The view that the world’s population is going to level out of its own accord is in doubt following a new United Nations Report. The world’s population is set to reach 7 billion later this year, and the UN’s Population Division say this figure could double to 14 billion by 2100 if action is not taken.
The UN Population Division has produced six projections of potential future population change based on different changes to fertility level and other factors. The report says that “even with significant fertility reductions Africa’s population will likely increase by 150% by 2100 and many of its countries will see their population increase four-fold or more”. It warns that considerable effort over the next few decades is required to achieve a reduction in fertility levels.
To have a reasonable chance of stabilising world population, fertility must drop below “replacement level”, and then be maintained at that level for an extended period, says the report.
If fertility were to remain mostly between 2.2 and 2.3 children per woman, we would have a world population of nearly 30 billion in 2300. This clearly is unsustainable.
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