BERLIN, GERMANY, August 30, 2011 (thehindu.com): Before long–if not already–a baby will be born who will take the global population above 7 billion for the first time. No one is sure; no statistician would be prepared to say exactly when this event takes place.
The rate of population growth has soared over the course of recorded history. When Jesus was born, there are thought to have been around 300 million people on earth. The one-billion mark was reached only after 1800. As many as a billion have been added in just the last 11 years.
David Bloom of the Harvard School of Public Health speaks of the multitude of unpredictable factors in estimating future population growth: “Among them are infectious diseases, war, scientific progress, political change and our capacity for global cooperation.”
It is generally assumed that population growth will tail off, with U.N. predictions for 2050 ranging from 8.0 to 10.5 billion. Assuredly the proportions will shift among the continents, driven by high birth rates in Asia and Africa. India (now at 1.2 billion) will soon take the lead from China (currently at 1.3 billion). Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country today with 162 million, is expected to have almost 750 million by the middle of the century.
Increasing population creates greater pressure on land, food and energy resources, already a source of contention between countries. Water wars are predicted between neighbouring countries. The environmental organization WWF estimates that with current usage patterns, the population of 2050 would require the resources of three planets. We will be forced to change our habits. “In the next 40 years we will have to produce the same amount of food as over the last 8,000 years,” the WWF’s Jason Clay believes. He notes that far too much is still thrown away in the industrialized world.