World Population Day

In 1989, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme recommended that 11th July be observed by the international community as World Population Day, a day to focus attention on the urgency and importance of  population issues.

Current estimates indicate that roughly 83 million people are being added to the world’s population every year. Even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline, the global population is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to the medium-variant projection.

Why World Population Day is celebrated

The aim of the celebration is to pay great attention towards the reproductive health problems of the community people as it is the leading cause of the ill health as well as the death of the pregnant women worldwide. The campaign of the World Population Day every year increases the knowledge and skills of the people worldwide towards their reproductive health and family planning.

Through this great awareness celebration, people are encouraged to take part in the event to know about population issues like importance of family planning towards the increasing population, gender equality, maternal and baby health, poverty, human rights, right to health, sexuality education, use of contraceptives and safety measures like condoms, reproductive health, adolescent pregnancy, girl child education, child marriage, sexually transmitted infections, etc.

Sexuality related issues are very necessary to solve among youth, especially those between 15 to 19 years of age. Access to safe, voluntary family planning is a human right. It is also central to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and is a key factor in reducing poverty. Investments in making family planning available also yields economic and other gains that can propel development forward.

Theme for 2022

This year's World Population Day theme is A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all - Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all.

In 2011, the world reached a population of 7 billion. This year, the number will hit 8 billion, prompting the attendant responses. Some will marvel at the advancements in health that have extended lifespans, reduced maternal mortality and child mortality and given rise to vaccine development in record time. Others will tout technological innovations that have eased our lives and connected us more than ever. Still others will herald gains in gender equality. 

But progress is not universal, throwing inequality into razor-sharp relief. Women are still dying in childbirth. Gender gaps remain entrenched. The digital divide leaves more women and those in developing countries offline. More recently, COVID-19 vaccines remain unevenly distributed. And the same concerns and challenges raised 11 years ago remain or have worsened: Climate change, violence, discrimination. The world reached a particularly grim milestone in May: More than 100 million forcibly displaced worldwide. 

In an ideal world, 8 billion people means 8 billion opportunities for healthier societies empowered by rights and choices. But the playing field is not and has never been even. Based on gender, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, disability and origin, among other factors, too many are still exposed to discrimination, harassment and violence. We do ourselves no favors when neglecting those left behind.

Let no alarmist headline distract from the work at hand: investing in human and physical capital for inclusive, productive societies that uphold human and reproductive rights. Only then can we tackle the enormous challenges facing our planet and forge a world where health, dignity and education are rights and realities, not privileges and empty promises. In a world of 8 billion, there must always be space for possibility.

World Population Trends

It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion – then in just another 200 years or so, it grew sevenfold. In 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, and this year it will touch 8 billion, and it's expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.

Since the middle of the 20th century, the world has experienced unprecedented population growth. The world’s population more than tripled in size between 1950 and 2020. The growth rate of the world’s population reached a peak between 1965 and 1970, when human numbers were increasing by an average of 2.1% per year.

During the period from 2000 to 2020, even though the global population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2%, 48 countries or areas grew at least twice as fast: these included 33 countries or areas in Africa and 12 in Asia.

The life span of adults in the developed world has increased since the middle of the 20th century - the number of people reaching the age of 100 years has never been greater than it is today.

Worldwide, the number of deaths relative to the size of the population has been declining since the 1950s, Over the next several decades, projections by the United Nations assume a continuing gradual decrease in age-specific mortality rates.

Objective of celebrations

Some of the objectives of celebrating the world population day are

• It is celebrated to protect and empower youths of both gender like girls and boys.
• To offer them detail knowledge about the sexuality and delay marriages till they become able to understand their responsibilities.
• Educate youths to avoid unwanted pregnancies by using reasonable and youth friendly measures.
• Educate people to remove the gender stereotypes from society.
• Educate them about the pregnancy related illnesses to raise the public awareness about dangers of early childbirth.
• Educate them about STD (sexually transmitted diseases) to get prevented from various infections.
• Make sure about the access of equal primary education to both girls and boys.
• Make sure the easy access of reproductive health services everywhere as part the basic primary health for each couple.

Sources :

1. https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-population-day
2. http://www.unfpa.org/events/world-population-day
3. Family Planning: A Right and a Choice
4. State of World Population 2022