Days Until World Population Day

About World Population Day

July 11 was designated by the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, inspired by the public interest around the world's population reaching an estimated five billion on July 11, 1987 (sometimes called the "Day of Five Billion").

The observance aims to draw attention to population-related issues, including family planning, gender equality, and sustainable development, and has continued as an annual UN-recognized observance since.

World population passed the 8 billion mark in November 2022, according to UN estimates, continuing the same population-milestone tradition that originally inspired the observance back in 1987.

The UN's own population division continues publishing periodic revised global population projections tied loosely to the same July date each year, extending the original 1987 five-billion milestone into an ongoing data-tracking tradition.

The observance's messaging has evolved over the decades from an initial focus mainly on population growth rates toward a broader set of issues, including reproductive health access and gender equality in family planning decisions.