Projections of population growth


Population projections are attempts to show how the human population living today will change in the future. These projections are an important input to forecasts of the population’s impact on this planet and humanity’s future well-being.
The 2019 forecast from the United Nation’s Population Division shows that world population growth peaked at 2.1% per year in 1962, has since dropped to 1.0%, and could drop even further to 0.1% by 2100, a growth rate not seen since pre-industrial revolution days.
Based on this, the UN Population Division expects world population, currently at 7.8 billion, to level out at or soon after the end of the 21st Century at 10.9 billion, assuming a continuing decrease in the global average fertility rate from 2.5 births per woman during the 2015–2020 period to 1.9 in 2095–2100, according to the medium-variant projection.
About two thirds of the predicted growth in population between 2020 and 2050 will take place in Africa.
Because of population momentum the global population will continue to grow, although at a steadily slower rate, for the remainder of this century, but the main driver of long-term future population growth will be the evolution of the global average fertility rate.

Growth regions

The table below shows that from 2020 to 2050, the bulk of the world's population growth is predicted to take place in Africa: of the additional 1.9 billion people projected between 2020 and 2050, 1.2 billion will be added in Africa, 0.7 billion in Asia and zero in the rest of the world. Africa's share of global population is projected to grow from 17% in 2020 to 26% in 2050 and 39% by 2100, while the share of Asia will fall from 59% in 2020 to 55% in 2050 and 43% in 2100.The strong growth of the African population will happen regardless of the rate of decrease of fertility, because of the exceptional proportion of young people already living today. For example, the UN projects that the population of Nigeria will surpass that of the United States by about 2050.
RegionPop
2020
% of
Total
Pop
2050
% of
Total
Chg
2020–50
Pop
2100
% of
Total
Africa1.3172.5261.24.339
Asia4.6595.3550.74.743
Other1.9241.9200.01.917
World7.81009.71001.910.9100

The population of the More Developed regions is slated to remain mostly unchanged, at 1.3 billion for the remainder of the 21st century.  All population growth comes from the Less Developed regions.
RegionPop
2020
% of
Total
Pop
2050
% of
Total
Chg
2020–50
Pop
2100
% of
Total
More Developed1.3171.3130.01.312
Less Developed6.5838.4871.99.688
World7.81009.71001.910.9100

The table below breaks out the UN’s future population growth predictions by region
Region2020–25
% chg/yr

2045–50
% chg/yr
2095–2100
% chg/yr
Africa2.41.80.6
Asia0.80.1-0.4
Europe0.0-0.3-0.1
Latin America & the Caribbean0.80.2-0.5
Northern America0.60.30.2
Oceania1.20.80.4
World1.00.50.0

Between 2020 and the end of this century, the UN predicts that all six regions will experience  declines in population growth, that by the end of the century three of them will be experiencing population decline, and the world will have reached zero population growth.

World population in 2050

The median scenario of the UN 2019 World Population Prospects predicts the following populations per region in 2050, in billions:
20002050growth%/yr
Asia3.745.29+41%+0.7%
Africa0.812.49+207%+2.3%
Europe0.730.71-3%-0.1%
South/Central America
+Caribbean
0.520.76+46%+0.8%
Northern America0.310.43+39%+0.7%
Oceania0.030.06+100%+1.4%
World6.149.74+60%+0.9%


After 2050

Projections of population reaching more than one generation into the future are highly speculative: Thus, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs report of 2004 projected the world population to peak at 9.22 billion in 2075 and then stabilise at a value close to 9 billion;
By contrast, a 2014 projection by the United Nations Population Division predicts a population close to 11 billion by 2100 without any declining trend in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, a conservative scenario published in 2012 assumes that a maximum of 8 billion will be reached before 2040.
Projections for after 2050 have usually assumed that fertility rates will have declined by then and the population will be stable or will decrease. However, a study in 2014 found that fertility rates in Africa have leveled off at around 4.6 instead of continuing to decline, and that consequently world population may be as high as 12 billion by 2100. Reasons for the continuing high birth rate include better survival rates with respect to HIV, and contraception shortage. Evolutionary biology also suggests the demographic transition may reverse itself and global population may continue to grow in the long term. In addition, recent evidence suggests birth rates may be rising in the 21st century in the developed world.
UN projections published in 2019 estimate the world population in 2100 to be 10.9 billion.

