There are officially eight billion people in the world — and a baby girl born in Manila symbolizes this fact.
Baby Vinice Mabansag, who was born at Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Tondo, Manila on Nov. 15, was chosen to mark the eight billionth person in the world.
Representatives from the Commission on Population and Development were there to welcome Vinice’s birth, who was delivered by her mother at 1:29am.
“We just witnessed the world’s eight billionth baby in the Philippines. So we waited around two hours starting 11 pm last night and the baby was delivered at around 1:29 am, normal spontaneous delivery,” Dr. Romeo Bituin, the hospital’s chief medical professional staff, said according to a report from GMA News.
Vinice’s birth comes as the United Nations predicts the global population would reach eight billion on Tuesday, the day she was born.
“This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It is also the result of high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries,” the UN wrote.
The UN said that while the world’s population took 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion, it will take until 2037 or 15 years for it to reach 9 billion — “a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing.”
The government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital is designated as the country’s national maternity hospital and is known as the world’s busiest maternity facility, with 60 to 80 babies born each day.
Reader Interactions