United Nations, April 19 (PTI): Contrary to the alarm bells about exploding numbers, population trends everywhere point to slower growth and ageing societies, according to data released by the UN on Wednesday.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in its World Population Report (SWOP) 2023 said that the global demographics are changing rapidly: two-thirds of people are living in low fertility contexts, while eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050.
"Just eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050 the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania while two-thirds of people now live in a country where lifetime fertility corresponds with zero growth," the report said.
The world population is at 8 billion.
— UNFPA (@UNFPA) April 19, 2023
Are there too many people? Too few?
These are the wrong questions.
See how becoming #8BillionStrong opens humanity to infinite possibilities and why @UNFPA is making a case for rights and choices: https://t.co/YCtXGZuPJK#GlobalGoals pic.twitter.com/PlGvV39mAg
It noted that the second half of the 20th century saw many countries gain independence, the emergence of diverse movements to claim human rights, and family planning programmes and population policies oriented around reducing fertility around the world.
UNFPA and many other population-focused organisations and family planning programmes were founded as leaders reacted both to fears over the "population bomb" and to the potential of contraception to drive development and prosperity for the poorest communities.
The report noted that India established the first national programme to control population growth through family planning in 1952. "This achieved limited success in slowing birth rates but also resulted in instances of excessive and even forced sterilisation; it would take until the early 1990s for leaders to shift from a target-driven family planning programme to one based on women's health and rights."
⚠️ We must safeguard the right to sexual and reproductive health in a world that’s #8BillionStrong.
— UNFPA (@UNFPA) April 19, 2023
Let @UNFPA show you why advancing gender equality is the best tool for managing population change: https://t.co/YCtXGZuPJK#StandUp4HumanRights pic.twitter.com/veUI1pWwhs
Further, it said that new data reveals population anxieties are widespread and governments are increasingly adopting policies aimed at raising, lowering or maintaining fertility rates. But efforts to influence fertility rates are very often ineffective and can erode women's rights.
The report calls for a radical rethink of how population numbers are framed urging politicians and media to abandon overblown narratives about population booms and busts. Instead of asking how fast people are reproducing, leaders should ask whether individuals, especially women, can freely make their own reproductive choices a question whose answer, too often, is no.
"Women's bodies should not be held captive to population targets," says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. "To build thriving and inclusive societies, regardless of population size, we must radically rethink how we talk about and plan for population change."
A staggering 44 per cent of partnered women and girls in 68 reporting countries do not have the right to make informed decisions about their bodies when it comes to having sex, using contraception and seeking health care; and an estimated 257 million women worldwide have an unmet need for safe, reliable contraception.
Twenty-four per cent of partnered women and girls are unable to say no to sex and 11 per cent are unable to make decisions specifically about contraception, according to data from 68 reporting countries. A survey of eight countries showed people who had been exposed to media or conversations about the world's population were more likely to view the global population as being too high.
🚨 When we reduce women’s bodies to political battlegrounds, we deny half the population their right to bodily autonomy.
— UNFPA (@UNFPA) April 19, 2023
Get the facts from @UNFPA and see why we need to change the narrative on #fertility rates in a world that’s #8BillionStrong: https://t.co/rJEiv4aKS3 pic.twitter.com/piHjAwpRQg
It said history has shown that fertility policies designed to increase or lower birth rates are very often ineffective and can undermine women's rights. Many countries have rolled out programmes to engineer larger families by offering financial incentives and rewards to women and their partners, yet they continue to see birth rates below two children per woman. And efforts to slow population growth through forced sterilisation and coercive contraception have grossly violated human rights.
Family planning must not be used as a tool for achieving fertility targets; it is a tool for empowering individuals. Women should be able to choose if, when and how many children they would like to have, free from the coercion of pundits and officials, the UN agency said.
The report strongly recommends governments institute policies with gender equality and rights at their heart, such as parental leave programmes, child tax credits, policies that promote gender equality in the workplace, and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. These offer a proven formula that will reap economic dividends and lead to resilient societies able to thrive no matter how populations change, it added.