Reducing inequality could see world population fall to 6 billion

A projection of how the global population will change by the Club of Rome is far below United Nations estimates and numbers could drop even faster if we invest more in reducing poverty and inequality, it says

By Michael Le Page

27 March 2023

The number of children being born is falling in many countries, including South Korea

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images

The global population will peak at 8.6 billion in 2050 and decline to 7 billion by 2100 if current trends continue. That is the projection of a model developed as part of an initiative from the Club of Rome non-profit organisation, and it is 2 to 3 billion less in 2100 than other recent forecasts.

This Earth4All model, created to explore which policies would deliver the most good for the majority of people, also suggests that if the world invested in a “Giant Leap” to reduce poverty and inequality, the world population would peak at around 8.5 billion people in 2040 and decline to 6 billion by the end of the century.