Recently, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) released the World Population Prospects Report which provides population trends for countries across the globe.
Key Findings of the Report
Global
- Population peak: World’s population is projected to peak around 10.3 billion people in mid-2080s, up from 8.2 billion in 2024.
- Fertility rate: Currently, fertility rate stands at 2.25 live births per woman, down from 3.31 births in 1990.
- Life expectancy: Life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years in 2024, an increase of 8.4 years since 1995.
- Early pregnancies: In 2024, 4.7 million babies, or about 3.5 per cent of the total worldwide, were born to mothers under age 18.
India
- India’s population is expected to reach its peak in early 2060s and is expected to remain the world’s largest throughout century.
Main drivers of population increase
- Population momentum: Growth in number of women of reproductive age even when the number of births per woman falls to/ below the replacement level (2.1).
- Other drivers: Higher fertility rates in some countries/ regions; increase in life-expectancy, etc.