Earth's Population May Soon Begin Declining: Study

The world population continues to grow at an alarming rate that is breaking previous records every day. However, a new analysis claims that, in contrast to past predictions, the world's population may only reach its peak in 2050 at 9 billion people.

According to a report by LiveScience, if current trends hold true, the world's population, which is currently 7.96 billion, will reach an all-time high of 8.6 billion in the middle of the century before falling by almost 2 billion before the century's end.

In the second scenario, called the Giant Leap, researchers estimate that population peaks at 8,5 billion people by around 2040 and declines to around 6 billion people by the end of the century, the researchers mentioned in a statement.

The statement further mentioned that this is achieved through unprecedented investment in poverty alleviation-particularly investment in education and health-along with extraordinary policy turnarounds on food and energy security, inequality, and gender equity. In this scenario, extreme poverty is eliminated in a generation (by 2060), with a marked impact on global population trends.

The authors argue that other prominent population projections often underplay the importance of rapid economic development.

"We know rapid economic development in low-income countries has a huge impact on fertility rates. Fertility rates fall as girls get access to education and women are economically empowered and have access to better healthcare," said Per Espen Stoknes, Earth4All project lead and director of the Centre for Sustainability at the Norwegian Business School.

"Few prominent models simulate population growth, economic development, and their connections simultaneously," comments Beniamino Callegari, an associate professor from Kristiania and member of the Earth4All modelling team.