• World Population Day 2025 will be observed on Friday, July 11, under the theme “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world.”
• The day highlights the significance of youth empowerment, gender equality, and reproductive rights in shaping a sustainable and inclusive future for a world that now has a population of more than 8.2 billion.
• The observance of World Population Day was initiated by the United Nations Development Programme in 1989 with the aim of raising awareness about population-related issues such as sustainable development, equitable access to resources, and demographic shifts.
• Its roots can be traced back to July 11, 1987, when the global population reached the milestone of five billion, remembered as “Five Billion Day.” The idea of dedicating a day to population awareness was proposed by Dr. K.C. Zachariah, a senior demographer at the World Bank.
• The day was first celebrated in 1990 across more than 90 countries and was formally recognized by the UN General Assembly in December of the same year.
• The theme for 2025, “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world,” places strong emphasis on reproductive choices, youth participation in decision-making, and fair access to family planning services.
• It acknowledges the crucial role of young generations in building a society that respects rights, equality, and sustainability.
• As of July 2025, the world population has crossed 8.2 billion and is projected to grow further, reaching 9.7 billion by 2050 and peaking at around 10.4 billion by the 2080s.
• India has now emerged as the most populous country with 1.46 billion people, surpassing China’s 1.41 billion. Significantly, India’s fertility rate has fallen below the replacement level, and projections suggest that its population will peak at around 1.7 billion before beginning to decline around 2065.
• World Population Day thus serves as a reminder of the urgent need to ensure reproductive health, empower the youth, and achieve a balance between population growth and sustainable development.