World population stabilization unlikely this century

TLDR

The UN’s latest Bayesian probabilistic projections show that global population growth will continue, with the bulk of the increase expected in Africa because of higher fertility rates and a recent slowdown in fertility decline. The study finds an 80 % chance that the world population will rise to 9.6–12.3 billion by 2100, indicating continued growth and a projected decline in the working‑age to older‑age ratio, with uncertainty narrower than traditional UN scenarios.

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) recently released population projections based on data until 2012 and a Bayesian probabilistic methodology. Analysis of these data reveals that, contrary to previous literature, the world population is unlikely to stop growing this century. There is an 80% probability that world population, now 7.2 billion people, will increase to between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion in 2100. This uncertainty is much smaller than the range from the traditional UN high and low variants. Much of the increase is expected to happen in Africa, in part due to higher fertility rates and a recent slowdown in the pace of fertility decline. Also, the ratio of working-age people to older people is likely to decline substantially in all countries, even those that currently have young populations.