The Population of the World, 2024

Every 2 years, Population and Societies publishes a special issue called ‘The Population of the World’, presenting an overall picture of the situation across the globe based on estimates and projections from the United Nations. The world population was 8.2 billion in 2024. It has risen eightfold over the last 200 years and may well reach 10 billion by the end of the 21st century. How is this global population distributed around the planet? Which countries have the highest fertility rates? And where is life expectancy the longest?

The world’s population is still growing 

From 8.2 billion in 2024, it is forecast to approach 9.7 billion by 2050. This issue includes a detailed table of countries, listing (for more than 200 of them) their current population (in 2024) and their expected population (in 2050), as well as key demographic indicators. 

Regional disparities in fertility

The total fertility rate worldwide is now at 2.2 children per woman. But this average rate conceals wide discrepancies between different regions and countries. Fertility is lowest in South Korea (0.7 children per woman) and highest in Chad (6.0 children). In 2024, fertility is still high, above 2.5 children per woman, in virtually all of Africa, some countries of the Middle East, and an area of Asia extending from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Africa: home to a growing proportion of humanity

One of the major changes over future decades will be the exceptional growth of the population of Africa. It could represent a quarter of the world’s population by midway through this century, expected to rise from 1.51 billion in 2024 to almost 2.47 billion in 2050. While 1 person in 5 currently lives in Africa, the proportion will probably be more than 1 in 4 by 2050.

India: the new demographic giant

With 1.45 billion inhabitants, India is the world’s most populous country, having taken the lead from China (1.42 billion in 2024). The fertility rate in India (2.0 children per woman on average) is much higher than in China (1.0 children per woman).

Authors: Gilles Pison and Svitlana Poniakina