World Population Day is celebrated on July 11 every year and is devoted to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues.
Theme for 2020:How to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Key Facts
As per reports, there were an estimated 7.8 billion people living on Earth as of March 2020, and with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number is expected to rise due to unplanned pregnancies.
Population size fluctuates at differing rates in differing regions, and Asia is the most populous continent, with China and India together constituting about 36 per cent of the world’s population.
A recent UNFPA research highlighted that if the lockdown continues for 6 months, and there is major disruption to health services, then 47 million women in low and middle-income countries might not have access to modern contraceptives.
This would in turn lead to 7 million unintended pregnancies.
Back to basics
History of World Population Day:
The day came about in 1989 when it was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme.
It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, the approximate date on which the world’s population reached five billion people.
The United Nations General Assembly decided to continue observing the day through its resolution 45/216 of December 1990.
