Population growth statistics for the Western Cape have revealed that the white and coloured populations are on the decline. Picture: Matthew Jordaan/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
There are 267 births globally per minute, that is 4.5 births every second, according to the website World Counts.com.
At the time this article was written, there were exactly 8 000 040 643 people in the world, according to real-time tracking website Worldometers.
If that doesn’t blow your mind, how about this statistic. During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.
With that said, on Tuesday, November 15, the world welcomed its 8 billionth citizen.
The UN reports that since the middle of the 20th century, the world’s population has more than tripled in size.
The global body said that the unprecedented growth of the global population that has occurred since 1950 is the result of two trends: the gradual increase in average human longevity due to widespread improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine, and on the other hand, the persistence of high levels of fertility in many countries.
So what are the factors contributing to this rapid population growth?
According to research by the Pew Research Centre, there are four main drivers of population change and growth: fertility rates, mortality rates (life expectancy), the initial age profile of the population and migration.
Fertility rate
According to the Pew Centre, as a result of declining fertility rates, global population growth is slowing.
According to the UN Population Division, worldwide fertility rates are expected to continue to drop in the decades to come.
Mortality rates (life expectancy)
The current life expectancy in 2022 is 72.98 years, a 0.24% increase from 2021.
According to researchers, as the birth of new individuals escalates the population size, deaths reduce it. Researchers agree that issues that affect the mortality rate consist of the accessibility to and affordability of quality health care and daily life practices.
Migration
According to a paper written by Hania Zlotnik and published by Oxford Academic, titled “Population Growth and International Migration”, international migration is an important process leading to the redistribution of global populations.
Researchers from World Scientific say that with increasing migration, the population distribution between locations changes, including the critical behaviour of extinction of population for some locations for a specific set of the rules. The deserted location may become populated again if the migration is still increasing as a result of a pressure to move.
Age structure
According to academics, the age structure of a population refers to the proportionate numbers of people in different age categories in a given population for a defined time. The age structure is closely related to the birth rate, death rate and migration of a population.
Climate change
The warming of the planet not only threatens food security, freshwater supply, and human health, but also plays a major role contributing to an appreciating or depreciating global population.
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