in excess of 6.5 billion
According to estimates published by the United States Census Bureau, the Earth's population reached 6.5 billion on Saturday, February 25, 2006. In line with population projections, this figure continues to grow at rates that are unprecedented prior to the 20th century. Approximately one fifth of all humans that have existed in the last six thousand years are currently alive. By some estimates, there are now one billion (thousand million) people in the world between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four.
The 20th century saw the biggest increase in the world's population in human history. The following table shows when each billion milestone was met:
1 billion was reached in 1802.
2 billion was reached 125 years later in 1927.
3 billion was reached 34 years later in 1961.
4 billion was reached 13 years later in 1974.
5 billion was reached 13 years later in 1987.
6 billion was reached 12 years later in 1999.
From the figures above, the world's population has tripled in 72 years, and doubled in 38 years up to the year of 1999.
The UN estimated in 2000 that the world's population was then growing at the rate of 1.4 percent (or 91 million people) per year. This represents a decrease in the growth rate from its level in 1990, mostly due to decreasing birth rates.
The first five years of the twenty-first century saw something of a decline in the overall volume of population growth, with the world's population increasing at a rate of about 76 million people per year as of 2005.
Forecast of world population
The future growth of population is difficult to predict. Birth rates are declining slightly on average, but vary greatly between developed countries (where birth rates are often at or below replacement levels) and developing countries. Death rates can change unexpectedly due to disease, wars and catastrophes, or advances in medicine. The UN itself has issued multiple projections of future world population, based on different assumptions. Over the last 10 years, the UN has consistently revised its world population projections downward.
Current projections by the UN's Population Division, based on the 2004 revision of the World Population Prospects database, are as follows.
Year Population (billions)
2010 6.8
2020 7.6
2030 8.2
2040 8.7
2050 8.9
How is this divided up between the continents?
The population figures in the table below are in thousands
Year World Africa Asia Europe Latin-America North America Oceania
1750 791 000 106 000 502 000 163 000 16 000 2 000 2 000
1800 978 000 107 000 635 000 203 000 24 000 7 000 2 000
1850 1 262 000 111 000 809 000 276 000 38 000 26 000 2 000
1900 1 650 000 133 000 947 000 408 000 74 000 82 000 6 000
1950 2 518 629 221 214 1 398 488 547 403 167 097 171 616 12 812
2000 6 070 581 795 671 3 679 737 727 986 520 229 315 915 31 043
2006-06-29 12:57:38
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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You can't know the exact number because people are constantly being born and dying.
2006-06-29 19:58:09
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answer #2
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answered by Alta 2
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