Educator Guide: Human Population Hits a Milestone

December 17, 2022

photo of a crowd of people in New York City — Current projections predict the world’s population will peak at about 10.4 billion in the 2080s and remain steady until 2100.

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About this guide

The world population has reached 8 billion people, according to the United Nations. In this guide, students will learn about how the human population has grown over time and how it is projected to grow in the future, then analyze a graph of world population data. In a quick activity, students will think about how a growing human population might impact various industries and how changes at the national or international level might help those industries support a larger population.

This Guide Includes:

The human population sets a new record

Students will answer questions about the Science News article “The world population has now reached 8 billion,” which explores trends in human population growth. A version of the article, “Human population hits a milestone,” appears in the December 17, 2022 & December 31, 2022 issue of Science News.

Graphing global population trends

Students will explore a graphic representation of trends in the size of the global human population and analyze the importance and implications of projected data.

Preparing for population growth

In this quick activity, students will brainstorm the effects of population growth on industries such as agriculture and medicine, then will work collaboratively to come up with changes at the national or international level that will help those industries support the growing population.