The United Nations (UN) has released a new report projecting that the world’s population – currently around 7.2 billion – will increase by 1 billion over the next 12 years, will reach 9.6 billion by 2050, and could reach nearly 11 billion by 2100. The new projection is around 800 million (8%) larger than the previous projection of 10.1 billion by 2100, issued by the UN in 2011.
The projected rise is mostly due to fertility in Africa, where the UN had expected birth rates to decline more quickly than they have. The population there is now expected to hit 4.2 billion by 2100, from around 1.1 billion currently. Populations in India and the US are also expected to rise significantly, whereas Europe’s and China’s are projected to fall.
According to the University of Washington:
The expected population changes from now to 2100 are shown in the graphic. By far the largest expected increase is in Nigeria, projected to increase by 730 million people, from 184 million now to 914 million in 2100. Eight of the top ten increases are in Africa, with India in second place. The United States is eighth, with an expected increase of 146 million, or 46 percent, from 316 million now to 462 million in 2100. The largest projected decline is in China, expected to decrease by about 300 million, from 1.4 billion now to 1.1 billion in 2100.
According to the UN, Australia’s population is projected to reach 41.5 million by 2100 under the medium growth scenario and 59.5 million under the high growth scenario.
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