A large crowd gathered in Taksim, Beyoglu district, Istanbul on Saturday afternoon.
Ayhan Altun | Moment | Getty Images
In 2022, the United Nations predicted that world population would peak at 10.4 billion by the 2080s.
“Birth rates in some countries are falling further than previously expected, and even high-fertility areas are declining at a slightly faster pace,” Li Junhua, the U.N. under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, said in a statement.
“The earlier peak and cooler temperatures are a silver lining, as the decline in overall consumption could reduce human-induced pressure on the environment,” Li added.
On average, women around the world are giving birth to one fewer child than they were in 1990. In more than half of countries, the average number of births per woman is below 2.1, the level needed to keep populations at a constant size without migration. The UN has said that countries such as China, South Korea, Spain and Italy have “very low fertility rates.”
As of 2024, 63 countries, including China, Germany, Japan and Russia, have already reached their population peak, and their combined populations are expected to decline by 14% over the next 30 years.
But nine countries, including Niger, Somalia, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are projected to experience “very rapid growth”, with the group’s total population expected to double between 2024 and 2054.
In 126 countries, including the United States, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, the population is expected to peak after the second half of this century.