World Population Day
About World Population Day
When is World Population Day? This holiday is always celebrated on July 11
Stand up and be counted. Today is World Population Day. This special United Nations holiday evolved from Five Billion Day. On this July 11 holiday many years ago, the world’s population was estimated to reach five billion people. We certainly have added a lot of human beings since then. See the most populous countries in the world, too.
With all the issues related to the billions of people, World Population Day strives to raise awareness of global population issues. The United Nations seeks to promote awareness of issues related to population growth, including the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health, and human rights.
Population Day focuses on people under 25, reproductive issues, and health. The United Nations World Population Fund (UNFPA) sponsors this annual holiday. According to the UNFPA website, the focus of this day is on people under 25 and those of reproductive age. This day seeks to provide education and awareness of reproductive health, reproductive choice, and family planning, and to provide a better future for young people.
Did You Know? The United States is the third most populous country in the world.
The Population on Planet Earth
The population of the world has increased steadily since Medieval times. With an ever-growing world population, people became interested in “Five Billion Day” on July 11, 1987. This is the approximate date when the world’s population reached five billion people. This sparked the creation of World Population Day. But, the population growth story does not peak there. According to the United Nations Population Fund, there was an estimated 8.3 billion people in 2026.
Sometime in the next few years, India will surpass China as the most populous country in the world. Currently, China has 1.44 billion people, while India has 1.42 billion. The United States is a distant third with 340 million people.
The world’s population will reach over 9 billion people by 2050, and over 11 billion by 2100. Can the world feed that many people? The answer quite frankly is, we don’t know.
Did You Know? Worldwide, over 200.000 babies are born each day!
How to Celebrate and Participate in World Population Day
Here’s how you can participate in World Population Day:
- Help to bring awareness of these issues to the youth in your community.
- When your country holds a census, stand up and be counted.
Today's Chuckle
“Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.” – – Laurence J. Peter
History and Origin of World Population Day
The Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme initiated this holiday as an annual event.
This Day in History
In addition to World Population Day, here are some things that happened on July 11:
- Robert Bailey Thomas publishes the first issue of the Farmer’s Almanac. It is now called the “Old Farmer’s Almanac”. (1792)
- Congress authorizes all U.S. currency to say “In God We Trust”. (1955)
- James Whistler, painter, “Whistler’s Mother”., was born on this day in 1834.
More July 11 Holidays
Additionally, here are more July 11 holidays we are sure you will enjoy:
More About Today
Find more about the “goings on” on this date.
This Day in History – Indeed, many other important events occurred on this date in July. See what happened on this date in history.
Famous July Birthdays – Did you ever wonder what famous people share your birth date? If so, then find out now!
Ecards – Send a free Ecard daily for World Population Day or just about any calendar holiday, occasion, observance, or event. Undoubtedly, it’s fun for both the sender and the recipient.
Flower of the Day: Crocosmia
Recipe of the Day: Boston Baked Beans
Holiday Insights, where every day in July is a holiday, a bizarre or wacky day, an observance, or a special event. Join us in the daily calendar fun each and every day of the year.
Did You Know? Besides World Population Day, there are literally thousands of daily holidays, special events, and observances, more than one for every day of the year. Many of these holidays are new. People and organizations are creating new holidays regularly. July holidays are no exception. Consequently, at Holiday Insights, we take great efforts to thoroughly research and document the details of each one, as completely and accurately as possible.