The impact of human activities on the global environment is a product of the number of people, individual consumption, and the natural resources, raw materials and technology required to support that consumption. The World Population indicator is included in the Global Context chapter of the annual CSO Environmental Indicators Ireland report recognising that environmental impact and change in Ireland, sits within a global context. Much of the data presented in the Global Context chapter are disaggregated by geographical area (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Oceania) and illustrate not just the differences in population growth over time, but also the differences in child mortality and life expectancy at birth. The geographical disaggregation allows readers to see where the increased demand is occurring as well as demonstrating differences in life expectancy/child mortality between regions. Data are also presented on greenhouse gas emissions (1990 – 2021) which show the highest emissions among the nations/groups presented are generated by the USA, EU27 and the Russian Federation.
