World
UN Seeks More Responsibility as World Population is Now 8 billion
By Adedapo Adesanya
The world population is now 8 billion, signalling major improvements in public health that have lowered the risk of death and increased life expectancy but the United Nations has urged shared responsibility to protect people and the planet, starting with the most vulnerable.
In a statement, the UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, said, “Unless we bridge the yawning chasm between the global haves and have-nots, we are setting ourselves up for an 8-billion-strong world filled with tensions and mistrust, crisis and conflict.”
While the world’s population will continue to grow to around 10.4 billion in the 2080s, the overall rate of growth is slowing down. The world is more demographically diverse than ever before, with countries facing starkly different population trends ranging from growth to decline.
Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a low fertility context, where the lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman. At the same time, population growth has become increasingly concentrated among the world’s poorest countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Against this backdrop, the UN says the global community must ensure that all countries, regardless of whether their populations are growing or shrinking, are equipped to provide a good quality of life for their populations and can lift up and empower their most marginalised people.
On her part, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem, said, “A world of 8 billion is a milestone for humanity – the result of longer lifespans, reductions in poverty, and declining maternal and childhood mortality. Yet, focusing on numbers alone distracts us from the real challenge we face: securing a world in which progress can be enjoyed equally and sustainably.
“We cannot rely on one-size-fits-all solutions in a world in which the median age is 41 in Europe compared to 17 in sub-Saharan Africa. To succeed, all population policies must have reproductive rights at their core, invest in people and the planet, and be based on solid data.”
The UN noted that while the development represents a success story for humanity, it also raises concerns about links between population growth, poverty, climate change and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The relationship between population growth and sustainable development is complex. Rapid population growth makes eradicating poverty, combatting hunger and malnutrition, and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult. Conversely, achieving the SDGs, especially those related to health, education, and gender equality, will contribute to slowing global population growth.
“Relatedly, although slower population growth–if maintained over several decades–could help to mitigate environmental degradation, conflating population growth with a rise in greenhouse gas emissions ignores that countries with the highest consumption and emissions rates are those where population growth is already slow or even negative.
“Meanwhile, the majority of the world’s population growth is concentrated among the poorest countries, which have significantly lower emissions rates but are likely to suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change.”
Business Post reports that it took about 12 years for the world population to grow from 7 billion to 8 billion, but the next billion is expected to take approximately 14.5 years (2037), reflecting the slowdown in global growth. The world’s population is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The global markets are experiencing relief as the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, have agreed to slash tariffs on each other, to ease effects of a trade war.
Speaking after talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary, Mr Scott Bessent told reporters that the two sides had reached a deal for a 90-day pause on measures.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said so-called reciprocal tariffs were now at 10 per cent each.
Business Post reports that in real terms, the deal means the US is reducing its 145 per cent tariff announced by President Donald Trump to 30 per cent on Chinese goods.
A tariff of 20 per cent had been implemented on China when President Trump took office over what his administration said was a failure to stop illegal drugs entering the US.
China has agreed to reduce its 125 per cent retaliatory tariffs to 10 per cent on US goods.
Sector-specific tariffs, such as the 25 per cent tax on cars, aluminium and steel, remain in place.
Last month, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tarrifs. However, China was the only country exempt from the pause on the retaliatory tariffs above the base 10 per cent levies.
The development had impacted many markets across the world from stocks to oil to bonds and minerals.
Mr Bessent said after a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland, the countries had a mechanism for continued talks.
It is the second major trade announcement made by the US in the last week, after a deal was secured with the United Kingdom on Thursday.
The move signals a willingness from the Americans to make deals on tariffs.
The news was received positively by major markets.
Brent crude is currently up 2.9 per cent to $65.78 per barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up 3.1 per cent to $62.91 a barrel.
Asian stock markets on Monday as major indexes were up. In China, the Shanghai Composite stock index rose 0.8 per cent, the Shenzhen Component gained 1.7 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up nearly 3 per cent.
Korea’s Kospi grew 1.1 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.8 per cent while India’s Nifty 50 index of most valuable companies gained more than 3 per cent, as per Sky News.
CNBC reports that US stocks look set to rise on the open, based on after-hours trading. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq is expected to rise by 3.3 per cent, and the S&P 500 index of companies relied on to be stable and profitable by 2.5 per cent.
Mr Bessent also said, “As long as there is good faith effort, engagement and constructive dialogue, then we will keep moving forward,” in response to questions from journalists.
The market will await further developments and possible ease to recent headwinds.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new pope of the Catholic Church has been revealed as Robert Prevost of the United States, the first American pontiff in history.
Following his emergence, he will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Voting commenced on Wednesday, and after three rounds of black smoke, white smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel on Thursday evening.
This is the signal that cardinals had selected a new pontiff on the second day of the conclave.
Prevost, age 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is a leader with global experience. He spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and served as a Bishop in Peru. He most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
There were 133 voting cardinals, who had all been sequestered inside the Vatican during the conclave. Any one of them needed two-thirds of the vote to become the next pope.
“Peace be with you all,” said Leo XIV in his first remarks as pope.
“This is the first greetings of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who has given up his life for God,” he said, explaining the choice of his greeting. “And I should also like this greeting of peace to enter our hearts and our families.”
Leo XIV looked visibly emotional as he waved to the adoring crowd in the square below the balcony.
A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.
Prevost also holds a Peruvian passport and has been a Peruvian citizen since 2015.
By Dipo Olowookere
A white smoke was seen from the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican City on Thursday evening, signalling the election of a new pope for the Catholic Church.
This is coming a few days after the previous occupier of the position, Pope Francis, was laid to rest after he died on Easter Monday of 2025 at the age of 88 after an illness.
At the moment, the name of the new pope has not been announced. This would be done later by Cardinal Dominique Mamberti from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
About 133 Cardinals partook in the process of electing a new pope, the largest in history, with 103 of them doing this for the first time.
On Wednesday, the Conclave could not finalise the election of a new pope, with a black smoke emanating from the the Sistine Chapel.
Details later…
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