According to the United Nations' World Population Prospects 2022 report released on World Population Day, the global population will reach 8 billion by the 15th of this month, that is, tomorrow. Moreover, India is expected to become the most populous country in the world by 2023. According to the forecast of the United Nations Population Division, the 8 billionth person in the world is likely to be born in Africa, which has the highest growth rate in the number of births.
People gather at a market in the old city of New Delhi, India, October 22, 2022. India's urban population is expected to explode in the coming decades. Image according to Visual China
The current population may take 1.75 Earths to carry it
According to the latest projections released by the United Nations on July 11, the world's population will grow to about 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and peak at about 10.4 billion in the 2080s, and this level will continue until 2100.
According to data from the NGO Global Footprint Network and WWF, humans need the equivalent of 1.75 Earths of biocapacity to sustainably meet the needs of the current population. The latest UN climate report also notes that while population growth is one of the main causes of the increase in greenhouse gases, it is far less than the climate threat posed by economic development.
UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem said the new figures were an "important milestone" for humanity. "However, I know this moment may not be celebrated by everyone... Some people worry that the population of the planet has become overloaded - I want to make it clear here that population size is not a cause for fear. She added.
Other experts say that rather than worrying about overpopulation, people should be more concerned about the excessive consumption of the earth's resources by the rich. Joel Cohen of the Population Institute at Rockefeller University said the question of "how many people the planet can really feed" has two aspects: natural limitations and human choice. "It is human selection that leads to the consumption of biological resources, such as forests and land, far exceeding the amount that the Earth can regenerate each year." In addition, the excessive consumption of fossil fuels brings more carbon dioxide emissions, which contributes to global warming.
Jennifer Huba, a researcher at the Wilson Center, says the impact of population on the planet depends more on our actions than on our numbers.
"This year's World Population Day coincides with a landmark year when the 8 billionth inhabitants of the planet will be born. This is a good time to celebrate human diversity, to recognize our common humanity, and to reflect on what humanity has achieved in health – longer life expectancy, significant reductions in maternal and child mortality..." said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. ”
Where is the 7 billionth person on Earth?
As previously reported, Danica May Camacho, a girl born in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, was symbolically designated by the United Nations as the world's 7 billionth baby on October 31, 2011, to mark the global population milestone. U.N. officials met with the parents and babies and named Oct. 31 7 Billion Day, aiming to draw attention to the challenges facing global population growth. It is reported that countries around the world have selected their 7 billionth baby. In India, which has a traditional patriarchal ideology, officials also issued a certificate of the 7 billionth citizen to a baby girl named Nargis on the same day, hoping to take this opportunity to draw attention to the imbalance between men and women in the country.
The 6 billionth and 5 billionth babies previously designated by the United Nations were Adnan Nevic from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Matej Gaspar from Croatia, both of whom grew up saying the UN only chose them at birth, but they have been almost forgotten since then. Adnan once said: "When I was two days old, he [former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan] picked me up, but we haven't heard from them since," Adnan once said. ”
But in reality, the exact figure of the global population for each population milestone year is not clear. While the global spotlight is on the "7 billionth baby on Earth," Gerhard Heilig, the head of U.N. population estimates, has hinted that anyone can determine where the 7 billionth child will be born, saying the U.N. also recognizes that its own numbers can be 1-2% erroneous. The UN Population Division website adds that even the most accurate census is subject to "inevitable biases."
Red Star News reporter Fan Xu Intern Duan Yuqi
Editor-in-charge Deng Xuguang Edited by Wang He
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