(Eagle News) — The United Nations calls November 15 the Day of Eight Billion – the day when the world’s population reaches this figure for the first time ever.

“The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” UN Chief Antonio Guterres said.

The unprecedented growth in human population is attributed to two trends: the longer lifespan of people due to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine; and the persistence of high levels of fertility in many countries.

According to a UN policy brief on global population, countries with high levels of fertility tend to be those with relatively low incomes per capita. Because of this, over time the growth of the world’s population has become increasingly concentrated among the world’s poorest countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The brief reported when “the global population grew from 7 to 8 billion, around 70 per cent of the added population was in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. When the next billion is added between 2022 and 2037, these two groups of countries are expected to account for more than 90 per cent of global growth.”

Since the growing population is a factor in environmental degradation, the UN emphasizes everyone has a shared responsibility in caring for the planet.

The organization has set Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs to help not only sustain the world’s population but also save the planet, saying this is “the world’s best pathway toward a happy and healthy future.”

Among the SDGs are no poverty, zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and responsible consumption and production.

The organization says to limit global temperature rise while achieving the SDGs depends on curbing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.

It will take approximately 15 years to reach the next milestone in the world’s population. In 2037, a projected 9 billion people will be living on the planet.

(Eagle News Service)