OREANDA-NEWS. The population of the world in 2019 was 7.7 billion people, and by 2050 it will reach 9.7 billion people, according to a report by the UN Secretary-General. The population growth is accompanied by aging, declining birth rates, and rapid urbanization, according to a report submitted to the Commission on Population and Development, the 51st session of which started the day before at the UN headquarters in New York.

Now in the world the average birth rate is 2.5 children per woman, and by 2030 it will be about 2.4 births per woman. According to forecasts, in 2050 more than 70% of the world's population will live in countries where the total fertility rate will be below the level required for population reproduction. As for people aged 65 and older, their share in the total population is growing.

Now they are 19% in Europe and 16% in North America, and by 2050, these figures will increase to 28% and 23%, respectively. During this period, the proportion of older people in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean is also expected to increase from the current 8% to 18%. In Africa, where today is the youngest population, by 2050 the share of the elderly will be 9%.

Almost all population growth in the future will occur due to an increase in the number of urban dwellers, who, according to forecasts, in 2030 will account for 60% of the world's population, and by 2050 - about 68%. Over the past 25 years, the level of well-being of the population has increased significantly throughout the world, the UN said. The number of people living in extreme poverty has significantly decreased, maternal mortality has diminished by 40%, life expectancy has increased significantly.

Between 1994 and 2019, the under-five mortality rate decreased by 54%. Life expectancy worldwide increased from 64.9 years in 1994 to 72.3 years in 2019, and by 2030 it will increase by about another 2 years.