(Newswire.net — June 24, 2017) — Despite a drop in birth rates, the world’s population is expected to grow to 9.8 billion over the next 30 years, shows a new UN study.
According to the report, India is set to surpass China’s population by 2024, while Nigeria is expected to replace the US as the world’s third most populous nation by around 2050.
The 2017 Revision of The World Population Prospects forecasts that the upward trend will continue despite a decline in fertility levels. In fact, the document reveals that the world’s population grows by 83 million people each year.
The report says that population growth occurs in 47 least developed countries, 33 of which are African nations. Currently, the world has 7.6 billion people, with projections showing that the number could hit nearly 10 billion by 2050. Although Asia comes second behind Africa by the number of countries propelling global population growth, India is singled out as the country with the largest population growth on the planet.
Global population surge is predicted despite “lower fertility rates in nearly all regions of the world,” the UN study shows, noting that birth rates have decreased in 83 countries.
Europe is the continent with the highest decline in fertility rates, according to the report, which added that it is expected to be “the only region with a smaller population in 2050 than in 2017.”
The study also predicts that the number of people aged 60 and over will rise from the current 962 million to 3.1 billion by 2100.
Despite its predictions, the UN report noted that there is “inherent uncertainty in population projections,” noting that they depend on “assumptions about plausible future trends in specific demographic variables.”
The report also projects that the average life expectancy will increase from 70-80 years in the ’90s to 85-92 years by 2100 and that the trend will also boost population growth.