In November of 2022, the world population reached eight billion. If not already, the population of India is projected to surpass that of China—regarded as the most populous country in the world—this month. There are several possible factors that account for the rapid growth of world population since reaching seven billion in just early 2012. According to NPR, people are living longer due to better medical care, water, sanitation, agriculture, and nutrition, and in turn, decreasing disease. Regardless, these milestones alone are difficult to articulate, but perhaps what is more interesting is the implications that the new population statistics hold for the world as a whole.

Interestingly, in spite of the population boom, global fertility rates have actually declined. Across several countries, this has—and will continue to—greatly impact population demographics, according to National Geographic. Fertility rates have particularly declined in developed countries due to more readily available contraception and longer education, as well as the increase in acceptability of delaying or forgoing motherhood. In China, birth rates have declined since the erratic stages of communism led first to a period of starvation and later to the infamous one-child policy. In Italy, the population demographic is disproportionately over the age of 65 due to fertility rates so low that they comparatively make the elderly portion of the population greater. In the United States, the only population changes that offset the declining fertility rates is the increase in immigration. In India, the population boom will enable them to surpass the population of China—if it has not already. In fact, the population of India is so massive that the fertility rate is now below population replacement. In Nigeria, as with many other countries in Africa, fertility rates actually remain high compared to the rest of the world. 

How can these population shifts and statistics be interpreted in practice? The population of less developed countries, despite declining birth rates, is “booming” in comparison to the decline of populations in more developed countries. Africa is experiencing higher fertility rates than the rest of the world, meaning a rapidly growing population. Nigeria in particular is experiencing a population boom; by 2050, National Geographic projects them to have a population of almost 400 million in a country less than one-tenth the size of the entire United States. Problems arise as nations like Nigeria do not have sufficient resources to manage such a large population, even aside from the lack of physical space. The global shift of fertility away from developed countries and into the less developed world opens doors for a certain amount of chaos. Concerns include overcrowding, economic downturn, and a strain on public service sectors, especially if fertility rates in such countries are not curbed.

The world is, in theory, able to support a population of eight billion and counting, according to NPR. Population threatens climate change and quality of life across the globe if countries cannot work together to manage the “booms” and “busts” of global fertility rates. Human ingenuity and cooperation will be paramount to the continued development, achievement, and survival of such a large—and growing—world population.