World population set for sharp increase by 2040

ANKARA

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As European countries discuss the possible impact of a refugee influx on their population, figures from Eurostat have shown these countries expect just a small increase in their population in the upcoming decades, while many countries, including Turkey, will be subject to a sharp rise before 2040. 

The population of Turkey will rise to 92 million over the next 25 years, adding some 16.9 million, nearly as much as the total population of the Netherlands today, according to Eurostat figures gathered by Anadolu Agency. 

However, the rise of the Turkish population will then slow down to 3.8 percent, reaching 95.3 million in 2060, according to the projection. 

Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) calculated the Turkish population at 77,695,904 at end of last year. 

The world population, 7.12 billion in 2013, will increase 26.9 percent by 2040 reaching 9.39 billion, the estimation said. 

However, European countries seem to have only a small impact on the increase, with the projection saying the 28 EU member states’ total population of 506 million will increase 3.5 percent by 2040, reaching 523.5 million. Eurostat’s studies point at a stall until 2060.

The fastest growth in population among the Group of 20 countries will be observed in Australia and Saudi Arabia, studies showed. 

The Australian population, 23.1 million in 2013, will increase 34.11 percent in 2040, reaching 31 million before touching 36.1 million 2060. 

Saudi Arabia’s population of 38.2 million will increase 32.6 percent to 38.2 million in 25 years. The increase will continue, afterwards, reaching 41.3 million in 2060. 

The population growth in the U.S. will also not be slow. The U.S. population, at 316.1 million in 2013, will rise 21.2 percent to 383.2 million in 2040, before reaching 417.8 million in 2060. 

The projection also replaced China, the most crowded country in the world, with current number-two India. 

China’s population will increase 5.7 percent, exceeding 1.435 billion in 2040, the projection said, though this figure will drop to 1.313 billion, it said. 

However, India, with a population at 1.252 billion, will become a 1.565-billion-population country with a 25 percent increase by 2040. India’s population was seen at 1.643 billion in 2060.

Driven by the arrival of a growing numbers of foreigners, Germany’s population rose by 430,000 to 81.2 million last year, its biggest increase since 1992, the German statistics office said Sept. 24.

German public opinion has been divided on the rising numbers of immigrants, with some warmly welcoming people fleeing conflict in the Middle East and Africa but others concerned about how easily the newcomers could be integrated. 

Business leaders and the government say that migration can help to counter the effects of an aging population and prevent a shortage in the German labor force. 

A total of 7.5 million foreign citizens were living in Europe’s most populous country, the figures for 2014 showed. Foreigners made up 9.3 percent of the population at the end of 2014, up from 8.7 percent a year earlier. 

Those numbers do not reflect this year’s record influx of asylum seekers and refugees. Berlin expected the arrival of 800,000 people by the end of 2015 and so far has approved nearly 40 percent of all asylum claims this year. 

The arrival of large numbers of refugees could push up unemployment next year, the German labor office research institute said Sept. 24. 

United Germany’s previous biggest annual intake of foreigners was in 1992 when it took large numbers of refugees fleeing conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. As in much of Europe, Germany’s population is aging fast, with deaths outstripping births. Researchers had previously estimated a population decline to 73.1 million people by 2060, despite high levels of migration.