Population Matters, a global charity that argues for reducing population growth, has warned that as population numbers edge closer to 10 billion, women across the world will suffer most.
The London-based organisation said in a statement: “The current figure of 8.1 billion is already unsustainable. Adding another 2 billion people to the global population will see millions more trapped in poverty, with women and girls the worst affected.”
The statement coincided with the release on World Population Day, 11 July, of a UN report predicting another 2 billion people on the planet in the next 40 years, with the population projected to grow to over 10 billion by 2063.
Population Matters said: “High birth rates, averaging four births or more amongst women in the world’s poorest nations, [are] the result of a failure to close sexual and reproductive healthcare funding gaps, with 257 million women worldwide facing an unmet need for contraception.
“Young girls in some of the poorest regions are facing the worst impacts of this worldwide failure, with child marriages and barriers to education resulting in too many young girls having their first babies before reaching adulthood. In 2024, 4.7 million babies were born to mothers under age 18, resulting in adverse health effects for women and children, according to the UN World Population Prospects 2024 report.”
Dominic Nutt, Head of Campaigns at Population Matters, said: “In the Global South, high birth rates signal girls are being left behind. In Sub-Saharan Africa the population is expected to double by the mid-2050. When families lack economic security, they often have more children to provide labour on subsistence farms or to provide care when they’re older. Larger families stretch resources, trapping future generations in the cycle of poverty.”
[Image: Annie Spratt on Unsplash]