This month the world will cross over the 7 billion mark – more than 7 billion people alive at one time on the planet by estimates. That is an amazing number – when I was born 3.5 billion was a long way off, and even when I graduated high school we were nowhere near 5 billion. Yet in spite of dwindling fertility, global population growth continues unchecked.
In ‘celebration’ of the milestone, SmartPlanet has put together a list of seven things to note about this population milestone:
- It took humans until 1800 for the world’s population to reach 1 billion. Now it only takes about 13 years to add another billion people — and every year, even though fertility is declining, our population increases by about 80 million people.
- 215 million women would like to avoid or delay childbearing, but have no access to contraceptives. A thousand women die giving birth every day.
- Worldwide, women are having about half as many children as they did 50 years ago. Since 1950, the average size of a family declined from 6.0 to 2.5 people.
- In 1950, 1 in 5 children died before the age of 5. Today, 93 percent survive.
- By 2025, India is expected to have more people than China. About 3 billion people alone live in the emerging economies of China, India, Brazil and Indonesia.
- Young people make up 43 percent of the world’s population; in developed countries, they represent 60 percent of the population.
- The rate of growth of people age 60 or older is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the world’s population. By 2040, nearly 1 in 4 people will be over age 60.
This article points to the site 7 Billion Actions, which is an interactive site that invites people to explore and understand the impact and implications of having a population so large on our planet:
A world of 7 billion people poses many challenges – and countless opportunities to make a positive difference. 7 Billion Actions, established by the United Nations Population Fund, inspires change that will make a difference by highlighting positive action by individuals and organizations around the world. Learn more.
What are your thoughts on the global population explosion?
Read more at SmartPlanet
The more populated we get, the more people there are to enjoy living.
Human
birthrate should be naturally unrestrained. People were never designed
to use any method of “birth control.” We should not be expected to
directly pollute our bodies with nasty, unnatural, Big Pharma contraceptive potions
and poisons. Let babies push out unhindered, as more and more people
would be glad to live. Whatever happened to letting babies happen as
they happen?
“How can there be to too many children? That’s like saying, there’s too many flowers.” Mother Teresa