Our little planet just keeps getting more crowded, and more in need of a way to live together in peace and cooperation. On Saturday February 26th 2006, at 7:16 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the population on Earth reached 6.5 billion people. This is according to estimates, but who has time to go around the world counting everyone. And we are now adding 261 new people every minute around the world. An analysis by the International Programs Center at the U.S. Census Bureau points to another fact: some six years from now, on Oct. 18, 2012 at 4:36 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the Earth will be home to 7 billion people.
According to estimates from the Population Reference Bureau…
In the year 1000, the world’s population was 310 million. In the year 1900, the world’s population was 1.6 billion. In the year 2050, the world’s population will be an estimated 9 billion. As of 2002, there have been 106 billion people ever born.
Remarkably, despite many new developments over the years, one fact looks the same: Populations are growing most rapidly where such growth can be afforded the least.