Reaching 8 Billion: The Impact of a Growing Population
The world population growth rate has hit nearly 1% per year as we hit the 8 billion milestone in November of this year. From Europe to North America, to Asia to South America, to Africa to Oceania and everywhere in between, populations are continuing to rise. The most populated countries in 2022 in terms of growth, fertility, and migration are Nigeria, Pakistan, the United States, and Russia.
Global life expectancy has grown from 29 to 73 years since 1800. It is major changes like this that indicate a better global health and an older world population, both products of our development as a species. Measuring world health is done through life expectancy and health index score. By these parameters, Spain and Italy are the healthiest countries in the world, and South Sudan and Somalia are the unhealthiest.
The growing world has affected businesses as well. Global GDP growth has slowed and there is a greater demand for services for an aging population. On the other hand, the older population increases our productivity and can lead to a global increase in multinational corporations.
Experts are fairly satisfied with this resilient increase in the human population. In fact, according to UN projections, earth’s population will peak at 10.4 billion in 2080. It took 12 years to grow from 7 billion to 8 billion, and professionals say that the 9 billionth baby is only 15 years in the future.
The road to 9 billion will involve many changes to several continents and their populations. International migration will increase over time, and previously inhabited areas will fluctuate. Despite these uncertainties, experts agree that the only guarantee is change.