NAME- CDT YASH THOSAR
REG. NO. - 1MAH/BN/SD/20/700347 UNIT- ASC THANE ARMY UNIT WORLD POPULATION DAY 2021
WHEN IS WORLD POPULATION DAY 2021?
World Population Day is observed annually on July 11.
World Population Day on July 11 is a holiday that’s dedicated to focusing on the importance of population issues. The day was established by the United Nations as a result of the massive interest people had in Five Billion Day in 1987. Read on for more information about observing this important holiday.
HISTORY OF WORLD POPULATION DAY
Sure, you might know that there are more than seven billion people on earth right now, but how often do you stop to think about what that really means? Five Billion Day, in 1987, was meant to acknowledge the date on which the world’s population reached an estimated five billion people, which supposedly happened on July 11 of that year (hence the annual date for World Population Day). And look how much the population has increased since then! Population issues cover a lot of territories, from family planning, gender equality, and environmental impacts to human rights concerns.
World Population Day was established in 1989 by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme — UNDP. The inspiration for this holiday was the peaking public interest in the celebration of ‘Five Billion Day’ on July 11, 1987. This original date was decided to be set as ‘World Population Day’ by the United Nations
General Assembly, and resolution 45/216 made this official in December
1990.
World Population Day serves to highlight the growing problems that come with a growing global population. Overpopulation is a crucial issue, especially considering that world resources are depleting at an unsustainable rate. Awareness about the effects of overpopulation on development and nature is emphasized. The increasing population also sheds light on health problems faced by women during pregnancy and childbirth, making the need for family planning, gender equality, and maternal health more important than ever. The issue of population is also causing strain on society: heinous crimes are happening more than ever in the areas of gender inequality and human rights, especially in developing countries. Leadership is already doing a subpar job at taking care of its citizens, and as more people come into the world, violations such as human trafficking and child labor are increasingly becoming normal.
TRADITIONS
This event is celebrated in various countries around the world by hosting seminars and public discussions, whether virtual or at conferences.
Educational sessions and workshops are also held by institutions.
Slogans and banners are distributed and people post about it on social media.
BY THE NUMBERS
7.8 billion – the current population of the world.
1,442,857,138 – the highest population rate of a country in the world —
China.
1,388,712,570 – the second-highest population rate of a country in the world — India. 5 million – the estimated population of the world at the dawn of agriculture in 8000 B.C.
1800 – the year when the world population hit one billion.
200 – the projected number of years it will take for the population to double again.
2057 – the year The United Nations projects the world population to reach 10 billion.
31% – the percentage of the world population who are Christians.
23% – the percentage of the world population who are Muslims.
90 billion tons – the number of resources extracted from Earth every year.
WHY WORLD POPULATION DAY IS IMPORTANT
1. It touches everyone
If you live a comfortable lifestyle in a first-world country like the
United States, you probably don’t think of population issues having that much of an effect on your life. However, the more
people are added to the population, the more power and food is
needed to sustain all of them. It’s hard to keep up that food and
power production at the rate that the population is growing, and
efforts to do so are contributing greatly to climate change, which
affects you no matter where you live.
2. It asks us to look forward
World Population Day obviously reminds us to look at the
current population and population issues that influence how
people live now. However, it’s really focused on the future, and
what efforts it will take to slow population growth. The most
important thing to think of is what the world will look like for
your kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, etc. if the population
continues to grow at this rate.
3. There’s a big disparity in how population issues affect different countries
Population issues disproportionately affect people in developing
countries. For instance, did you know that people in very poor
countries have a life expectancy that’s about 20 years shorter
than people in rich, developed countries? How about that 1/3 of
population growth is due to unplanned pregnancies, which often happen when people are lacking education and family planning services? World Population Day is a good reminder to step outside ourselves and focus on these important issues.
Jai Hind !