that are marked to experience lower rates of population growth between 2019 and 2050 are Australia/New Zealand (56%), Northern Africa and Western Asia (46%), Central and Southern Asia (25%), Latin America and the Caribbean (18%), Eastern and South Eastern Asia (3%) and Europe and Northern America (2%).

The falling fertility levels and increasing life expectancy have led people to grow older.

Also read: Delhi High Court Issues Notice To Centre On Plea To Curb Population