Global Scans · Population · Weekly Summary

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WHAT'S NEXT?: The global population is expected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030, up 1 billion from 2016. Western economies are declining in numbers and emerging economies witnessing burgeoning growth.

• [New] Cooling demand could more than triple by 2050, driven by increases in population and wealth, more extreme heat events and low-income households gaining access to more polluting and inefficient cooling. United Nations
• [New] To reach 35 million in 2046, an average of 420,000 people will be added to Australia's population per year. ID Consulting
• [New] Nations worldwide must finance and implement climate adaptation measures for health systems or risk losing millions of lives as extreme weather, rising temperatures, and intensifying heat threaten healthcare access for nearly half the global population. Health Policy Watch
• [New] By 2030 more than 20% of the U.S. population will be 65 or older. ABC Companies | Premier Source for Buses & Vans
• [New] Seniors are projected to make up 23% of the U.S. population by 2050, up from 18% today. Visual Capitalist
• [New] A global, sentient health grid, powered by advanced AI, will monitor the health of the entire human population in real-time, predicting and preventing pandemics before they start and providing instantaneous, personalized health nudges and interventions. Futurist Speaker on AI Leadership, Future of Work, Futu
• [New] The demand for water in urban regions is projected to rise by nearly 80% by 2050, as urban populations are expected to grow to nearly 70% of the global population. JULAWAN GEDRYAM
• [New] The world's ageing population is growing rapidly, and Australia is no exception where, within the next 20 years, one in four Australians will be aged 65 or over. Home
• [New] Two-thirds of the world's population will be African, Muslim, or Indian. Modern Diplomacy
• [New] Once a sparsely inhabited desert, the Middle East by mid-century will have a population one and a half times larger than that of the entire European Union. Modern Diplomacy
• [New] Africa's current population of roughly 1.5 billion is projected to reach 3.2 billion within about 45 years. Modern Diplomacy
• [New] Global food production must increase by 70% by 2050 to sustain the planet's rising population. Business Today
• [New] The global geriatric population is estimated to reach at around 2 billion by 2050. Precedence Research
• [New] 3.80 billion adults, representing more than half of the anticipated global adult population, will be living with overweight or obesity. PubMed
• [New] The elderly population aged 65 and above will grow from 10% in 2022 to reach 16% by 2050. P&S Intelligence
• [New] Dementia currently affects nearly one million people across the UK, a figure expected to exceed 1.6 million by 2040 as the population ages. Insurance Business
• [New] The older adult population is growing: about 5% of the world's population was age 65 or older in 1950, rising to about 10% in 2021, and projected to increase to about 17% in 2050. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
• [New] For years, colleges and universities have been bracing for the enrolment cliff - a sharp drop in the college-aged population due to declining birth rates, expected to hit college campuses in the next five to 10 years. CCCU

Last updated: 20 November 2025