The United Nations predicted that the landmark world population of eight billion would be reached on Tuesday and with the first cry of a newborn child somewhere in the world this morning, they were correct.
But how many of those are from Africa?
Using figures from the Worldometers website, the population of Africa stands at around 1.42 billion people.
That means that Africa is the second most populous continent behind Asia.
Based on 2020 figures, the African nation with the largest population is Nigeria, which then had around 206 million people living in the country. South Africa ranks fifth in Africa with a population of around 60 million people.
Dividing Africa into quarters, Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland) is home to the fewest people, with a population of only 67 million people in the region.
East and West Africa make up the majority of Africa’s population with 445 million and 400 million people respectively.
Africa’s share of the world population has actually decreased since 2020. In that year Africa had 18.2% of the world’s population and now makes up 16.72%.
Asia makes up for more than half of the world’s population, with the current figures at around 4.7 billion – a total of 59.76% of the world living in the continent.
China and India make up the majority of the Asian population, accounting for 1.4 billion and 1.38 billion respectively.
The UN said the world population had increased by one billion people in just the last 12 years.
“This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It is also the result of high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries,” a UN statement read.
Reaching the eight billion mark, however, puts more pressure on the planet.
“This is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres.
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Image source: @TheFinancialTimes
