Despite a slowing growth rate, the world’s population is expected to reach 8 billion people by Nov. 15, according to the latest United Nation’s World Population Prospects 2022 report.
The report, released this week, also indicates India is on course to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, which is due to China’s aging population and policies that limit births.
The report cites declining fertility rates and the COVID-19 global pandemic impacting life expectancy at birth. It fell to 71 years in 2021, down from 72.9 in 2019. At least 14.9 million people have died of COVID-19-related issues worldwide since the start of the global pandemic.
According to 2021 census estimates, the United States population is nearing 332 million while the population of the Beehive State is 3.3 million and growing, although Utah’s fertility rate has dropped in recent years, too, falling faster than the national rate since 2009, but still fourth highest nationwide.
Utah’s total fertility rate is 1.92, compared to 1.64 for the nation, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 births report.
Total fertility rate refers to the number of children a woman has in her lifetime, expressed in terms of one per 1,000 population. It is different from the birthrate, which is the number of live births per thousand of the population in a given year.
Elsewhere in the world, population is on the decline.
“In 61 countries or areas, the population is expected to decrease by at least 1% over the next three decades, as a result of sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, elevated rates of emigration,” according to UN News.
The world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, before reaching a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s, according to the UN’s latest projections.
China and India are the world’s largest countries, each with populations that exceed 1 billion.
The following countries are the next-most populous, with populations exceeding 100 million. These include the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Ethiopia and the Philippines.
“Of these nations, all are expected to continue to grow except Russia and Japan, which will see their populations drop by 2030 before falling again significantly by 2050,” UN News reported.
According to the annual World Population Prospect report, global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950.