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World’s population to reach 11 billion by 2100

World's population to reach 11 billion by 2100

A new statistical analysis reveals that the world’s population will surge nearly 11 billion by the end of the century, according to a United Nations report.

The reported amount is about eight percent (800) million more than estimated rate of 10.1 billion reported in 2011.

The analysis demonstrated that fertility in Africa plays major role in the projected rise while the experts had earlier expected the area’s birth rates to decline more quickly than they have.

“The fertility decline in Africa has slowed down or stalled to a larger extent than we previously predicted, and as a result the African population will go up,” said study co-author Adrian Raftery, a statistician at the University of Washington.

Life expectancy is to rise in many countries especially as better AIDS treatments avert early deaths in numerous African states, study says.

Moreover, women’s lack of power in their dealing with men, and traditions such as early marriage and polygamy have also slowed change in Africa,

The current world’s population is reported to be around 7.092 billion from which African population is about 1.1 billion that is now estimated to have nearly a fourfold rise, about 4.2 billion, by 2100.

The team issued the recent report based on the improved fertility forecasting methods combined with updated data collected by the United Nations.

“In other areas of the world, fewer major population changes are expected. They may see modest increases due to longer life expectancies,” Raftery noted.

The researchers also estimated that Europe might have a slight dip in population, due to a below-replacement birth rate as more people are dying than being born at the area.

The world population has experienced continuous growth since the end of the Great Famine and the Black Death in 1350, when it stood at around 370 million.

Asia is now the most populous continent, with its 4.2 billion inhabitants accounting for over 60% of the world population. China and India have been reported as the world’s two most-populated countries.

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