Mubasher: The number of the world's inhabitants is expected to decline after 2050, negatively affecting the global economy due to the lower number of working-age people, according to a recent study, Bloomberg reported.

Access to birth control and women's education would lead to stopping the world's population growth for the first time in modern history, as per a study published by the Lancet journal

Since 1950, the global population has annually risen between 1% and 2%; hence, the population growth rate would peak at approximately 9.7 billion in 2064.

However, the growth will retreat to around 8.8 billion by 2100, down 2 billion when compared to previous estimates.

 By 2050, 151 countries were projected to witness a drop in a total fertility rate (TFR) compared to the replacement level, and the TFR of 183 countries would be lower than the replacement level by 2100.

The report referred that Asia and eastern Europe will have the fastest shrinking populations, as the number of 23 countries' inhabitants would plunge by over half, such as Japan, Thailand, Italy, and Spain.

Meanwhile, the US is predicted to have the world's fourth-largest working-age population in 2100, with half a million more immigrants expected to maintain the country's workforce.

The report also predicted that the world would see a dramatic shift in the global age structure with a number of people over 80 years old more than the number of children under five years old.

This shift will have a damaging impact on developed economies due to lower numbers of workers, slower growth in standards of living, and a greater burden on covering pensions and healthcare.