Nigeria Becomes 6th Most Populous Country In The World
EMERGENCY DIGEST- As Nigeria’s population hits 216 million by November, this year, making the country the sixth most populous country in the world, experts have warned that the current population growth rate has dire consequences if not speedily addressed.
They say there is a need for the government and all stakeholders to take urgent measures to address the situation.
In its 2022 World Population Prospects released on Monday, the United Nations projected the global population to reach 8 billion by 15 November 2022, with China maintaining its lead.
The annual report prepared by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicted that India would topple China as the world’s most populous country in 2050.
The report, which was released in commemoration of World Population Day shows Nigeria also moved from the 10th most populous country in 1990 with 94m people to become the 6th most populous nation in 2020 with 216m people.
The country is also projected to become the 4th most populous with a 375m population by 2050.
The report says Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania will account for more than half of the global population in 2050.
While stating that its latest projections suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, it said countries of sub-Saharan Africa were expected to contribute more than half of the figure to become the world’s most populated sub region.
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It added that the world population projection would reach its peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.
It quoted the UN’s Secretary-General, António Guterres, as saying, “This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year when we anticipate the birth of the earth’s eight billionth inhabitant.
While saying that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under one per cent in 2020, the World Population Prospects 2022 also states that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries.
It states that, globally, more men (50.3 per cent) exist than women (49.7 per cent) in 2022 but the figure is projected to slowly be equaled over the course of the century thus by 2050, it is expected that the number of women will equal the number of men.
“The relationship between population growth and sustainable development is complex and multidimensional,” said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
“Rapid population growth makes eradicating poverty, combatting hunger and malnutrition, and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult,” he added.
The report indicates that the population of older persons is increasing both in numbers and as a share of the total.
It projects that the global population aged 65 years or above will rise from 10 per cent in 2022 to 16 per cent in 2050.
The report advises countries with aging populations to take steps to adapt public programmes to the growing proportion of older persons, including by improving the sustainability of social security and pension systems and by establishing universal health care and long-term care systems.
