<Tr> <Td> 7--8 children 6--7 children </Td> <Td> 5--6 children 4--5 children </Td> <Td> 3--4 children 2--3 children </Td> <Td> 1--2 children 0--1 children </Td> </Tr> <P> During the 2010s, Japan and some countries in Europe began to encounter negative population growth (i.e. a net decrease in population over time), due to sub-replacement fertility rates . </P> <P> In 2006, the United Nations stated that the rate of population growth was visibly diminishing due to the ongoing global demographic transition . If this trend continues, the rate of growth may diminish to zero by 2050, concurrent with a world population plateau of 9.2 billion . However, this is only one of many estimates published by the UN; in 2009, UN population projections for 2050 ranged between around 8 billion and 10.5 billion . An alternative scenario is given by the statistician Jorgen Randers, who argues that traditional projections insufficiently take into account the downward impact of global urbanization on fertility . Randers' "most likely scenario" reveals a peak in the world population in the early 2040s at about 8.1 billion people, followed by decline . Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington professor of statistics and of sociology, states that "there's a 70 percent probability the world population will not stabilize this century . Population, which had sort of fallen off the world's agenda, remains a very important issue ." </P> <Ul> <Li> <P> Estimated world population figures, 10,000 BC--AD 2000 </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Estimated world population figures, 10,000 BC--AD 2000 (in log y scale) </P> </Li> <Li> <P> World population figures, 1950--2000 </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Estimated global growth rates, 1950--2050 </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Estimated and projected populations of the world and its continents (except Antarctica) from 1950 to 2100 . The shaded regions correspond to the range of projections by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs . </P> </Li> </Ul>

When will the worlds population reach 8 billion