The world's population is projected to peak at 10.3 billion in the 2080s, U.N. says

By Ayana Archie

Published July 12, 2024 at 4:31 AM EDT

The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, Feb. 28, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters.

The world population is predicted to peak at about 10.3 billion people in the 2080s, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations.

The agency's 2024 World Population Prospects study projects the population will begin to fall after that, to about 10.2 billion people by the century’s end. Though, immigration can help slow the decrease.

Globally, the fertility rate is 2.3 births per woman, compared to 3.3 births in 1990. It takes 2.1 births per woman to maintain a population size, barring immigration. More than half of the world’s countries have fallen below that rate.

By the 2070s, senior citizens (age 65 and up) are forecasted to outnumber children under age 18, and by the mid-2030s, people aged 80 and over could surpass the number of infants (babies who are one year and younger).

Additionally, the global life expectancy is beginning to climb again post-COVID pandemic, and is now 73.3 years of age. It is anticipated to climb to 77.4 years in 2054.