Population

• [New] Covering more than 86% of the world's population and providing over half of the mobile connections, 4G LTE will undoubtedly remain as the mobile network foundation to connect the world in the following years.
• [New] More than 70% of the global population will have mobile connectivity, and the number of devices connected to IP networks will be three times greater than the total number of people on Earth.
• [New] According to Cisco, 66% of the global population will have access to it within two years, by which time there will be 5.3 billion total Internet users.
• [New] With the world population expected to grow to over 10 billion people by 2050, coupled with climate change, competition for water resources is rapidly increasing, having a particular impact on agriculture.
• [New] If fertility continues to drop from its current rate of 1.6 children per woman to a projected 1.3, China's population would be reduced by about 50% by the end of this century.
• [New] Perceived risk for getting a disease and the perceived severity of chronic diseases may shape how health information is processed and applied to behavior within a lower SES population.
• [New] Whether the South African variant will breech the immunity wall and create a second pandemic with India participating with a new wave - is unpredictable.
• [New] The procurement of ITNs with attributes that are more costly is not recommended for countries in sub-Saharan Africa, unless nationally representative data clearly show that the use of ITNs with particular attributes increases significantly among populations at risk of malaria.
• [New] Strong recommendation, high-certainty evidence WHO recommends ITNs that have been prequalified by WHO for use in protecting populations at risk of malaria, including in areas where malaria has been eliminated or transmission interrupted but the risk of reintroduction remains.
• [New] Insecticide-treated nets WHO recommends ITNs - which in many settings continue to be long-lasting insecticidal nets - for use in protecting populations at risk of malaria, including in areas where malaria has been eliminated or transmission interrupted but the risk of reintroduction remains.
• [New] Because of population growth in regions where child marriage is more prevalent, the total number of child marriages is projected to increase by 2030.
• [New] SpaceX already started to accept preorders of the Starlink service, Starlink is now delivering initial beta service both domestically and internationally and will continue expansion to near global coverage of the populated world in 2021.
• [New] A growing number of people with neurodegenerative diseases, due to population aging, will mean that in the coming decades, humanity might face a bona fide Parkinson's disease pandemic.
• [New] South Africa plans to ensure 80% of its population has access to the Internet by 2024 and cut the cost of mobile data in half.
• [New] By 2100, five of the world's 10 largest countries by population are projected to be in Africa.
• [New] Across the Atlantic, U.S. oil majors such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron have been slower to jump on the energy transition, betting that the world's growing population will continue to fuel oil and gas demand as it has for the past century.
• [New] If in 10 years the world's population is 8 billion and 5% of them will use Bitcoin, then it will have 400 million users.
• [New] Projected trade growth is driven by population and income growth and limited production gains in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• [New] Imports by Japan are expected to decrease slightly due to a declining population, while imports by South Korea are flat at 3.9 million tons and Taiwan wheat imports grow modestly over the 10-year projection period.
• [New] Population growth in the lowest income region, Sub-Saharan Africa, is projected to average 2.5% during 2021-30.
• [New] East Asia, with generally high incomes on average, is projected to have a population growth rate near zero during 2021-30, while lower income regions, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East have higher projected growth rates.
• More than half of the world's refugee populations are children (below the age of 18) and many will spend their entire childhoods in countries of asylum.
• As most of the world's population awaits vaccination, the ability to simultaneously diagnose a patient and estimate their risk level could allow better medical decision-making, such as how closely to monitor a particular patient or where to allocate resources.

Last updated: 21 February 2021