But don’t count on it. The Population Division estimates that the population of Africa will increase from the current 1.2 billion to between 3.4 billion and 5.6 billion people. Now, the United Nations (UN) Population Division has announced that the population is likely to surpass 11 billion in 2100. He was speaking in a session concentrated on demographic forecasting at the “2015 Joint Statistical Meetings” in Seattle.
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In the U.S. alone, the population is expected to grow from about 322 million to 450 million by 2100.
Currently, the world’s population is about 7.3 billion and growing each day.
With the release of this latest report from the United Nations, it is crucial for the governments of the world to start to seriously plan for the future and take into consideration the projected boom in the world population numbers, in terms of how to create a sustainable society depending on the specific demographics within each country. Wilmoth said that one way to measure this is to look at the potential support ratio (PSR), which indicates how the population is ageing, and the burden placed on the working population to support the elderly.
It is considered the number of workers per retiree. By 2100, that is expected to fall by more than half, putting it lower than the current ratio in Japan, which has the lowest in the world.
In the United States, where the median age of the population is expected to increase from today’s 38.0 years to 44.7 years in 2100, the PSR is projected to decline from 4.0 to 1.9. Then, by the turn of the century, this figure will soar to an astounding 11.2 billion.
Niger is expected to have the highest PSR by the end of the century at 6.5.
Population growth will be driven primarily by Sub-Saharan Africa, which now sits at around 1.2 billion and could rise as high as 5.6 billion.
Director Wilmoth said according to models of demographic change derived from historical experience, it is estimated the global population will be anything between 9.5 and 13.3 billion. The growth is due to persistent high levels of fertility and the recent slowdown in the rate of fertility decline.
It appears declining fertility rates that have long plagued countries like Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, have stalled.
According to the report, however, Asia will still hold the distinction of being the most populous continent. That’s almost 2.5 times its current size.
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Rapid population growth in high-fertility countries can fuel a range of existing problems including pollution, a scarcity of resources, unemployment, poverty, crime and political unrest.
