The population of Romania may drop from the current 21 million to 15.9 million people by 2050, lower than the 1950 level of 16.3 million people, according to a new United Nations report on the evolution of global population. The document says the world may count over nine billion people by 2050, about one billion of which would be pensioners.

The UN also expects some 60% of Romanians will live in urban areas by 2030, suggesting the current boom in the real estate sector will not cool down any time soon.

One of the most alarming issues signaled in the report are the lowering fertility and the growing number of old people across the world, which are seen as major contributors to the high number of pensioners.

And it warns that the less developed regions of the world will report the highest boost in population, from 5,4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion from a total of 9.2 billion in 2050.