Not all researchers agree on the population peak, with one Gates Foundation-funded study suggesting population is nearing peak now. Based on the U.N.’s projections, our world population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and up to 9.7 billion in 2050. The point is, with the world’s population passing 8 billion late last year, the global population peak is drawing rapidly closer. Will singularity throw an entirely different wrinkle into the population peak? To start, the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950.