World population projected to be almost ten billion by the year 2050

If you thought getting on the DART at rush-hour was a problem now, just you wait…

Despite the generally declining fertility rates around the globe, the world’s population is still increasing at a staggering rate, with approximately 83 million people added to the global population every year, and that number also increasing year on year.

In a report published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, we are told that the current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.

There are projections specific to Ireland based on the current projections, where the current population is just shy of 4.7 million – 2.36 million men and 2.4 million women, which explains why these two Irish dating shows are having trouble sourcing single men for their shows.

That number is set to rise to 5.2 million in 2030, 5.8 million by 2050 and peak at 6.38 million in 2100! We’ve come a long way from the 2.9 million back in 1950…

We’re far from the worst offenders in terms of the expanding the populace, as China (currently at 1.4 billion) and India (currently at 1.3 billion), and take up almost 40% of the world’s population between them alone.

USA are also looking to drastically increase their numbers, with a current standing of 324 million to over 447 million by the year 2100.

If you’re thinking all of this is looking a bit grim, don’t worry! Stephen Hawking thinks it might be all a pointless worry, as an asteroid is bound to wipe us all out anyways, so….. Hooray?

At a recent science festival, Professor Hawking said that unless we colonise the Moon and Mars, and do it soon, increasing world population won’t be a problem at all (via The Telegraph), because of the eventuality of our planet being hit by a species-ending rock from space: