Global Population

The human population experienced continuous growth following the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the end of the Black Death in 1350, when it had reached nearly 370 million. The highest global population growth rates, with increases of over 1.8% per year, occurred between 1955 and 1975, peaking at 2.1% between 1965 and 1970. The growth rate declined to 1.1% between 2015 and 2020 and is projected to decline further in the 21st century. The global population is still increasing, but there is significant uncertainty about its long-term trajectory due to changing fertility and mortality rates. The UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has projected the world population to reach between 9 and 10 billion people by 2050, providing an 80% confidence interval of 10–12 billion by the end of the 21st century, with a growth rate by then of zero. However, other demographers predict that the human population may begin to decline in the second half of the 21st century if global fertility rates continue to fall.