Monrovia, Liberia – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has revealed that the world’s population is expected to reach 8.2 billion people in 2025, as the world celebrates World Population Day (WPD).
According to the UNFPA, the world’s population is expected to reach 8.3 billion in 2026, 8.36 billion in 2027, and 8.43 billion people in 2028, respectively. The nations with the largest populations are the United States (342.03 million), China (1.41 billion), and India (1.42 billion).
On Friday, July 11, 2025, a celebration with the theme “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world” was held in Paynesville. It brought together parliamentarians, students, government representatives, and local and international partners.
Grand Cape Mount County Senator Dabah Varpilah, who was the guest speaker, said, despite the world’s problems, a greater percentage of people are educated and live healthier lives than at any other time in history. Senator Varpilah who is also the Chair on the Senate Committee on Health said that societies that invest in their people, in their rights and choices, have proven time and again that this is the road to the prosperity and peace that everyone wants and deserves.
In 2025,the world population hits 8.2 billion people. There will be a lot of discussion and attention surrounding this turning point, as well as perhaps some fear tactics about “too many” people which would be a mistake,” she stated. According to the Grand Cape Mount Senator, concentrating solely on population figures and growth rates frequently results in oppressive and ineffective policies as well as the degradation of human rights, such as when women are encouraged to have children or are forbidden from doing so.
According to her, it can worsen existing severe disparities by, for example, enacting laws that prevent access to reproductive health care or provide insufficient pensions for the elderly, thereby further excluding the most marginalized.
According to UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, the organization interviewed 14,000 people worldwide and discovered that 1 in 5 people under 50 anticipate having a family that is smaller than they would like and that the majority of them will have fewer children than they would have liked. Nearly a third of respondents over 50 said they had fewer children than they had hoped for.
She went on to say that understanding across generations is essential to fostering trust as well as supporting intergenerational solidarity and justice. The demands of a world with a varied population can only be met by collective solutions based on human rights, she said, adding that access to sexual and reproductive health and rights is essential to inclusive, sustainable communities.
“Let’s establish the conditions that will allow those who fervently desire to enjoy the pleasures and rewards of parenthood to achieve their fertility objectives, where they can have hope for a better future that will support their choices and defend their rights, and where they and their children will prosper,” Madam Kanem stated.
This year’s theme, “Empowering Young People to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world,” is vital to our shared future, said Christine Unutoni, United Nations Resident Coordinator.
She said, across Liberia, young people dream of
building lives marked by love, dignity, stability, and opportunity and envision a future brighter than the present. Unfortunately, this vision is clouded by economic uncertainty, gender inequality, lack of access to healthcare and education, and the lingering effects of discrimination.
Young people must be given the authority to choose whether, when, and with whom to establish a family, as well as how many children to have, in order for them to build the family they choose, according to Madam Unutoni.
