The United Nations has revealed that a baby born somewhere on Tuesday will be the world’s eight billionth person.
The world organisation warned of more hardship in store for regions already facing resource scarcity because of climate change.
Reaching eight billion people is “a sign of human success, but it’s also a great risk for our future,” said John Wilmoth, the director of the UN’s population division on Tuesday.
Middle-income countries, mainly in Asia, accounted for most of that growth, gaining some 700 million people since 2011.
In a statement to mark the landmark, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet.”
The UN attributes the growth to human development, with people living longer thanks to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine.
Meanwhile, India is set to overtake China as the most populous nation in 2023.
Births have been steadily declining in the United States, Europe, and Japan. China, too, has struggled with the legacy of its One Child Policy programme and last year urged families to have a second and even third child as it also limited access to non-medical abortions.
But some of the world’s poorest countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, witnessed spikes in population as a result of higher fertility rates, putting their development goals at risk.
The global population has increased eight-fold since 1800, from an estimated one billion to eight billion, largely due to the development of modern medicine and the industrialization of agriculture, which boosted global food supplies.
The development of vaccines was key, especially the smallpox jab which helped to eradicate one of the world’s biggest killer diseases.
While some worry that eight billion people is too many for the planet, most experts say the bigger problem is the overconsumption of resources by the wealthiest people.
“Some express concerns that our world is overpopulated,” said UN Population Fund chief Natalia Kanem. “I am here to say clearly that the sheer number of human lives is not a cause for fear.”
AFP/Reuters