IT took all of human history until 1804 for the world population to grow to one billion. More than a century later, in 1927, we crossed two billion. In 1960, there were three billion people living on the planet. The fourth billion person was born in 1974. In 1987, 13 years later, global population hit five billion. After 12 years, we reached the six-billion mark in 1999. On October 31, 2011, the world population reached seven billion people.
More than 136 million babies are born each year around the globe. The 2021 average of 18.1 births per 1,000 population equates to approximately 4.3 births per second, or about 259 births per minute for the world. This means the current world population is growing by about 372,960 people every day. That’s exactly 136,130,400 babies born in this world every year. That’s how the United Nations estimated that the 8 billionth person on Earth will be born on November 15, 2022.
It has taken 11 years for one billion people to be added to the global population, and a Filipino baby girl was chosen as the symbolic eighth billion person in the world. Vinice Mabansag was born at Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital at 1:29 a.m. on Tuesday. The Commission on Population and Development, which posted photos of the baby girl and her mother on Facebook, gave a “welcome cake” to Vinice to celebrate the milestone. Why was the Philippines chosen as the birthplace of the eighth billion person in the world? How was Baby Vinice chosen as the symbolic eighth billion person in the world? Good questions. But, as in the past, the United Nations wants to keep this a “mystery.”
The World Population Prospects 2022 said that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman, roughly the level required for zero growth in the long run for a population with low mortality. The populations of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1 percent or more between 2022 and 2050, owing to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, elevated rates of emigration.
The United Nations said global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 percent in 2020. The latest UN projections suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.
More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: The Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United Republic of Tanzania. Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050.
After the Philippines surpassed the 100-million population mark in 2015, millions of Filipinos continue to live below the poverty line. According to the National Economic and Development Authority, poverty incidence rose to 18.1 percent of the population or about 20 million people in 2021 from 16.7 percent or 17.7 million Filipinos in 2018.
As we join the world in celebrating the birth in the Philippines of the eighth billion person in the world, we pray that our leaders will realize that the main cause of poverty in the country is inequality. One way to reduce such inequality is to ensure that poor and vulnerable populations have access to formal employment. It pays to remember that every productive citizen adds to the country’s economic strength.