WORLD POPULATION DAY

It was World Population Day last Monday. How much do you know about the billions of people that share the planet? The good news is that population growth has slowed. Ten years ago, we were expanding by 1.24% every year. Today, the growth rate is only 1.18% per year. Although that's still 83 million additional people annually. Currently 60% of the global population lives in Asia, but that number is expected to fall to 44% by 2100. 16% of the global population currently lives in Africa. But that figure is expected rise to 39% by 2100. Irrespective of fertility trends, according to the U.N., the sheer number of young people in Africa means the continent will play a central role in shaping the size and distribution of the world's population in the future. Between 2015 and 2050, the excess of deaths over births in Europe is expected to be 63 million -- implying an overall shrinking of Europe's population by about 32 million. From 2000 to 2015, annual net migration to Europe, Northern America and Oceania averaged 2.8 million persons per year. The number of persons aged 80 or over is projected to more than triple by 2050, and to increase more than seven-fold by 2100. In 1990-1995, the average life expectancy was only 46 in Nigeria, compared to a global average of 65. In recent years, total fertility in Europe has increased slightly from 1.55 children per woman to 1.6 children per woman. Bulgaria is projected to see the the highest population decrease between 2015 and 2050, followed by Romania and Ukraine. The current median age of the global population is 29.6 years. What is the median age predicted to be by 2100? We are an ageing population. Globally, the median age is projected to increase from 30 to 36 years between 2015 and 2050, and to 42 years by 2100. The National Population Commission (NPC) says the focus of the 2016 World Population Day will be “Investing in teenage girls”. Ghaji Bello, the Director-General, NPC, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of a stakeholder’s preparatory meeting for this year’s celebration. He said the importance of the girl child in achieving the much desired demographic dividend and sustainable development in Nigeria underscored the centrality of this year’s celebration. Bello said teenage girls had also been identified as important actors for achieving the 2030 agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).