It took thousands of years for the earth's population to reach 5 billion in 1987, and only 32 years to go to almost 8 billion. The UN says the world's population is expected to reach 8 billion within five years.
This increase has disturbed the leaders of the United Nations, who have created the Population Day, to raise awareness about overcrowding. This day is July 11th.
The planet Earth today has 7.7 billion people, and is expected to reach 8 billion soon, while in 2050 it is expected to go almost 10 billion if it continues at this pace.
However, some countries are losing populations, between them and Albania. The causes are due to the decline in births in countries such as China and Japan, but also in developing areas that attract migrants from less developed areas.
Half of this population growth will come from only nine countries, five of which are in Africa: Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other countries are India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, but also Egypt and the United States.
Despite the population growth in Africa, life expectancy in poorer countries is lower, and is expected to range from 72 to 77 in 2050.
Many countries are suffering from overcrowding, and will suffer again in the future. These conditions contribute to social and environmental problems, from pollution to malnutrition, inequality and the rapid distribution of diseases.
But despite the rapid growth, the world's population is also aging very fast. Another record that was reached in 2018 was that people older than 65 were for the first time more numerous than people under the age of five.
The population of Japan is expected to continue to decline, but the most vulnerable are the Balkan countries. In fact, four of the five countries that will lose more populations by 2050 are in the Balkans, and Albania is thought to have dropped dramatically in that year, up to 1 million people.