Year by year

The following table shows projections of world population for the 21st century.
YearUnited States Census Bureau
Population Reference Bureau
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
20167,334,771,6147,432,663,280
20177,412,778,971
20187,490,427,640
20197,567,402,977
20207,643,402,1237,758,157,000
20217,718,256,830
20227,792,021,317
20237,864,725,370
20247,936,271,554
20258,006,580,5538,000,000,0008,141,661,000
20268,075,716,000
20278,143,729,466
20288,210,559,895
20298,276,190,519
20308,340,606,5908,505,000,0008,500,766,000
20318,403,880,343
20328,466,094,022
20338,527,246,205
20348,587,325,154
20358,646,304,7048,838,908,000
20368,704,239,274
20378,761,189,197
20388,817,138,785
20398,872,066,537
20408,925,949,6799,157,234,000
20418,978,822,945
20429,030,723,366
20439,081,617,002
20449,131,462,326
20459,180,225,2149,453,892,000
20469,227,935,007
20479,274,616,811
20489,320,232,984
20499,364,750,182
20509,408,141,3029,804,000,0009,725,148,000
20559,968,809,000
206010,184,290,000
206510,375,719,000
207010,547,989,000
207510,701,653,000
208010,836,635,000
208510,953,525,000
209011,055,270,000
209511,142,461,000
210011,213,317,000

Drivers of population change

The population of a country or area grows or declines through the interaction of three demographic drivers: fertility, mortality, and migration.

Fertility

Fertility is expressed as the total fertility rate, a measure of the number of children on average that a woman will bear in her lifetime. With longevity trending towards uniform and stable values worldwide, the main driver of future population growth will be the evolution of the fertility rate.
Where fertility is high, demographers generally assume that fertility will decline and eventually stabilize at about two children per woman.
From 2015 to 2020, the average world fertility rate was 2.5 children per woman, about half the level in 1950–1955. In the medium variant, global fertility is projected to decline further to 2.2 in 2045 to 2050 and to 1.9 in 2095–2100.

Mortality

If the mortality rate is relatively high and the resulting life expectancy is therefore relatively low, changes in mortality can have a material impact on population growth.  Where the mortality rate is low and life expectancy has therefore risen, a change in  mortality will have much less an effect.
Because child mortality has declined substantially over the last several decades, Global life expectancy at birth, which is estimated to have risen from 47 years in 1950–1955 to 67 years in 2000–2005, is expected to keep rising to reach 77 years in 2045–2050. In the More Developed regions, the projected increase is from 79 years today to 83 years by mid-century. Among the Least Developed countries, where life expectancy today is just under 65 years, it is expected to be 71 years in 2045–2050.
The population of 31 countries or areas, including Ukraine, Romania, Japan and most of the successor states of the Soviet Union, is expected to be lower in 2050 than in 2005.

Migration

Migration can have a significant effect on population change. To this, Global South-South migration accounts for 38% of total migration, as opposed to only 34% for Global South-North. For example, the United Nations reports that during the period 2010–2020, fourteen countries will have seen a net inflow of more than one million migrants, while ten countries will have seen a net outflow of similar proportions.  The largest migratory outflows have been in response to demand for workers in other countries or to insecurity in the home country.  Belarus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Ukraine have experienced a net inflow of migrants over the decade, helping to offset population losses caused by a negative natural increase.

