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When Will The Global Population Reach Its Peak?
Visual Capitalist ^ | 11/09/2023 | Marcus Lu ; Graphics/Design: Miranda Smith

Posted on 11/09/2023 9:11:47 PM PST by SeekAndFind

When will the world reach its peak population?

According to data from the United Nations’ 2022 Revision of its World Population Prospects, we could see a peak of over 10.4 billion people sometime in the late 2080s.

While the UN’s projections are the most widely used, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the most accurate. Several alternative models have predicted an earlier and lower peak, suggesting that the world’s population could decline sooner than expected.

In the UN’s latest revisions, it lowered its own estimates for global population in 2100, from 10.9 billion (as of 2019) to 10.4 billion (as of 2022).

In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcu Lu and Miranda Smith visualized population projections to 2100 from three organizations: the UN, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).

Data and Highlights

The population projection data we used to create this graphic is listed in the table below. Note that UN projections are as of 2022, IHME are as of 2020, and IIASA are as of 2014.

From this data we can see that the UN expects the world to hit peak population in 2086, as well as maintain above 10 billion people in 2100.

On the other hand, neither the IHME nor IIASA models expect global population to reach 10 billion, instead forecasting a peak of 9.7 billion in the 2060s (IHME) or 9.4 billion in 2070 (IIASA). Both models also predict population to fall back to the 8 billion range by 2100.

The differential at 2100 is substantial, with IHME’s forecast lower than the UN’s by 1.6 billion people, for example.

What Is the IHME and IIASA, and Why Do They Differ?

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is a Seattle-based research institute founded in 2007 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its mission is to “deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice.”

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), on the other hand, is an international research institute based in Austria, dating back to 1972. It was established to improve scientific cooperation between the Soviet Union and the U.S., and today has members in over 20 countries.

To understand why the IHME and IIASA models differ from the UN’s, let’s look at each organization’s projections for fertility rate, which is measured as the number of children per woman.

Based on this chart, the IHME and IIASA expect global fertility rates to fall at a quicker rate pre-2050, then stabilize as we approach 2100. This contrasts with the UN’s projections, which expect fertility to decrease at a slower, steadier rate all the way to 2100.

Generally speaking, a country’s birth rate declines as it becomes more developed. This is due to many factors like higher education rates for women (and thus more women in the workforce), greater access to contraceptives and family planning, as well as higher childbearing costs.

How Fast Will Fertility Rates Fall in Africa?

Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, but this is quickly falling as the region experiences rapid economic growth.. For instance, GDP per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa has climbed from $632 in 2000, to $1,690 in 2022.

Because of this economic transformation, some researchers believe that Africa will undergo a fast demographic transition similar to East Asia, in which population growth falls off sharply. For instance, a UNICEF survey from 2021 found that fertility rates in Nigeria had fallen from 5.8 to 4.6 (a 17% decrease) in just five years time.

ℹ️ Consider this July 2023 article from the Wilson Center for more context on the evolution of Nigeria’s demographics.

Now going back to the question at hand, let’s see how the UN and IHME’s fertility rate projections for Sub-Saharan Africa differ.

These differences may seem small, but even a few decimal places can have a huge impact. For example, let’s revisit the UN’s population projection for the year 2100, which was 10.4 billion people.

Under the UN’s low fertility scenario (birth rates remain 0.5 lower), population in 2100 would be a significantly smaller 7.0 billion. Meanwhile, under the high fertility scenario (birth rates remain 0.5 higher), population would balloon to 14.7 billion.

As a result, how birth rates change in high fertility regions like Sub-Saharan Africa will have a significant influence on when the global population will reach its peak.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: demographics; peak; population
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1 posted on 11/09/2023 9:11:47 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

The places reproducing the most are the lower end of the iq spectrum. Who wants to live in a world where it’s more like “Idiocracy” every passing day? I mean in America, we’re already there. Biden opens the floodgates for low iq rushing into the place.


2 posted on 11/09/2023 9:17:44 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I bet WW III upsets all their calculations.


3 posted on 11/09/2023 9:18:12 PM PST by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals)
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To: VanShuyten

🔝

World War III

Population Reduction

The Great Reset


4 posted on 11/09/2023 9:19:44 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: SeekAndFind

As soon as that dumbass moron Pedo Joe has everybody on the planet living in the United States.


5 posted on 11/09/2023 9:20:22 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer ('Build Back Better' is a Bidenskyyyyyyism for 'we gotta get rid of all dem white peoples'.)
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To: SeekAndFind

It used to be called “carrying capacity.” It was not accurate then, and despite a new name, it is not accurate now. There is only one reason the UN has brought it back now: control. No one knows what the Earth can support in terms of population. This UN crap is nonsense, as is all they do.


6 posted on 11/09/2023 9:21:18 PM PST by Fungi
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To: SeekAndFind

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Genesis 1:28

He never ever said, “Stop. That’s enough!”


7 posted on 11/09/2023 9:25:03 PM PST by Dogbert41 (“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” -Matthew 5:9)
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To: Fungi
“the Earth can support “

All we can make ...

but we need more vaccines ...

8 posted on 11/09/2023 9:26:28 PM PST by 1of10 (be vigilant , be strong, be safe, be 1 of 10 .)
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To: SeekAndFind

Just before The Great Tribulation.


9 posted on 11/09/2023 9:29:05 PM PST by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Or it Bill gates has his way, it already has.


10 posted on 11/09/2023 9:29:39 PM PST by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.)
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To: SeekAndFind
wp3967746
11 posted on 11/09/2023 9:34:52 PM PST by Nervous Tick ("First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people...": ISLAM is the problem!)
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To: SeekAndFind
Several alternative models

They keep creating models until they get one that fits their desired outcome.

Model = guess.


12 posted on 11/09/2023 9:41:46 PM PST by TomGuy
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To: SeekAndFind

There will be a new heaven and a new Earth long before 2080.


13 posted on 11/09/2023 10:38:23 PM PST by roving (👌⚓Deplorable Listless Vessel with Trumpitist who looks Trumpish)
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To: SeekAndFind

We’re at our peak right now. If Bill Gates has his way, Billions will die soon.


14 posted on 11/10/2023 1:58:33 AM PST by lucky american (Progressives are attacking our rights and y'all will sit there and take it.)
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To: VanShuyten
When I was a kid growing up in the ‘60’s I remember being bombarded by hearing ‘’400,00 thousand Americans die every year from cigarette smoking''. So how's that going?
15 posted on 11/10/2023 2:03:06 AM PST by jmacusa (Liberals. Too stupid to be idiots.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I think the human population will stop growing within 10 years.

Every year, more and more young people realize that having children is really expensive and really hard work.

And, especially in prosperous countries, more and more young people realize that children do not even notice the sacrifices their parents make.


16 posted on 11/10/2023 3:23:50 AM PST by zeestephen (Trump "Lost" By 43,000 Votes - Spread Across Three States - GA, WI, AZ)
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To: SeekAndFind

According to the United Nations...

That ended it for me.


17 posted on 11/10/2023 3:37:39 AM PST by maddog55 (The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it!)
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To: SeekAndFind; All

Interesting post and thread. Thanks.


18 posted on 11/10/2023 4:06:56 AM PST by PGalt (Past Peak Civilization?)
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To: SeekAndFind

Convincing the crazies that depopulation is needed to survive and a noble quest. who do you think will be on thier chopping block, the jews and then us


19 posted on 11/10/2023 4:17:13 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: SeekAndFind

The majority of the world’s population lives within 2500 miles of Hanoi.


20 posted on 11/10/2023 4:23:56 AM PST by FarCenter
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