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Earlier this week, the Population Reference Bureau (PBR) released their 2020 World Population Data, which includes new population growth findings and insights into how the current global pandemic has impacted the 7.8 billion world population. The report shows that a growing aging population is being met with a decline in total fertility rates, and researchers expect that both population growth and aging will affect our resilience in the face of future crises.
Population Growth Projections
In terms of population growth projections, PBR predicts that the United States’ population is projected to increase between 2020 and 2050, but at a much slower pace than recent decades. China’s population is projected to decrease by 2050.
Conversely, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali, as well as some in Asia continue to experience rapid population growth and high fertility rates. The population of 25 countries is expected to at least double between 2020 and 2050.
Key Findings
- The world population is projected to reach 9.9 billion by 2050, an increase of more than 25 percent from 7.8 billion in 2020.
- Total fertility rates are below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman in 91 countries and territories, mostly in Asia and Europe, as well as in the United States.
- Western Europe and Southern Europe have the largest shares of people ages 65 years and older at 21 percent, while sub-Saharan Africa has the smallest share at 3 percent.
- The population of 25 countries is expected to at least double between 2020 and 2050. Angola, Benin, and Niger are projected to see a population increase of 150 percent or more.
- At least 50 percent of the population in 12 countries and territories lives in cities of 1 million or more residents, including the Republic of the Congo, at 63 percent; Australia, at 62 percent;, and Israel, at 61 percent.
Read the full report here.