Total and urban population

The world population is estimated to have surpassed 8 billion towards the end of 2022. Since the late 1980s, population growth has gradually slowed down. This slowdown was especially accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Population growth has been projected to be 0.8 per cent in 2022 and is expected to accelerate in 2023, before continuing its descent towards a forecast 0.5 per cent annual growth in 2050.

Population was projected to decrease in 42 economies in 2022, including Bermuda, China, Germany, and Jamaica, which had all seen increases in 2021. The population of 62 economies is projected to be lower in 2050 than in 2022, including the four aforementioned economies. India has been projected to overtake China as the most populous country in the world in 2023.

Population movements from Ukraine to neighboring countries contributed to some economies in Eastern Europe having the fastest growing populations in 2022. Among continents, the population of Africa is growing fastest, with some African economies recording annual growth rates above 3 per cent.

Over the last 25 years, the world population has increased by 2.1 billion people. Almost all this growth has occurred in developing economies, mainly in Asia and Oceania (1.1 billion) and Africa (0.7 billion). In 2022, five in six people in the world lived in a developing economy.

In the coming 25 years, the global population is projected to grow by 1.6 billion people. The population of the economies classified today as developing will continue to increase. Africa is expected to lead this growth (0.9 billion) followed by developing economies in Asia and Oceania (0.6 billion).

All over the world, a growing proportion of the population lives in cities. In 2012, 52.5 per cent lived in urban areas. The share of urban population was projected to have increased to 56.9 per cent in 2022. It is generally higher in the developed (79.7 per cent in 2022) than in the developing world (52.3 per cent). In LDCsleast developed countries, the people living in urban areas are in the minority (35.8 per cent).

Over the last ten years, urbanization has been most pronounced in developing economies, especially in Asia and Oceania, which saw the urban rate increase from 44.0 in 2012 to 50.6 per cent in 2022. Africa has seen a 4.6 percentage point increase in the same period. By contrast, the share of people living in urban areas was already high in developing economies of the Americas and further urbanization has been relatively modest.