According to information from the United Nations, the number of humans on the planet has reached eight billion, and this happened a mere 11 years after the seven-billionth milestone, BBC informs.
After the baby boom wage in the mid-20th century the growth of the human population on the planet has started slowing down. About 15 years may be necessary for the population to reach nine billion. UN experts believe the planet may see a population of ten billion no sooner than 2080. It is difficult to determine the exact number of people, and the UN admits that their proposed number may be one or two years behind the real situation. It is believed that 15 November may have been the exact moment the eight million milestone was reached.
In previous years the UN put efforts into finding milestone children – five-billionth, six-billionth and seven-millionth resident of Earth. What do their stories tell us about population changes in the world?
Mere minutes after her birth in July 1987, Matej Gaspar’s eyes were surprised by the light and the speech of medical personnel around him and his exhausted mother. British representative to the UN Alex Marshall at the time was stuck in the back of a motorcade outside and feels somewhat guilty for the momentary chaos that he cause for the tiny maternity unit in Zagreb. «We basically looked at the projections and dreamed up this idea that the world population would pass five billion in 1987,» he said, adding that 11 July was the most likely date. He and his colleagues then decided to find the five-billionth resident of Earth. This surprised UN demographers: «They explained to us ignorant people that we didn’t know what we were doing. And we really shouldn’t be picking out one individual among so many.»
But the demographers’ condemning attitude did not deter him, however.
«It was about putting a face to the numbers. We found out where the secretary general was going to be that day and it went from there,» said Marshall.
35 years later the five-billionth resident is trying to forget the ceremony. According to his Facebook page, he lives in Zagreb, is happily married and works as a chemical engineer. He avoids interviews and refused to speak with BBC. «Well, I don’t blame him,» Marchall said, recalling the media circus of Matej’s first day.
Another three billion people have been brought into this world since 1987. For the next 35 years experts predict two billion more people. After that, experts believe the population will stabilise and growth will stop.
In the outskirts of Dhaka in Bangladesh, Sadia Sultana Oishee is helping her mother peel potatoes for supper. She would rather be outside playing football, but her parents are strict and maintain discipline. The family moved there after their business, selling fabric and saris, was hit by the pandemic. Life in the village is cheaper, and parents can afford schooling for their three daughters.
Oishee is the youngest of the three. Born in 2011, she became one of the babies considered the seventh-billionth human on Earth.
Her mother had no idea, however, and she had no plans to give birth that day. After her examination she was sent to the maternity ward for a cesarean. Oishee was born one minute after midnight, with TV operators and local officials present. The family felt shocked and blessed at the same time. Although the father expected a son, he is happy now with three clever and hard-working daughters.
Since Oishee’s birth the population in Bangladesh has increased by 17 million people.
Population growth is related to the advancements in medicine. At the same time, the speed at which the human population increases is gradually slowing down. In the 1980s every woman in Bangladesh had more than six children. Now the average is less than two. This comes from the fact that the state now puts a higher emphasis on education, as educated women have fewer children. This tendency is important to understand where the demographic indexes are going.
Dipping birth rates also play a major role – there are nations in which families have fewer children than necessary to sustain the population.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the countries in which the population is going down the fastest. 23-year-old Adnan Mevic thinks about this quite a lot. «There is going to be nobody left to pay for pensions for retired people,» he said. «All the young people will be gone.» The man holds a Master’s degree in economics and he is currently looking for work. If he fails to find work in his home country, he will leave to look for work in the EU. Similarly to other Eastern European countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina was struck by a double blow: low birth rates and high emigration numbers.
Adnan Mevic lives with his mother, Fatima, not far from Sarajevo. She has surreal memories of his birth: «I realised something was unusual because doctors and nurses were gathering around but I couldn’t tell what was happening.» Then the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived to christen the boy and officially declare him the seven-millionth resident of Earth. While other children had parties for their birthdays, Adnan had politicians visiting him, he recalls. Adnan said the population growth observed in the past 23 years is impressive: «That’s really a lot. I don’t know how our beautiful planet will cope.»