UN sees world population of 9.6bn by 2050

By 2050, it will reach 9.6 billion, the UN predicted.

India’s population is expected to surpass China’s around 2028 when both countries will have populations of about 1.45 billion, according to the report on World Population Prospects.

While India’s population is forecast to grow to around 1.6 billion then slowly decline to 1.5 billion in 2100, China’s is expected to start decreasing after 2030, possibly falling to 1.1 billion in 2100, it said.

The report found global fertility rates are falling rapidly, although not nearly fast enough to avoid a significant population jump over the next decades.

In fact, the UN revised its population projection upward since its last report two years ago, mostly owing to higher fertility projections in the countries with the most children per woman. The previous projection had the global population reaching 9.3 billion people in 2050.