- The world population was due to hit 8 billion for the first time on November 15, 2022.
- That's in spite of the global population growing more slowly in recent years.
The world's eighth billionth baby was due to be born on Tuesday November 15, $4.
"The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity's shared responsibility for the planet," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement, $4
That means a billion people have been added to the world population in the past 12 years, $4
The world's population is due to grow further: hitting 9 billion around 2037 and 10 billion around 2058, $4.
The new milestone happened in spite of global population growth slowing down overall, to under 1% a year, $4
The population is growing fastest in poorer countries, which is putting pressure on "already entrenched inequalities," Gutteres said in a statement.
In spite of serious concerns about climate change, poverty, and overcrowding, the number of humans living on the planet today "is not a cause for fear," $4
"It's a sign of success, people everywhere live longer, healthier lives," she said in a tweet.
"Focussing on numbers obscures real issues. Like how wealthier people, a global minority, generate almost all greenhouse emissions, and how the solution to climate change is not fewer people, but fewer emissions," she said.