History of population projections

projected in the 1950s that world population would reach a peak of about nine billion, in the 21st century, and then stop growing after a readjustment of the Third World and a sanitation of the tropics.
Estimates published in the 2000s tended to predict that the population of Earth would stop increasing around 2070;In a 2004 long-term prospective report, the United Nations Population Division projected the world population would peak at 9.22 billion in 2075. After reaching this maximum, it would decline slightly and then resume a slow increase, reaching a level of 8.97 billion by 2300, about the same as the projected 2050 figure.
This prediction was revised in the 2010s, to the effect that no maximum will likely be reached in the 21st century. The main reason for the revision was that the ongoing rapid population growth in Africa had been underestimated. A 2014 paper by demographers from several universities and the United Nations Population Division forecast that the world's population would reach about 10.9 billion in 2100 and continue growing thereafter. In 2017 the UN predicted a decline of global population growth rate from +1.0% in 2020 to +0.5% in 2050 and to +0.1% in 2100.
Jørgen Randers, one of the authors of the seminal 1972 long-term simulations in The Limits to Growth, offered an alternative scenario in a 2012 book, arguing that traditional projections insufficiently take into account the downward impact of global urbanization on fertility. Randers' "most likely scenario" predicts a peak in the world population in the early 2040s at about 8.1 billion people, followed by decline.
Some of the authors of the 2004 UN report say that life expectancy is assumed to rise slowly and continuously. The projections in the report assume this with no upper limit, though at a slowing pace depending on circumstances in individual countries. By 2100, the report assumed life expectancy to be from 66 to 97 years, and by 2300 from 87 to 106 years, depending on the country. Based on that assumption, they said that rising life expectancy will produce small but continuing population growth by the end of the projections, ranging from 0.03 to 0.07 percent annually. The hypothetical feasibility of life extension by technological means would further exacerbate the overpopulation problem.

Most populous nations by 2050 and 2100

The UN Population Division has calculated the future population of the world's countries, based on current demographic trends. Current population is around 7.7-7.8 billion people living in the world so far. The 2019 report projects the world population in 2050 to be 9.7 billion people, and possibly as high to 11 billion by the next century, with the following estimates for the top 14 countries in 2020, 2050,and 2100:

CountryPop
2020
Pop
2050
Pop
2100
2020
Rank
2050
Rank
2100
Rank
China1,4391,4021,065122
India1,3801,6391,447211
United States331379434344
Indonesia273331321467
Pakistan221338403555
Brazil2122291816712
Nigeria206401733733
Bangladesh16519215181014
Russian Federation14613612691419
Mexico129155141101217
Japan12610675111736
Ethiopia1152052941288
Philippines110144146131315
Egypt102160225141110
Dem Republic of Congo901943621696
Tanzania6012928624159
Angola3377188442411
Niger2466165563013
World7,7959,73510,875

From 2017 to 2050, the nine highlighted countries are expected to account for half of the world's projected population increase: India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the United States, Uganda, and Indonesia, listed according to the expected size of their contribution to that projected population growth.

