We explain how we know that population growth is coming to an end, and present projections of the drivers of population growth. The world population growth rate declined from 2.2% per year 50 years ago to 1.05% per year.įuture population growth – This article focuses on the future of population growth. The world population increased from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.7 billion today. When and why did the world population grow? And how does rapid population growth come to an end? These are the big questions that are central to this research article.