Headlines

UN: World Population Reaches 8B

Published NOV 15 2022

Story

Image credit: Getty Images [via CNN]

The Facts

According to UN estimates, the global population reached 8B on Tuesday — a "milestone in human development" before birth rates are predicted to slow. It means 1B people have been added to the world's population in only 12 years.
CNN
Despite the new high, the report noted that population growth is at its slowest pace since 1950 and fell under 1% in 2020. According to the UN, the global population could reach 8.5B in 2030 and 9.7B in 2050 before peaking at 10.4B during the 2080s and remaining at that level until 2100.
UN
While reaching 8B people is a sign of human success, the UN warned it could pose a risk for areas already facing resource scarcity due to climate change.
Reuters
The UN says that the growth is largely due to longer life expectancy, thanks to advancements in public health, nutrition, hygiene, and healthcare.
CNN
Over half of the global population lives in only seven countries: China, India, the US, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Brazil, with India projected to surpass China as the world's most populated country in 2023.
World Economic Forum
Meanwhile, the UN expects five nations in sub-Saharan Africa to contribute to more than half of the next billion: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania.
The St Kitts Nevis Observer

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

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The Spin

Narrative A

The issue of concern in this report is the slowing pace of growth that, if left unchecked, will snowball into a population collapse disaster. Despite popular rhetoric, overpopulation isn't the threat; stagnating birth rates — which don't just represent a crisis for a specific country but are an existential threat to the entire planet — are.

CNBC

Narrative B

There's a lack of consensus that stagnated birth rates pose an existential threat to the planet. There are now 8B people and counting on the earth, and there likely won't be a population collapse any time soon. Besides, slowing population growth would actually bring a myriad of economic and environmental benefits in a world struggling with the threat of climate change.

Wired