The global population growth is rapidly declining, with scientists attributing the cause to a decrease in birth rates.

Until recently, the growth of the Earth's population showed no signs of slowing down; however, in the past few years, it has dramatically decelerated. In fact, statistics indicate that the population in many countries has peaked and is expected to decline until the end of this century, as reported by IFLScience.

Last year, which was the hottest on record, our planet reached a new milestone, becoming home to eight billion people. At the same time, according to the latest UN forecasts, a slowdown in the planet's population growth is currently observed—scientists anticipate that over the next 60 years, the world's population will increase by only two billion people.

Researchers predict that at some point in the 2080s, the global population will reach 10.3 billion, after which this figure will drop to 10.2 billion by the end of the century. Experts now believe that the likelihood of the world population peaking before 2100 is 80%.

Interestingly, just ten years ago, this probability was estimated at only 30%, and some models predicted that by 2100, the global population would exceed 12 billion. For the most part, this change in pace can be attributed to a sharp decline in the birth rate, which refers to the number of children born to each adult woman.

For countries to maintain their population levels, the birth rate needs to be around 2.1. However, statistics indicate that in more than half of the countries worldwide, this figure is below the critical threshold.

Data suggests that nearly one-fifth of all countries now have a "super-low fertility rate," meaning that there are fewer than 1.4 live births per woman. Interestingly, this group also includes China, which until recently was the most populous country in the world. Alongside Russia, Japan, and more than 60 other countries, China has already surpassed its peak and is on a decline. It is projected that from now until 2054, the population of these countries will decrease by approximately 14%.

There are numerous factors influencing fertility rates; however, scientists suspect that the situation can be explained by a phenomenon known as demographic transition: women tend to have fewer children as countries become more industrialized.

Researchers note that today, women have more opportunities for career advancement, which often leads them to prioritize work and delay starting families. Simultaneously, decreasing child mortality and a reduced need for large families to farm land mean that fewer children are being born worldwide.

Combined with a steadily increasing life expectancy, this decline in birth rates could drastically alter the demographic makeup of the population, with older individuals now comprising a larger portion of the total. Equally concerning, according to scientists' forecasts, is that by 2070, the number of people over 65 is likely to surpass the number of those under 18.