World Population Expected to Grow to 8.5 Billion in 2030; 9.7 Billion in 2050, and 10.9 Billion in 2100

A UNFPA–YouGov survey of over 14,000 people in 14 countries found most wanted more children but were prevented by social, economic, or health barriers.

To respond to global population trends effectively, leaders must prioritize young people’s needs and voices. They need more than services—they need hope, stability, and a future worth planning for.

As one youth activist told UNFPA, “Young people are not just thinking about their future children—they are thinking about the world those children will inherit.” Supporting their rights is key to sustainable development, peace, and human dignity.

World Population Dashboard

The World Population Dashboard showcases global population data, including fertility rate, gender parity in school enrolment, information on sexual and reproductive health, and much more. Together, these data shine a light on the health and rights of people around the world, especially women and young people.

World Population Trends

It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion – then in just another 200 years or so, it grew sevenfold.

In 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, it stands at almost 7.9 billion in 2021, and it’s expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.

This dramatic growth has been driven largely by increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age, and has been accompanied by major changes in fertility rates, increasing urbanization and accelerating migration.

These trends will have far-reaching implications for generations to come.

The recent past has seen enormous changes in fertility rates and life expectancy. In the early 1970s, women had on average 4.5 children each; by 2015, total fertility for the world had fallen to below 2.5 children per woman.

Meanwhile, average global lifespans have risen, from 64.6 years in the early 1990s to  72.6 years in 2019.

In addition, the world is seeing high levels of urbanization and accelerating migration. 2007 was the first year in which more people lived in urban areas than in rural areas, and by 2050 about 66 per cent of the world population will be living in cities.

These megatrends have far-reaching implications. They affect economic development, employment, income distribution, poverty and social protections.

They also affect efforts to ensure universal access to health care, education, housing, sanitation, water, food and energy.

To more sustainably address the needs of individuals, policymakers must understand how many people are living on the planet, where they are, how old they are, and how many people will come after them.