The United Nations says that just 11 years after crossing the seven billion milestones, the world's population has reached eight billion.
After a significant increase in the second half of the 20th century, population growth may now be slowing and it may take 15 years to reach nine billion.
The United Nations does not expect the world's population to reach ten billion by the year 2080.
The United Nations has chosen the fifth, sixth and seventh billion children in the past years on the occasion of the world's population reaching eight billion. What can their stories tell us about global population growth?
The United Nations says that just 11 years after crossing the seven billion milestone the world's population has reached eight billion.
After a significant increase in the second half of the 20th century, population growth may now be slowing and it may take 15 years to reach nine billion.
The United Nations does not expect the world's population to reach ten billion by the year 2080.
The United Nations has chosen the fifth, sixth and seventh billion children in the past years on the occasion of the world's population reaching eight billion. What can their stories tell us about global population growth?
Just outside Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, Sadia Sultana Oshi helps her mother peel potatoes for dinner.
She is 11 years old and prefers to play soccer outside, but her parents live a modest life. The family had to move here when their business selling clothes and sarees was hit by the coronavirus.
Life in the village is easier than in the city, so he is still able to pay school fees for his three daughters.
Oshi is considered to be the youngest and a symbol of good luck for the family. The name of this girl born in the year 2011 was one of the seven billionth children in the world.
Oshie's mother had no idea what was about to happen. They didn't even expect the baby to be born that day. After visiting the doctor, he was sent to the labor ward for an emergency operation.
Awaishi was born at 12:11 midnight, with TV crews and local officials flocking to see her. The family was surprised but happy.
Oshie's father had hoped for a boy but is now happy with his three hard-working, intelligent daughters. Her elder daughter is already studying at university and Aweshi is determined to become a doctor.
He says, 'We are not that rich and Covid has made things more difficult, but I will do everything to fulfill this dream of my daughter.'
Since Oshi's birth, the growing population of Bangladesh has added another 1.7 million people.
In 1980, the average number of children per woman in Bangladesh was more than six, now it is less than two, and one of the reasons is that Bangladesh has also focused on education. As women become more educated they tend to choose smaller families.
The three main bodies that estimate world population, the United Nations, the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, and the IIASA-Wittgenstein Center in Vienna, have different views on the benefits of education.
The United Nations says that the world population will reach 10.4 billion in the 2080s, but the IHME and the Wittgenstein Center think it will happen much sooner, but these are just estimates.
A lot has changed in the world since Oshie was born in 2011, and demographers are constantly surprised. IISA demographer Samir KC says, "We were not expecting that AIDS deaths would decrease so much, that treatment would save so many lives."
They had to change their model because the improvement in child mortality has a long-term effect as the surviving children reproduce themselves and then the birth rate is likely to drop dramatically.
Samir KC says demographers were surprised when the number of children born per woman in South Korea fell to an average of 0.81.
So, how low will it go? This is the big question for us. This is something that more and more countries will have to deal with as half of the next billion people will come from just eight countries, most of them in Africa.
Most countries will have a birth rate below 2.1 children per woman, which is necessary to maintain the population. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, one of the world's fastest-dwindling populations, 23-year-old Adnan Muev thinks about this a lot.
He has done a Master's in Economics and is looking for a job. If they do not find a job, then they will move to the EU. Like many parts of Eastern Europe, their country has suffered from declining birth rates and more mass migration.
Adnan is currently living outside Sarajevo with his mother Fatima, who has few memories of his birth.
"I felt something was unusual because the doctors and nurses were gathering around but I couldn't tell what was going on," says Fatima.
He laughed and said that when Adnan was born, the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, was there to name him the six billionth child in the world. I was so tired, I don't know what I felt."
Adnan and his mother have a photo album of a small boy sitting in front of a giant cake, which can be seen flanked by figures in suit boats and military personnel in khaki uniforms.
Adnan says that politicians were coming to them when other children were celebrating their birthdays.
But for this reason, there were some privileges for Adnan. Being the six billionth child, he was invited to meet his hero Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid when he was 11 years old.
Amazingly, the world's population has increased by two billion people in 23 years.
"It's really too much," he says. I don't know how this beautiful planet of ours will cope.
No comments:
Post a Comment