CNN is reporting The world’s population is forecast to hit 7 billion next year (2010)
However, the press release of the Population Reference Bureau is indicating 7 billion in 2011
The increase from 6 billion to 7 billion is likely to take 12 years, as did the increase from 5 billion to 6 billion.
The current US census population clock shows just short of 6.8 billion people, which would suggest 7 billion people in 2012. The UN has a slightly higher estimate. All population figures are based on census data of varying age and estimates of growth and deaths. Census data can have often have systemic inaccuracy/error.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2009 WORLD POPULATION DATA SHEET:
* Africa’s population has just passed 1 billion. The continent’s population is growing by about 24 million per year, and will double by 2050.
* About half the world lives in poverty. Nearly 50 percent of world population lives on less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. Hundreds of millions of people live barely above that level.
* HIV prevalence now appears to be on the decline in Africa, but rates are still far higher than in other world regions. Swaziland has the world’s highest rate of HIV: 26 percent of its population ages 15 to 49 is HIV positive.
* The birth rate among U.S. teenagers is twice as high as the average for all developed countries.
* The U.S. rate is 42 births per 1,000 teenage girls (ages 15-19); the rate for all developed countries is 21 per 1,000.
19 page pdf report from the population reference bureau
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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