On New Year's Day, the World Population Surpasses 8 Billion

U.S. Census Bureau: "4.3 Births and 2 Deaths per Second"
U.S. Population Exceeds 330 Million

On January 1, 2024, the global population is expected to exceed 8 billion for the first time, according to projections by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Citizens of New York, USA
Photo by Yonhap News

On the 28th (local time), the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the world population increased by a total of 75 million during 2023 and is expected to surpass 8 billion on the first day of the new year. The U.S. Census Bureau projected that on New Year's Day, 4.3 people will be born every second worldwide, while 2 people will die each second. The population growth rate for this year was calculated at 0.95%, just under 1%.

The U.S. population increased by 1.7 million this year and is predicted to reach 335.8 million as of New Year's Day. This represents a 0.53% increase compared to last year.

William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, told the Associated Press, "If this trend continues, the U.S. population growth rate over the 2020s will fall below 4%, marking the slowest decade of population growth in U.S. history." The slowest population growth period in the U.S. so far was during the Great Depression in the 1930s, when the growth rate over ten years was 7.3%. Frey predicted, "Although the population growth rate may slightly increase after the pandemic period, it will be difficult to surpass 7.3%."

The U.S. Census Bureau forecasted that on New Year's Day 2024, one person will be born every 9 seconds and one person will die every 9.5 seconds in the U.S., but immigration will prevent population decline. The net international migration, calculated by subtracting the number of people leaving the country from those entering, is expected to increase the U.S. population by one person every 28.3 seconds. Considering immigration, births, and deaths together, the U.S. population is projected to grow by one person every 24.2 seconds, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, according to the Census Bureau's "Future Population Projections (2022?2072)" released on the 14th, South Korea's total population was recorded at 51.67 million last year. The Census Bureau projected that South Korea's population will increase to 51.75 million next year before starting to decline, reaching 51.31 million in 2030 and decreasing to 36.22 million by 2072. This estimate is based on the assumption that the total fertility rate will drop from 0.72 this year to 0.68 next year, hitting a low of 0.65 in 2025 before rebounding.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.