The United Nations has said the world's population has hit the eight billion mark, adding that the population growth may begin to slow and take 15 years to reach the nine billion mark.
The global body doesn't expect the world population to reach ten billion till 2080, BBC reported. Since 1800, the world's population jumped eight fold from an estimated one billion to eight billion.
Pointing out that the world population growth fell from a high of 2.1 per cent between 1962 and 1965 to below one per cent in 2020, the UN projected that the figure could fall to around 0.5 per cent by 2050 due to continuous decline in fertility rates, AFP reported.
The UN also reported that India;s population is expected to surpass China in 2023 and grow to 1.7 billion in 2050. China's 1.4 billion population will decline and fall to 1.3 billion by 2050.
Over the years, the UN has selected babies to celebrate the milestones of the world population reaching five, six and seven billion.
1987: Matej Gaspar, five millionth baby
Born in July 11, 1987, Gaspar found himself surrounded by politicians and flashing cameras on his tiny face at a suburb in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. A UN official named Alex Marshall told BBC that the projections suggested the world population would pass the five billion mark on that day. Thirty five years later, Gaspar is married and works as a chemical engineer in Zagreb.
1999: Adnan Mevic, six billionth baby
{{/usCountry}}1999: Adnan Mevic, six billionth baby
{{/usCountry}}When Adnan was born on October 12, 1999, then UN secretary general Kofi Annan was present to christen him. He lives with his mother Fatima outside Sarajevo, and is worried that nobody will be left to pay for the pensions for retired people.
With a masters in economics, Adnan says he will move to the European Union if he is unable to find a job, the BBC report stated. Adnan says being a six-billionth baby had its perks too, the most memorable one being him meet his hero Cristiano Ronaldo.
2011: Sadia Sultana Oishee, seven billionth baby
When Oishee was born at one minute past midnight, she was surrounded by TV cameras and officials jostling against each other to have a look at her. Eleven years later, she is determined to become a doctor. Her family moved to a villae because their business of selling fabric and saris was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
(With AFP inputs)