World population reaches eight billion according to UN

The world’s eighth billionth person has been born on Tuesday (15 November), the United Nations has announced.

Reaching the milepost is “a sign of human success, but it’s also a great risk for our future,” director of the UN’s population division John Wilmoth says.

According to the UN, while the population is actually growing at its slowest rate since 1950, it is projected it could reach 8.5 billion in 2030.

It will then, researchers forecast, reach a peak of around 10.4 billion in the 2080s, a level at which it should remain until 2100.

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