In November of 2022, the world finally hit a population of 8 billion people. Most of these people live in Asia or North America, however, every habitable continent has seen a recent sizable increase in population. The world population growth rate has hit 0.83% per year, and the global life expectancy has grown from 29 to 73 years since 1800.
This increase in life expectancy points towards both better global health and an older world population. Experts measuring world health have found Spain to be the healthiest in terms of life expectancy and health index score. In contrast, South Sudan and Somalia, with a life expectancy of around 48 years, are considered the unhealthiest.
The growing population has also affected businesses in both positive and negative ways. On the downside, global GDP has slowed and there has been a greater potential for labor shortages. Despite this, businesses have also seen greater productivity with an older population, and these growing countries have led to an increase in multinational corporations.
Experts heed warning to and praise the human race for their resilience when discussing population growth. On one hand, global warming and other environmental crises are fueled by a greater population. However, scientists still say that the steady increase further emphasizes the resilience of humans and our ability to adapt and evolve with time.
The road to 9 billion is much shorter than many anticipate, making change the only thing that is guaranteed.
