Nearly all future population growth will be in the world’s less developed countries, and the poorest of these countries will see the greatest percentage increase.
In contrast, developed countries as a whole will experience little or no population growth in this century, and much of that growth will be from immigration from less developed countries. Europe is likely to be the first region in history to see long-term population decline, largely as a result of low fertility in Eastern Europe and Russia. Europe’s population is projected to decrease from 740 million today to 732 million by 2050.