News Highlight
The UN said India’s population growth appears to be stabilising, which shows that the country’s national policies and health systems, including access to family planning services, are working.
Key Takeaway
- The world population touched eight billion on Tuesday, and India was the largest contributor to the milestone, having added 177 million people, the United Nations said.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) report’s key highlights
- The world’s population
- On 15 November, the world’s population is projected to reach 8 billion people.
- This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine improvements.
- 9 billion global population
- The UN said while it took the global population 12 years to grow from 7 billion to 8 billion, it will take approximately 15 years -until 2037-for it to reach 9 billion -“a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing”.
- 10.4 billion in the 2080s
- The UNFPA projects the world population to peak at 10.4 billion in the 2080s and stay there until the end of the century.
- Most populated region
- As of 2022, more than half the world’s population lives in Asia, with China and India being the two most populous countries, with more than 1.4 billion people each.
- India’s population estimate
- The World Population Prospects 2022 was released in July of this year, but India’s population is estimated at 1.412 billion this year, compared with China’s 1.426 billion.
- Emigration
- International migration is now the driver of growth in many countries, with 281 million people living outside their country of birth in 2020.
- All South Asian nations -India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka- have seen high levels of emigration in recent years.
- India’s population growth
- The report says that India’s population growth appears to be stabilising.
- The Total Fertility Rate – more or less the average number of children born per woman – has declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level.
- Thirty-one states and Union Territories (constituting 69.7 percent of the country’s population) have achieved fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1.
- The total fertility rate (TFR) is a significant determinant of population growth.
- The total fertility rate is the average number of children women would bear.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA)
- About
- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is an important programme under the United Nations.
- It is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly and works as a sexual and reproductive health agency.
- Foundation
- It was established in 1967 as a trust fund; UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
- It became operational in 1969.
- It was later renamed in 1987 to the United Nations Population Fund while retaining the UNFPA abbreviation.
- Funding
- Voluntary contributions support the funds for UNFPA entirely.
- They include donor governments, various foundations and individuals, and intergovernmental organisations.
- The funds are not associated with the United Nations’ regular budget.
- Mission
- To deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
- Objective
- UNFPA works directly to tackle Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG3), education (SDG4) and gender equality (SDG5).
- Report
- State of World Population Report
- Programmes conducted in India by UNFPA
- Integrated sexual and reproductive health services
- Analysis of population dynamics.
- Gender equality
Content Source: Indian Express