World population to reach 7 billion by 2011 · 2009-08-13 18:33
The world's population is forecast to hit 7 billion in 2011, the vast majority of its growth is coming in developing and, in many cases, the poorest nations, a report released Wednesday said.
A staggering 97 percent of global growth over the next 40 years will happen in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the Population Reference Bureau's 2009 World Population Data Sheet, CNN reports.
"The great bulk of today's 1.2 billion youth ??“ nearly 90 percent ??“ are in developing countries," said Carl Haub, a co-author of the report. Eight in 10 of those youth live in Africa and Asia.
In the developed world, the United States and Canada will account for most of the growth ??“ half from immigration and half from a natural increase in the population ??“ births minus deaths.
High fertility rates and a young population base in the developing world will fuel most of the growth, especially in Africa, where women often give birth to six or seven children over a lifetime, the report says. The number is about two in the United States and 1.5 in Canada.
By the way, according to The Sun, the birth rate among US teenagers is twice the average for all developed nations and has increased in recent years. The current USA rate is 42 births for every 1000 girls aged 15 to 19, while the overall rate for developed countries is 21 per 1000.
By 2050, India is projected to be the world's most populous nation at 1.7 billion, overtaking current leader China, which is forecast to hit 1.4 billion. The United States is expected to reach 439 million for number 3.
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