World Population Day Observed at WPDRF

New Delhi: It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion – then in just another 200 years or so, it grew seven fold. In 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, and today, it stands at about 7.7 billion, and it’s expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.

“ This massive growth has been driven largely by increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age, and has been accompanied by major changes in fertility rates, increasing urbanization and accelerating migration. These trends will affect the future of human race,” said Sandeep Marwah President of World Peace Development And Research Foundation while talking to the large audience at a webinar conducted to observe World Population Day.

 early 1970s, women had on average  4.5 children each; by 2015, total fertility for the world had fallen to below 2.5 children per woman. Meanwhile, average global lifespans  have risen, from 64.6 years in the early 1990s to  72.6 years in 2019.

In addition, the world is seeing high levels of urbanization  and accelerating migration. 2007 was the first year in which more people lived in urban areas than in rural areas , and by 2050 about 66 per cent of the world population will be living in cities.

These megatrends have far-reaching implications. They affect economic development, employment, income distribution, poverty and social protections. They also affect efforts to ensure universal access to health care, education, housing, sanitation, water, food and energy. To more sustainably address the needs of individuals, policymakers must understand how many people are living on the planet, where they are, how old they are, and how many people will come after them

The event was supported by ICMEI- International Chamber of Media And Entertainment Industry, AAFT University of Media And Arts, IFUNA- Indian Federation of United Nations Associations and IFTRC- International Film And Television Research Centre.