Population projections of the 101 largest metropolitan areas in the 21st century

Large urban areas are hubs of economic development and innovation, with larger cities underpinning regional economies and local and global sustainability initiatives. Currently, 757 million humans live in the 101 largest cities; these cities are home to 11% of the world's population. By the end of the century, the world population is projected to grow, with estimates ranging from 6.9 billion to 13.1 billion; the percentage of people living in the 101 largest cities is estimated to be 15% to 23%.
The following 101 metropolitan areas with the largest population projections for the years 2025, 2050, 2075, and 2100 are listed below.
RankCityProjected
Population
2025
CityProjected
Population
2050
CityProjected
Population
2075
CityProjected
Population
2100
1 Tokyo36.40 Mumbai42.40 Kinshasa58.42 Lagos88.30
2 Mumbai26.39 Delhi36.16 Mumbai57.86 Kinshasa83.53
3 Delhi22.50 Dhaka35.19 Lagos57.20 Dar es Salaam73.68
4 Dhaka22.02 Kinshasa 35.00 Delhi49.34 Mumbai67.24
5 São Paulo21.43 Kolkata33.04 Dhaka46.22 Delhi57.33
6 Mexico City21.01 Lagos32.63 Kolkata45.09 Khartoum56.59
7 New York City20.63 Tokyo32.62 Karachi43.37 Niamey56.15
8 Kolkata20.56 Karachi31.70 Dar es Salaam37.49 Dhaka54.25
9 Shanghai19.41 New York City24.77 Cairo33.00 Kolkata52.40
10 Karachi19.10 Mexico City24.33 Manila32.75 Kabul50.30
11 Kinshasa16.76 Cairo24.03 Kabul32.67 Karachi49.06
12 Lagos15.80 Manila23.55 Khartoum30.68 Nairobi46.66
13 Cairo15.56 São Paulo22.82 Tokyo28.92 Lilongwe41.38
14 Manila14.81 Shanghai21.32 Nairobi28.42 Blantyre40.91
15 Beijing14.55 Lahore17.45 New York City27.92 Cairo40.54
16 Buenos Aires13.77 Kabul17.09 Baghdad24.39 Kampala40.14
17 Los Angeles13.67 Los Angeles16.42 Mexico City24.18 Manila39.96
18 Rio de Janeiro13.41 Chennai16.28 Lahore23.88 Lusaka37.74
19 Jakarta12.36 Khartoum16.00 Addis Ababa23.81 Mogadishu36.37
20 Istanbul12.10 Dar es Salaam15.97 Chennai22.21 Addis Ababa35.82
21 Guangzhou11.84 Beijing15.97 Bangalore21.31 Baghdad34.10
22 Osaka-Kobe11.37 Jakarta15.92 São Paulo21.28 New York City30.19
23 Moscow10.53 Bangalore15.62 Shanghai21.05 N'Djamena28.81
24 Lahore11.37 Buenos Aires15.55 Niamey20.37 Kano28.28
25 Shenzhen10.20 Baghdad15.09 Kampala20.23 Sana'a27.21
26 Chennai10.13 Hyderabad14.61 Hyderabad19.94 Lahore27.05
27 Paris10.04 Luanda14.30 Luanda19.65 Chennai25.81
28 Chicago9.93 Rio de Janeiro14.29 Los Angeles18.51 Tokyo25.63
29 Tehran9.81 Nairobi14.25 Kano17.69 Bangalore24.77
30 Seoul9.74 Istanbul14.18 Jakarta17.55 Ibadan23.68
31 Bangalore9.72 Addis Ababa13.21 Ahmedabad16.93 Luanda23.55
32 Lima9.60 Guangzhou13.00 Sana'a16.69 Hyderabad23.17
33 Bogotá9.60 Ahmedabad12.43 Rio de Janeiro16.56 Bamako22.95
34 Wuhan9.34 Chittagong12.21 Buenos Aires16.40 Mexico City22.22
35 Tianjin9.24 Chicago11.93 Chittagong16.04 Dakar21.18
36 Hyderabad9.09 Ho Chi Minh City11.86 Mogadishu15.94 Maputo21.07
37 London8.62 Lima11.57 Beijing15.78 Shanghai20.79
38 Bangkok8.33 Bogotá11.56 Abidjan15.52 Ouagadougou20.63
39 Hong Kong8.31 Shenzhen11.20 Lilongwe15.32 Antananarivo20.53
40 Chongqing8.28 Paris11.12 Blantyre15.06 Los Angeles20.01
41 Luanda8.24 Bangkok11.08 Pune14.91 Rio de Janeiro19.84
42 Ho Chi Minh City8.15 Tehran11.00 Ibadan14.81 Ahmedabad19.71
