Rapidly declining birth rates have forced UN statisticians to reduce their
estimates of the world’s future population. New projections, published last week
by the UN’s population division in New York, predict that there will be 10.4
billion people in the world by 2100. This is some 800 million fewer than the
last prediction made six years ago. They also estimate that the population will
reach a new plateau of 11 billion by 2200—down from 11.6 billion.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Advertorial
The defence sector can’t adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to AI
Advertising

Advertorial
Why the future of defence is drone tech and distributed edge computing
Advertising

Advertorial
The future of defence lies in transatlantic industrial partnerships
Advertising

Advertorial
The biggest defence risk is a lack of integration, not technology
Advertising
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
2
We've found a mysterious substance on Titan and Pluto
3
Faecal transplant makes the brains of old mice act young again
4
The secrets to keeping your brain sharp in old age
5
We may have finally solved cosmology's chicken-or-the-egg problem
6
The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction
7
Almost the whole of Japan moved eastward after 2011 earthquake
8
Toy universe shows that time could be a quantum illusion
9
Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum
10
Has the answer to life's origins been hiding in our cells all along?