World Population Day 2024: Date, history, theme, significance

World Population Day has gained momentum over the years as a means to create awareness and initiate dialogue on challenges surrounding population. (Representational image)

It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion – then in just another 200 years or so, it grew sevenfold. It stood at almost 7.9 billion in 2021, and it's expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100, as per the United Nations (UN).

World Population Day is observed on July 11 every year to focus on the challenges and opportunities caused by the rising population. The day is a reminder to address population-related concerns and work towards a sustainable future.

World Population Day has gained momentum over the years as a means to create awareness and initiate dialogue on challenges surrounding population.

Here's a look at the history, theme, and significance of World Population Day 2023:

History

World Population Day was established by the UN and first observed in 1989. On July 11, 1987, the world population reached the five billion mark and it prompted a senior demographer at the World Bank, Dr KC Zachariah, to mark the day as World Population Day.

Theme

"Leave no one behind, count everyone" is the theme for World Population Day 2024. Commenting on this, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, "As the theme of this year’s World Population Day reminds us, investing in data collection is important to understanding problems, tailoring solutions, and driving progress. So is finance. I urge countries to make the most of the Summit of the Future this year to unleash affordable capital for sustainable development.”

Significance

World Population Day highlights key issues such as poverty and economic crisis and makes an effort to change people's lives and improve their way of living.

"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," the UN stated on its website. "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."