HIBAPRESS-RABAT-ONU
On World Day on Aging, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was essential to accurately count everyone “because everyone matters”.
“Our rich human tapestry is as strong as its weakest thread. When data and other systems work for marginalized people, they work for everyone. This is how we accelerate progress for all,” he added.
To take a closer look at these demographic data, the 28th edition of the World Population Prospects published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) since 1951, provides the latest demographic data for 237 countries from 1950 to 2024 and projections up to the year 2100.
The report is crucial for tracking the Sustainable Development Goals, with around a quarter of indicators relying on its data.
Overall fertility rates around the world are falling, with women having on average one fewer child than around 1990.
In more than half of countries and regions, the average number of live births per woman is below 2.1 – the level required for a population to maintain a constant size.
Meanwhile, nearly a fifth of all countries and regions, including China, Italy, the Republic of Korea and Spain, now experience “extremely low fertility,” with fewer than 1.4 live births per woman during his life.
In 2024, population sizes peaked in 63 countries and regions, including Germany, China, Japan and Russia, and the total population of this group is expected to decline by 14% over the next thirty years.
The average age of the world’s population is also increasing.
By the end of the 2070s, the number of people aged 65 or over is expected to exceed the number of people under 18.
This is partly due to the overall increase in life expectancy and decrease in mortality rates over the past three decades. By the end of the 2050s, more than half of all deaths worldwide will occur at age 80 or older, a substantial increase from 17% in 1995.
