The first world count of the world's inhabitants occurred in 1804 resulting in a total of 1 billion people. It took another 123 years, until 1927, for the count to reach 2 billion.
The much celebrated 5 billion mark was reached in 1987. After just 11 years, the population had risen to 6 billion in 1998, and by October 31, 2011, 13 years later, we had 7 billion.
The world has the resources to sustain our present population and more, but the resources often aren't where the people are, according to Carl Haub of the Population Reference Bureau. Populations are growing fastest in the poorest nations.
Where populations are growing or not growing very much
The countries with the lowest birth rate per woman include industrialized nations such as Bosnia and Herzegovina at 1.2, Germany at 1.4, China at 1.6, Canada at 1.7, Australia and Brazil at 1.9 and the United States at 2.1.
Of the poorest countries in Africa, Niger has a birth rate of 7.2 children per woman. In several other African countries where poverty is high and there are few contraceptive options, the birthrate is just somewhat lower.
The challenges
According to Time, the problems of population growth are mainly about inequality, supporting an aging population and adapting to migration patterns. At the Population Reference Bureau, they say countries usually do have enough food, but people don't have access to it because of poverty.
World population statistics
Today, 19 percent of the world population lives in China; 33 percent of the world population is Christian; 50.4 percent are male; and 50.5 percent live in a town or city.
The median age of the world population is 29 years, and the median gross household income is $10,290.
About 73 percent do not have access to the Internet.
Evan H. Farr on Google +
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