Baby Born in Philippines Announced as World’s 8 Billionth Person

A file image of a mother holding her newborn child's hand. Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images

The world’s population hit the 8 billion mark on Nov. 15 with the birth of a baby girl in the Philippines.

The newborn, named Vinice Mabansag, was born at 1:29 a.m. local time at the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, local media GMA News reported. Her birth was announced by the Philippines’ Commission on Population and Development on Facebook alongside photos of the child with her mother.

“We just witnessed the world’s 8th billionth baby in the Philippines,” Dr. Romeo Bituin, the hospital’s chief of medical staff, told GMA News.

“We waited around two hours starting 11 p.m. last night, and the baby was delivered at around 1:29 a.m., a normal spontaneous delivery,” the doctor added.

The United Nations had predicted on Nov. 15 that the world’s population would reach 8 billion by the middle of November, which it described as “a milestone in human development.”

“The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

The U.N. attributed the population growth to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene, and medicine, as well as the persistent fertility levels in some countries.

It said that while the global population took 12 years to grow to 8 billion from 7 billion, it will take about 15 years for it to reach 9 billion, indicating that “the overall growth rate of global population is slowing.”

“Countries with the highest fertility levels tend to be those with the lowest income per capita. Global population growth has therefore over time become increasingly concentrated among the world’s poorest countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa,” it said.

People walk in a market to shop ahead of the Diwali festival in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 12, 2020. Manish Swarup/AP Photo

World’s Most Populous Country

Asia accounts for half of the global population, with 2.3 billion people in Eastern and Southeastern Asia and 2.1 billion people in Central and Southern Asia, according to the U.N. World Population Prospects 2022 report.

China and India accounted for most of Asia’s population, with about 1.43 billion and about 1.42 billion, respectively. The report stated that India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country next year.

China abolished its one-child policy in 2016 and raised the birth limit to two. The country last year set a three-child limit in an effort to reverse declining birth rates and revitalize an aging population.

Other populous nations include the United States (338 million), Indonesia (276 million), Pakistan (236 million), Nigeria (219 million), and Brazil (215 million), according to the U.S.-based Pew Research Center data. The Philippines has 111 million people.