Science & Technology

World population to reach 9.7 billion by 2050

By T.K. Randall
August 4, 2015 ·  117 comments

How big a population can modern society cope with ? Image Credit: sxc.hu It's no secret that the number of people on our planet is growing at an alarming rate - so much so that by the turn of the next century we could be looking at a population in excess of 11.2 billion.

New predictions released by the United Nations this week have shown that previous estimates are likely to be exceeded by at least 150 million within the next few decades.

The populations of Africa and Asia in particular are expected to see the biggest increases while overall the most significant factor contributing to the problem is that people are living longer.Based on global averages people born today are expected to live until the age of 70, but as the years go on this life expectancy will improve significantly with people born in the year 2100 being expected to live for an average of 83 years.

World #population currently 7.3BN & to reach 9.7BN by 2050 http://t.co/Ufns35SGfv @UNDESA #UNPopulation pic.twitter.com/YGNS5CG2I3

— UNFPA (@UNFPA) July 31, 2015

As populations increase however so too does the need for food and clean water - something that will undoubtedly lead to shortages of both, especially in developing countries.

"There is an 80% probability that the population of the world will be between 8.4 and 8.6 billion in 2030, between 9.4 and 10 billion in 2050 and between 10 and 12.5 billion in 2100," the report states.

Source: National Geographic | Comments (117)

Tags: Population