Contemporary Issues of the World

Unit 13.3: Rise of Population in the World

 Learning Objective

Calculate the rise of population in world from ancient

to modern times

Compartmentalize the impacts of population growth

on environment and resources of the world
 Rise in Population: Some Data
• The world population today that is 1,860-times the size of what it was 12 millennia ago when the world
population was around 4 million – half of the current population of London.
• However, according to Pew Research Center 2019 estimates, population growth rate has now started
declining because of falling birth rates and aging populations.
• By 2050, global fertility is expected to be 2.2 births per woman, down from 2.5 today.
• Meanwhile, the world’s median age is projected to be 36 by 2050, up from the current age of 31.
• However, the change is not equal across the globe.
• Europe is projected to have the oldest median age, 47 years, in 2050. But Latin America and the
Caribbean, long known for its younger population, is expected to see the biggest shift, with its median
age, currently 31, poised to increase to 41.
• Similarly, while the fertility rate in Europe would decline only from 2.66 to 1.72, in Asia it will decline from
5.83 to 1.88 and in Latin America and the Caribbean from 5.83 to 1.75.
References
Books and Articles:
• “Population Change as a Global Challenge” (pp. 485-493) in World Politics by Charles W. Kegley
and Shannon L. Blanton.
• Neil Ruiz, Luis Noe-Bustamante, and Nadya Saber, “Coming of Age.” Finance and Development 57,
no. 1(2020), 46-47.
Web Sources:
• https
://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth#:~:text=This%20implies%20that%20on%20average,e
ver%20lived%20on%20our%20planet
.
Thanks