Global Scans · Population · Weekly Summary

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] Population: ~234,000 individuals globally Share of Wealth: 34% of total HNWI wealth Growth Rate: The UHNW population is projected to grow 31% by 2030. X1 Wealth
• [New] An increasing population and rising income causes global consumption of energy to increase by 15% from 2021 to around 660 quadrillion Btu in 2050. Precedence Research
• [New] The population aged 60 and over is expected to exceed 400 million by around 2035, accounting for more than 30% of the total population, marking China's entry into the severe ageing stage. Exoskeleton Report
• [New] Approximately 20% of the world population will be constituted by older adults, with 2.1 billion people across the globe. LWW
• [New] More extreme opinions are prone to trigger opinion distancing in recipients, which could spark cascades of opinion shifts in the general population leading to global polarization. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
• [New] The elderly share of India's population could double to over 20% by 2050, making senior care a major policy challenge. Anantam IAS
• [New] India is facing a rapid demographic transition, with the elderly population projected to reach 347 million by 2050, making up roughly 20% of the total population. Anantam IAS
• [New] The U.S. population will grow from 343.5 million in 2026 to 371.5 million in 2056, a gain of 28.0 million. Penn Wharton Budget Model
• [New] The annual U.S. population growth rate will fall from 0.47% in 2026 to 0.08% in 2056. Penn Wharton Budget Model
• [New] The urgency to find sustainable systems to protect and fortify trees in cities will only increase: The proportion of the world's population living in urban areas is set to rise to 68% by 2050, up from 55% in 2018. Reasons to be Cheerful
• [New] India's developer population grew from 4.5 million (2020) to 21.9 million (2025) and is projected to reach 57.5 million by 2030, overtaking the US (projected at 54.7 million). Digital Applied
• [New] Immigrants will comprise approximately a quarter of the US working population by 2050. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, while over 35 million new cases are expected by 2050 due to population ageing and increased exposure to risk factors related to socioeconomic development. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] By 2050, the global population aged 80+ will triple to 425 million, with two-thirds in LMICs. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] By 2056, the sex ratio of the Australia-born older population is projected to have increased, reflecting assumed convergence of male and female mortality rates over time. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The 65+ UK-born population increases for the first half of the projection horizon before declining slightly by 2056, whilst the Ireland-born population is expected to grow strongly. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The largest numerical decline over the projection horizon is expected to occur for the Southern Europe-born 65+ population which declines in number from 165,000 in 2016 to 71,000 in 2056, followed by the South Eastern Europe-born (161,000 to 94,000). PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The 65+ population born in Southern Asia is projected to experience the greatest numerical increase over the projection horizon, increasing from 50,000 in 2016 to 520,000 by 2056 (+470,000). PubMed Central (PMC)

Last updated: 04 June 2026