43 Baghdad8.06 Pune10.92 Istanbul14.68 Abidjan19.70
44 Khartoum7.94 Abidjan10.71 Dakar14.56 São Paulo19.12
45 Ahmedabad7.74 Kano10.44 Lusaka14.52 Chittagong18.82
46 Chittagong7.64 Wuhan10.26 N'djamena14.48 Abuja18.58
47 Kabul7.18 Moscow10.24 Ho Chi Minh City14.22 Kigali18.30
48 Santiago7.03 Osaka-Kobe10.19 Bamako13.54 Jakarta18.22
49 Pune6.80 Tianjin10.15 Chicago13.44 Pune17.32
50 Hanoi6.75 Sana'a10.05 Guangzhou12.84 Conakry17.32
51 Belo Horizonte6.75 Hanoi9.83 Bangkok12.55 Buenos Aires16.99
52 Santiago6.31 London9.75 Surat12.51 Beijing15.58
53 Riyadh6.28 Seoul9.47 Lima12.44 Ho Chi Minh City15.53
54 Miami6.27 Hong Kong9.47 Antananarivo12.40 Istanbul14.79
55 Dongguan6.16 Kampala9.43 Alexandria11.99 Alexandria14.72
56 Shenyang6.16 Surat9.17 Bogota11.89 Lubumbashi14.66
57 Addis Ababa6.16 Chongqing9.09 Hanoi11.79 Chicago14.54
58 Philadelphia6.13 Ibadan8.75 Abuja11.75 Surat14.53
59 Abidjan6.03 Alexandria8.73 Ouagadougou11.70 Mbuji-Mayi14.20
60 Toronto5.95 Dakar8.52 Paris11.64 Mombasa14.01
61 Madrid5.94 Yangon8.44 Shenzhen11.06 Phnom Penh13.88
62 Nairobi5.87 Riyadh8.09 Maputo10.92 Kaduna13.20
63 Yangon5.87 Bamako7.63 Conakry10.63 Hanoi12.87
64 Surat5.70 Miami7.53 Hong Kong10.41 Lima12.81
65 Dar es Salaam5.69 Santiago7.49 Tehran10.36 Guangzhou12.68
66 Alexandria5.65 Kanpur7.39 Yangon10.26 Bangkok12.14
67 Dallas–Fort Worth5.42 Philadelphia7.36 Wuhan10.13 Paris11.86
68 Tlaquepaque5.37 Antananarivo7.26 Kanpur10.09 Kanpur11.73
69 Tonalá5.37 Belo Horizonte7.19 London10.09 Al Hudaydah11.51
70 Zapopan5.37 Faisalabad7.11 Tianjin10.0311.46
71 Chengdu5.32 Toronto7.04 Kigali9.79 Yangon11.42
72 Xi'an5.23 Abuja6.94 Faisalabad9.73 Monrovia11.21
73 Barcelona5.18 Jaipur6.91 Lubumbashi9.57 Bogotá11.20
74 Atlanta5.15 Ouagadougou6.90 Moscow9.51 Benin City11.14
75 Guiyang5.11 Niamey6.79 Jaipur9.43 Giza11.00
76 Singapore5.10 Santiago6.77 Mbuji-Mayi9.27 Faisalabad11.00
77 Kano5.06 Dongguan6.76 Osaka-Kobe9.03 Accra10.99
78 Houston5.05 Shenyang6.76 Riyadh9.00 Jaipur10.95
79 Boston5.03 Mogadishu6.57 Chongqing8.98 Shenzhen10.92
80 Guadalajara4.97 Giza6.52 Giza8.96 Taiz10.82
81 Guadalupe4.95 Madrid6.52 Phnom Penh8.85 Lomé10.21
82 Washington, D.C.4.89 Dallas-Fort Worth6.51 Lucknow8.65 Lucknow10.05
83 Sydney4.83 Lucknow6.34 Mombasa8.53 Wuhan10.00
84 Nanjing4.77 Tlaquepaque6.22 Miami8.49 Tianjin9.90
85 Harbin4.70 Tonalá6.22 Philadelphia8.30 Douala9.68
86 Porto Alegre4.63 Zapopan6.22 Kaduna8.26 London9.56
87 Detroit4.61 Atlanta6.19 Accra7.98 Riyadh9.40
88 Kanpur4.60 Lubumbashi6.15 Nagpur7.86 Port Harcourt9.40
89 Ankara4.59 Conakry6.14 Toronto7.81 Miami9.18
90 Brasilia4.58 Houston6.06 Seoul7.67 Nagpur9.13
91 Algiers4.50 Boston6.04 Aleppo7.37 Philadelphia8.98
92 St. Petersburg4.48 Mbuji-Mayi5.95 Dallas–Fort Worth7.34 Mosul8.87
93 Monterrey4.41 Accra5.94 Lomé7.25 Chongqing8.87
94 Sana'a4.38 Aleppo5.90 Monrovia7.08 Moscow8.42
95 Recife4.35 Washington, D.C.5.87 Douala7.07 Aleppo8.37
96 Changchun4.34 Chengdu5.84 Al-Hudaydah7.06 Toronto8.33
97 Jaipur4.30 Sydney5.82 Patna7.03 Patna8.17
98 Faisalabad4.28 Guadalajara5.76 Santiago6.98 Tehran8.17
99 Melbourne4.24 Nagpur5.76 Atlanta6.97 Osaka-Kobe8.00
100 Ibadan4.23 Xi'an5.75 Rawalpindi6.97 Dallas-Fort Worth7.93
101 Dakar4.23 Guadalupe5.73 Benin City6.96 Rawalpindi7.88