World ‘population bomb’ may never go off as feared, finds study

If governments pursue progressive social policies, the world population could fall to about 6 billion by 2100, the study predicted. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The long-feared “population bomb” may not go off, according to the authors of a new report that estimates that human numbers will peak lower and sooner than previously forecast.

The study, commissioned by the Club of Rome, projects that on current trends the world population will reach a high of 8.8 billion before the middle of the century, then decline rapidly. The peak could come earlier still if governments take progressive steps to raise average incomes and education levels.