World food demand could double by 2050 – if so agricultural intensification could save 2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year

A new projection by the University of Minnesota and the University of California Santa Barbara shows global food demand could rise by 100-110 percent between 2005 and 2050, which would pose a grave threat to remaining tropical rainforests and would … Continue reading

World population 7 billion – where will the next billion come from?

Just one more day till the world population reaches 7 billion. Just 14 more years till the world population reaches 8 billion. We’ve seen how the latest one billion extra people are spread over the different continents. Now we’re wondering … Continue reading

World population 7 billion: where did that last billion come from?

According to the latest World Population Prospects tomorrow the world’s 7 billionth human inhabitant will be born. That means if you were born in 1968 you placed your first steps on a planet with half as many people as there … Continue reading

Nigeria, Pakistan & Indonesia vs Russia: infographic shows state of population growth in 20 years

In our series comparing population growth for different sets of countries today we have a special: the new number 4, 5 and 6 of world populations – compared to the biggest decliner, set in the year 2031.

Until 2050 97% of population growth comes from less developed regions

This year we will hit 7 billion. But the big demography news is not just the net growth figure, but also the differentiation – where it takes places. A new Harvard study has sifted through the billions of unborn people … Continue reading

Average African woman has more than 5 children, African population growth accelerating over rest of 21st century, problem ‘non-existent’

Demography is statistics in its plainest form, and the below picture says it all. It is not the world population that is growing, it is the African and Asian populations that are growing – and dwarfing all the other continents.