World’s population reaches 8 billion

KATHMANDU: The world population hit 8 billion people on Friday, a milestone in human development, according to UN estimates.

“The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

The world’s human population is expected to keep growing, according to the statement.

“While it took the global population 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion, it will take approximately 15 years — until 2037 — for it to reach 9 billion, a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing,” the UN said.

Meanwhile, India is likely to overtake China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, the UN estimates.

Eight countries, such as Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tanzania, will account for more than half of the predicted increase in world population by 2050, according to the report.

The UN said that the average life expectancy at birth reached 72.8 years in 2019, an increase of about nine years since 1990.