The world's population reaches 8bn people on Tuesday and will hit 9bn in 15 years as it experiences an unprecedented surge in the number of pensioners, according to the latest UN data.
聯合國(UN)最新數據顯示，全球人口周二達到80億，並將在15年後達到90億，領取養老金的人數將出現前所未有的激增。
The global fertility rate has more than halved since the 1950s to 2.3 births per woman. With mortality also falling, the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to rise from 783mn in 2022 to 1bn by 2030 and reach 1.4bn by 2043, the UN population data revealed.
自20世紀50年代以來，全球生育率下降了一半多，至每名婦女生育2.3個孩子。聯合國人口數據顯示，隨著死亡率的下降，65歲及以上人口數量預計將從2022年的7.83億增至2030年的10億，到2043年將達到14億。
This increase of 623mn in 20 years compares with the seven decades it took for the population of pensioners to increase by 651mn to its current total. The overall global population is set to peak at 10.4bn in the 2080s.
20年增加6.23億，而此前，領取養老金的人口用了70年增加了6.51億，達到目前的總數。全球總人口將在2080年代達到104億的峰值。
In contrast, the number of people under the age of 15 is thought to have peaked last year at 2bn while the share of those aged 15 to 64, traditionally considered the working age, is falling.
相比之下，15歲以下人口數量在去年達到20億的峰值，而傳統上被視為工作年齡的15歲至64歲人口的比例正在下降。
「The coming decades will be marked by a rapid increase in the number of older persons, as the large cohorts born in the middle of the last century grow older.」 said Sara Hertog, a UN population affairs officer.
「隨著上世紀中葉出生的大量人群變老，未來幾十年的標誌將是老年人數量迅速增加。」聯合國人口事務官員薩拉•赫托格(Sara Hertog)說。
The global median age has increased about eight years to 30 since 1950, and is set to rise to 36 by 2050, a figure that jumps to over 50 in east Asia and southern Europe, UN data show.
聯合國數據顯示，自1950年以來，全球中位年齡增長了約8歲，至30歲，到2050年將升至36歲，東亞和南歐的這一數字將超過50歲。
Population ageing is 「a triumph of development efforts」, said Norbert Meiners, professor at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. People are living longer because of improved nutrition, medical advances, sanitation, healthcare, education, and economic progress, he said.
牛津大學人口老齡化研究所教授諾伯特•邁納斯表示，人口老齡化是「發展努力的勝利」。他說，由於營養改善、醫療進步、衛生設施、醫療保健、教育和經濟發展，人們的壽命越來越長。
Ageing, not population growth, is 「the most important demographic change of this century,」 said Michael Hodin, executive director of the Global Coalition on Ageing.
全球老齡化聯盟(Global Coalition on Ageing)執行董事麥可•霍丁(Michael Hodin)表示，「本世紀最重要的人口變化」是老齡化，而不是人口增長。
Ageing is a major challenge for societies and economies because it adds strain on fiscal revenues and healthcare spending. The number of people aged 80, those more closely associated with health problems, rose to more than 150mn this year. This is more than double the figure 20 years ago.
老齡化是社會和經濟的一個重大挑戰，因為它增加了財政收入和醫療支出的壓力。與健康問題關係更密切的80歲老人的數量，今年已增至逾1.5億。這一數字是20年前的兩倍多。
In response to this, many countries have started increasing the state retirement age from 65.
為了應對這一情況，許多國家已經開始將法定退休年齡從65歲提高。