According to the UN forecast, the world's population will grow to 8.6 billion by 2030, to 9.8 billion by 2050 and to 11.2 billion by 2100. The most notable population growth will be observed in African countries.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs released the World Population Outlook 2017 Revision on Wednesday 21 June. Earlier, the UN predicted population growth to 8.5 billion by 2030 and to 9.7 billion by 2050. The main reason for the fixes is the increased population growth in India and Africa. India is the second most populous country in the world with a population of 1.3 billion. China is now home to 1.4 billion people, but India's population is expected to overtake China's by 2024. Meanwhile, in Africa, population growth rates are increasing. A UN report predicts that the populations of 26 African countries will at least double in size from 2017 to 2050.
On the other hand, the population of Europe will decline in the coming decades.
Despite low fertility in almost all regions of the world (overall fertility rates in Africa fell from 5.1 births in 2000–2005 to 4.7 births in 2010–2015), life expectancy is higher globally: 65 years for men and 69 for women in 2000-2005 to 69 for men and 73 for women in 2010-2015.
The result will be an aging population. On the one hand, in countries with growing populations, the concentration of people of working age will increase, leading to an increase in per capita income. On the other hand, in countries with a predominantly old population, an upward shift in age will test the resilience of social safety nets, especially pension and health care systems, as the number of working people relative to retirees will decline.
A UN report warns that by 2050, half of the world's population will be concentrated in just 9 countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, USA, Uganda and Indonesia.