India Top Contributor At 177 Million As World Population Hits 8 Billion

United Nations: In a milestone for humanity, the global population hit 8 billion on Tuesday (November 15) after having added a billion people in the last 12 years, with India on the cusp of overtaking China as the world’s most populous country next year. The United Nations said the global milestone signals major improvements in public health that have lowered the risk of death and increased life expectancy but the moment is also a clarion call for humanity to look beyond the numbers and meet its shared responsibility to protect people and the planet, starting with the most vulnerable.

8 billion hopes. 8 billion dreams. 8 billion possibilities. Our planet is now home to 8 billion people, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) tweeted.

As we become 8 Billion Strong, Ms Diene Keita explains how a world of 8 billion is a global success story.

Together we can build a world that allows 8 billion of us to thrive, it said in another tweet.

Also Read: Climate Justice Gets Harder As World Population Passes 8 Billion

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said unless the world bridges the yawning chasm between the global haves and have-nots. He said,

We are setting ourselves up for an 8-billion-strong world filled with tensions and mistrust, crisis and conflict

India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023. The population prospects report said that India’s population stands at 1.412 billion in 2022, compared with China’s 1.426 billion. India is projected to have a population of 1.668 billion in 2050, way ahead of China’s 1.317 billion people by the middle of the century.

The population clock flashed 8,000,000,000 on November 15, with the world having added one billion people in the last 12 years.

Also Read: Opinion: As The Deadlocks At COP27 Persist, Traditional Knowledge And Indigenous Practices Could Provide Food Security

The UN described the global population reaching 8 billion as a “remarkable milestone” given that the human population numbered under 1 billion for millennia until around 1800, and that it took more than 100 years to grow from 1 to 2 billion.

By comparison, the increase of the world’s population over the last century has been quite rapid and despite a gradual slowing in the pace of growth, the global population is projected to surpass 9 billion around 2037 and 10 billion around 2058, according to UN estimates.

The world population is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100, the World Population Prospects 2022 released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division in July this year had said.

Also Read: Not Historical Polluter: India Blocks Attempt To Focus On Top 20 Emitters

UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem said that a world of 8 billion is a milestone for humanity – the result of longer lifespans, reductions in poverty, and declining maternal and childhood mortality.

Yet, focusing on numbers alone distracts us from the real challenge we face: securing a world in which progress can be enjoyed equally and sustainably. We cannot rely on one-size-fits-all solutions in a world in which the median age is 41 in Europe compared to 17 in sub-Saharan Africa. To succeed, all population policies must have reproductive rights at their core, invest in people and the planet, and be based on solid data Ms Kanem said.

The UN noted that while it took about 12 years for the world population to grow from 7 to 8 billion, the next billion is expected to take about 14.5 years (2037), reflecting the slowdown in global growth. For the increase from 7 to 8 billion, around 70 per cent of the added population was in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. For the increase from 8 to 9 billion, these two groups of countries are expected to account for more than 90 per cent of global growth.

Between now and 2050, the global increase in the population under age 65 will occur entirely in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, since population growth in high-income and upper-middle-income countries will occur only among those aged 65 years or over.

Also Read: Long-Term Goal Of Paris Agreement Requires Phase Down Of All Fossil Fuels: India At COP27

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.