The world's population increased by 75 million during 2023, and it is expected to reach over 8 billion on New Year's Day, according to statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. The global growth rate last year was just below 1 percent, with the growth rate in the United States at 0.53 percent, about half the global figure. The United States added 1.7 million people, and its population is expected to be 335.8 million on New Year's Day. If the current pace continues until the end of the decade, the 2020s could be the slowest-growing decade in U.S. population history.
At the beginning of 2024, the United States is expected to see one birth every 9 seconds and one death every 9.5 seconds. However, immigration will prevent a decline in the population. It is also expected that net international migration will add one person to the U.S. population every 28.3 seconds. This combination of births, deaths, and net international migration may result in an increase of one person in the U.S. population every 24.2 seconds.
It is noted that India has recently become the most populous country in the world, surpassing China, which has a population estimated at over 1.4 billion. It took about 12 years for the global population to grow from 7 to 8 billion, but the next billion is expected to take about 14.5 years (by 2037), reflecting the slowdown in global growth.
The global population is expected to peak at around 10.4 billion during the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100. For the increase from 7 to 8 billion, approximately 70 percent of the added population was in low-income countries and lower-middle-income countries. For the increase from 8 to 9 billion, these two groups of countries are expected to account for over 90 percent of global growth.
Between now and 2050, the global increase in the population under 65 years will occur entirely in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, as the population growth in high-income and upper-middle-income countries will occur only among those aged 65 and older.
