Chinanews.com, Beijing, November 15 (Zhang Naiyue) According to the United Nations "World Population Prospects 2022" report, the global population will reach 8 billion today.

Open this report, what else can we know?

Source of the United Nations "World Population Prospects 2022" report: United Nations website

——How long did it take to go from 7 billion to 8 billion?

　　11 years.

According to previous statistics from the United Nations Population Fund, the global population reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011.

It took 11 years and half a month for the world population to grow from 7 billion to 8 billion today.

——How many people are there at most in the world?

　　About 10.4 billion.

According to the latest projections of the United Nations, the global population will reach a peak of about 10.4 billion in the 1980s and remain at this level until 2100.

　　However, there are also differences in the data given by different research institutions. For example, a 2020 study by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington in the United States showed that the global population will peak in 2064, but it will not reach 10 billion. It will be reduced to 8.8 billion in 2100.

—Where is the most populous place in the world now?

　　Asia.

In 2022, the two most populous regions will be distributed in Asia: among them, East and Southeast Asia will have a population of 2.3 billion (about 29% of the global population), and Central and South Asia will have a population of 2.1 billion (about 26% of the global population).

——India's population will surpass that of China?

　　almost.

China and India each have a population of more than 1.4 billion, accounting for the majority of the population of the two regions mentioned above.

India is expected to become the most populous country as early as 2023 and reach about 1.67 billion in 2050.

Data map: Crowds in a market in Mumbai, India.

—Where is the new population more?

　　The United Nations predicts that by 2050, more than half of the world's new population will be concentrated in eight countries including Congo (Kinshasa), Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.

- Will the population continue to grow?

　　Yes, but the rate of growth is slowing.

The world population grew at a rate of 2.1% per annum between 1962-1965, after which the growth rate declined sharply to less than 1% in 2020.

By 2050, the annual global population growth rate may drop to around 0.5%.

　　In addition, in 2021, the average fertility rate of the global population will be 2.3, that is, each woman will have 2.3 children in her lifetime. In 1950, the fertility rate was 5, and it is expected to drop to 2.1 in 2050.

——How do people live?

　　Global average life expectancy continues to increase.

In 2019, the average global life expectancy was 72.8 years, an increase of 9 years from 1990; by 2050, the average life expectancy is expected to reach 77.2 years.

　　However, the combination of continuously increasing life expectancy and declining fertility rate will exacerbate population aging. The proportion of the population over 65 years old will increase from 10% in 2022 to 16% in 2050.

— What does the United Nations say?

　　United Nations Secretary-General Guterres stated in "Eight Billion People, One Humanity" that while the human family is growing, it is also facing growing inequality.

If these issues are not addressed, the world will be filled with tension and mistrust, crises and conflicts.

　　He also quoted Mahatma Gandhi as saying, "There is enough in the world to satisfy everyone's needs - but not enough to satisfy everyone's greed."