World Population Day

World Population Day was established in the year 1989. At that time, the world population was recorded at a little over 5 billion. World Population Day is held on 11 July every year, and is observed across the globe to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues worldwide. While today we celebrated the World Population Day, for India, it is yet another chance to focus on effective family planning methods.

Today, the current world population is about 7.6 billion people and growing, as per Worldometers. While the most populated country in the world is China, India stands at the second position. India has a population of over 1.2 billion and China has a population of over 1.3 billion and together they contribute to 19% and 18 % of the global population, according to a 2017 UN report. The report predicted that India will surpass China around 2024.
The concerning sign, however, is that the world’s population is 7.6 billion and is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030. It is said that around 83 million people

More people live in urban than rural areas, with 55 percent residing in urban areas in 2018, compared to 30 percent in 1950. By 2050 this proportion is expected to reach approximately 70 percent.

– The most urbanised regions are North America (with 82 percent of people living in urban areas), Latin America and the Caribbean (81 percent), Europe (74 percent) and Oceania (68 percent).

– Asia is about 50 percent urbanised, while Africa is still predominantly rural (43 percent).

– Africa and Asia are home to nearly 90 percent of the world’s rural population, with India having the largest number of people living in rural areas (893 million), followed by China (578 million).

– Tokyo is the world’s largest city with 37 million inhabitants, followed by Delhi with 29 million and Shanghai with 26 million people.

– The world is ageing rapidly. People aged 60 and older make up 12.3 per cent of the global population, and by 2050, that number will rise to almost 22 percent.