How many people are born a day? Examining birth rates and why they fluctuate.
According to the United Nations, the Earth reached a population of 8 billion people in November 2022. The UN predicts it will take until 2037 to reach 9 billion.
But this prediction is not based on a linear birth rate. In fact, the UN expects the global fertility rate to gradually decrease between now and 2037.
Fertility rates across Europe actually suggest that the continent is below the threshold required for full replacement of the population, which will cause the continent’s population to decrease by 2050, according to the UN.
Meanwhile, UN reports indicate Africa’s rapid population growth is predicted to account for more than half of global population growth between now and 2050.
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How many people are born per day?
Approximately 134.28 million births will occur across the globe in 2023, according to the UN’s medium variant of the population projections, as displayed by Our World in Data. Based on that projection, there should be an average of about 368,000 births per day in 2023.
Of course, there can be significant fluctuation based on season, global events and more. For example, birth rates decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to reduced social gathering and other factors related to lockdown, according to a study published by the National Library of Medicine.
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How many people are born in the US each day?
In 2021, the CDC reported a total of 3,664,292 births, or about 10,000 births per day — but it’s worth noting doctors shouldn’t expect to see perfectly even birth rates year-round.
Smithsonian Magazine reports more babies are conceived in the winter months and delivered in the summer than any other time of year, which is not surprising, as seasonality is a common feature of many organisms’ reproductive calendars. Current research suggests humans’ seasonality is decreasing, at least in the northern hemisphere, but it remains a factor that affects the overall number of births from month to month.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How many people are born a day? What about in the U.S.?