Fertility, education, the climate crisis, just some of the issues countries are grappling with on this July 11, 2023, The United Nations’ World Population Day.

World Population Day was first observed in 1987 by the United Nations when the world’s population hit five billion. It’s a chance to discuss the challenges and injustices impacting women and girls, who make up 49.7% of the global population. 

With 8 billion people now living on the planet, natural resources are being strained and catastrophic climate events are forcing people to leave their homes. 

Since 2007, more people have lived in cities than rural areas and by 2050 the United Nations estimates, 66% of the world’s population will be living in cities.  

Joining the discussion: 

• Maimunah Mohd Sharif is the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme known as UN-Habitat.
• Kathleen Mogelgaard is the President and CEO of the Population Institute. 
• Jennifer Sciubba is a scholar with the Wilson Center and author of “8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death and Migration Shape Our World.”  
• Bei Wu is the Dean’s Professor in Global Health and Vice Dean for Research at New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing.  

Tuesday, July 11, is World Population Day.  According to the UN’s projections, India has surpassed China as the world’s most populous country, and the UN Population Division predicts that India’s population will reach 1,429 million people in July of 2023 and continue to rise.… pic.twitter.com/O3pQqdMOGj

— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) July 11, 2023

As the world population touches the 8 billion mark this week, countries like India, the second-most populous country in the world, are faced with the challenges – from creating suitable infrastructure to creating a skilled workforce from the country's youth pic.twitter.com/qr4xALGCu1

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 14, 2022