World population is set to hit 9.7 billion, come 2050

The United Nations (UN) has estimated that in the next 35 years, there would be an extra 2.4 billion people. It is believed that within this period, the population of 28 African countries is expected to double with Nigeria having a population larger than the US. In the next 7-years, India would overtake China as the world’s most populous country.

Graph showing the world population projection for the next 35 years

Half of the growth is expected to be concentrated  in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, United State of America, Indonesia and Uganda. Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia are all expected to see their populations boom by at least a factor of five.
According to John Wilmoth, director of the population division in the UN’s department of economic and social affairs, high fertility in some of the world’s poorest countries could bring problems.
'The concentration of population growth in the poorest countries presents its own set of challenges, making it more difficult to eradicate poverty and inequality, to combat hunger and malnutrition, and to expand educational enrolment and health systems, all of which are crucial to the success of the new sustainable development agenda.'

(The picture above shows the top three largest countries are also forecast to change from China, India and the US in 2015 to India, China and Nigeria in 2050)
Life expectancy at birth was also shown to have increased significantly in the least developed countries - from 56 years in 2000-2005 to 62 years in 2010-2015. The rise is more than double that of the rest of the world.
Simon Ross of Population Matters added: 'The world’s population is rising at an alarming rate. These UN projections should act as a further warning that we should not ignore this issue. Population growth contributes to many of today’s biggest problems. Population growth creates pressure on housing and public services in both developing and non-developing countries, and on the environment, the climate and wildlife.'
Culled from DailyMail