UN estimates 2050 global population to touch 9.1 bn

The world’s population will increase by 40 per cent to 9.1 billion in 2050 but virtually all the growth will be in the developing world...

The world’s population will increase by 40 per cent to 9.1 billion in 2050 but virtually all the growth will be in the developing world, especially in the 50 poorest countries, the UN Population Division said.

Between 2005 and 2050, eight countries —— India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Congo, Bangladesh, Uganda, US, China and Ethiopia —— are likely to contribute half of the world’s population increase.

India would have overtaken China’s growth by 2030 , th report said. The report predicted that India and China would exchange places, mainly because of differences in fertility. India, at 1.103 billion people this year would reach 1.593 billion by 2050, while China will reach 1.392 billion.

The division’s revision f earlier estimates said the population in less developed countries is expected to swell from 5.3 billion today to 7.8 billion in 2050. By contrast, the population of richer countries will remain mostly unchanged, at 1.2 billion.

‘‘It is going to be a strain on the world,’’ Hania Zlotnik, the division’s new director, told a news conference. She said the expected growth has ‘‘important and serious implications’’ because it will be concentrated in countries that already have problems providing adequate shelter, health care and education. The population is projected to at least triple in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Congo, the Republic of Congo, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger and Uganda.

Median fertility is expected to decline from 2.6 children per woman today to slightly over 2 children per woman in 2050. —PTI