The world's population will surpass the 8 billion mark in 2023, according to the latest findings from the United Nations annual population survey.
More than half of the growth by 2050 will come from sub-Saharan Africa. The UN predicts fertility rates there will persist at levels far higher than in the rest of the world.
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Half the growth in population will come from nine countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, The US, Uganda and Indonesia.
By 2050, the UN predicts seven of the world’s 20 most populous nations will be African. In contract, most European countries are predicted to see population declines because of low fertility rates. Many Eastern Europe countries are expected to see number fall more than 15% including: Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.
The survey also found that there are more men than women globally (102 men for every 100 women), and the number of people over 60 years-old will top 1 billion in 2018 and 2 billion by 2015. Children under 15 years-old make up about one quarter of the world’s population.
The median age of the world’s population is 30.
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