Whether you live in the country or in a big city, the population around you is growing. According to new numbers put out by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the global population will rise to 7 billion in 2011, up from 6 billion in 1999.
What it all means
David Bloom, Professor of Economics and Demography at the Harvard School of Public Health, says the population growth will bring about challenges.
According to a press release put out by Harvard School of Public Health, over the next forty years, nearly all (97%) of the 2.3 billion projected increase will be in the less developed regions, with nearly half (49%) in Africa. By contrast, the populations of more developed countries will remain flat, but will age, with fewer working-age adults to support retirees living on social pensions.
“Although the issues immediately confronting developing countries are different from those facing the rich countries, in a globalized world demographic challenges anywhere are demographic challenges everywhere,” said Bloom.
This year 135 million children will come into this world, while 57 million will leave pass away, a large net gain for just one year.
Planning for the future
Some worry that illness, like the swine flu will become a problem. Others worry about the lack of clean space left on the planet to house millions more, and others say global warming will only get worse with additional people.
“The demographic picture is indeed complex, and poses some formidable challenges,” Bloom said.
“Those challenges are not insurmountable, but we cannot deal with them by sticking our heads in the sand. We have to tackle some tough issues ranging from the unmet need for contraception among hundreds of millions of women and the huge knowledge-action gaps we see in the area of child survival, to the reform of retirement policy and the development of global immigration policy. It’s just plain irresponsible to sit by idly while humankind experiences full force the perils of demographic change.”
