"According to demographers, the world's population didn't reach 1 billion until 1804, and it took 123 years to hit the 2 billion mark in 1927. Then the pace accelerated — 3 billion in 1959, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1987, 6 billion in 1998.
Looking ahead, the UN projects the world population will reach 8 billion by 2025, 10 billion by 2083. But the numbers could be much higher or lower, depending on such factors as access to birth control, infant mortality rates and average life expectancy, which has risen from 48 years in 1950 to 69 years today.
“Overall, this is not a cause for alarm — the world has absorbed big gains since 1950,” says Mr. Bongaarts, a vice-president of the Population Council. But he cautioned that strains are intensifying: rising energy and food prices, environmental stresses, more than 900 million people undernourished.
“For the rich, it's totally manageable,” Mr. Bongaarts said. “It's the poor, everywhere, who will be hurt the most”................READ MORE
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