World population to peak at 10.3b by 2080s, life expectancy returns to pre-Covid levels

Earth's population will peak in the mid-2080s at around 10.3 billion people, then drop slightly to a level much lower than anticipated a decade ago, the United Nations said.

The current population of 8.2 billion people will rise to that maximum over the next 60 years, then dip to 10.2 billion by the end of the century, says a report released Thursday entitled "World Population Prospects 2024."

It said the size of the world's population in 2100 will be six percent lower, or 700 million people fewer, than what was anticipated in June 2013.