Saturday, October 29, 2011 , by-AFPIn a report ahead of ceremonies on Monday to mark the seven billionth human alive today, the UN Population Fund warned demographic pressure posed mighty challenges for easing poverty and conserving the environment.
New estimates see a global human tally of 9.3 billion at 2050, an increase over earlier figures, and more than 10 billion by century’s end, UNFPA said.
But, it added, “with only a small variation in fertility, particularly in the most populous countries, the total could be higher: 10.6 billion people could be living on earth by 2050 and more than 15 billion in 2100”. The 126-page document, The State of the World Population 2011, highlights a surge that began with the post-World War II baby boom – a numbers “bulge” that shows up in following generations as they in turn grow up and have children.
In contrast, prosperity, better education and access to contraception have slashed the global fertility rate to the point that some rich countries have to address a looming population fall. Over the past six decades, fertility has declined from a statistical average of six children per women to about 2.5 today, varying from 1.7 in the most advanced economies to 4.2 in the least developed nations.
Categories: Health
Interesting to compare this article to the other one above. In other words: the scientists do not have a clue, either the earth will be over-populated or under-populated. Definitely!