World Population Day 2024 is a moment to ask who is still going uncounted and why – and what this costs individuals, societies, and our global efforts to leave no one behind. It is also a moment for all of us to commit to doing more to ensure that our data systems capture the full range of human diversity so that everyone is seen, can exercise their human rights and can reach their full potential.
For humanity to progress, people must be counted, wherever they are and whoever they are – in all their diversity, Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA, has said. To end inequality, to find and grow peace and prosperity, to weave more threads of hope, the world needs to do more for inclusion.
To that end, as we mark World Population Day this year, the importance of collecting inclusive data – counting everyone, everywhere, as they are – takes the spotlight.
An often unrecognized hero, reliable data have helped drive global advancements in women’s access to reproductive care, reductions in maternal death and improvements in gender equality.
Key facts and figures:
The world’s population more than tripled in size between 1950 and 2020.
From 2000 to 2020, while the global population grew at an average annual rate of 1,2%, 48 countries or areas in Africa and Asia grew at least twice as fast.
The life span of adults in the developed world has increased since the middle of the 20th century.
Worldwide, the number of deaths relative to the size of the population has been declining since the 1950s.
2007 was the first year in which more people lived in urban areas than in rural areas, and by 2050 about 66 per cent of the world population will be living in cities.
Sources: The United Nations, UNFPA
Providing food for the constantly increasing global population in a sustainable way is not an easy task. In conjunction with the fresh water scarcity, especially in areas of rapidly growing population, turns the need for better irrigation practices, a necessity.
Drip irrigation is by far the most sustainable irrigation method which enables farmers worldwide to increase crop production while at the same time reduce the water, chemicals and nutrients consumption.
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