8 Billion

The United Nations has dubbed today "The Day of Eight Billion." On November 15, 2022, the world population will cross eight billion people. The UN is not looking at this milestone as a catastrophe- the reason why the population is that high is that people are living longer on average, and fewer children are dying. This interactive video graphic illustrates the change in death rates. Russia is a notable outlier.

However, the rate of population growth had actually slowed down from previous decades. At this rate we can expect to reach nine billion in 2037, fifteen years from now. (via Metafilter)