World Population

It is estimated that there are over 7,953,952,567 people in the world today (US Census Bureau). If these were standing with arms outstretched - say two meters for each person - they would go more than 300 times around the equator. On the other hand, if every person were standing close together, on one square meter of land, the whole population of the earth could stand within the boundaries of a city of the size of New York, even if it would be squashed.

 However, people are naturally not spread equally over the surface of the world. There are deserts and mountains, jungles, and other inhospitable places where very few people live. There are fertile river valleys, rich plains, and cities where people are crowded together. 

This map shows roughly how the population is spread over the Earth. 

             The ten countries with the lowest life expectancy are 

Years at death in the world are 

1. Nigeria (43),

2. Sierra Leone (41),                                                                         

3. Malawi (40),

4. Zambia (38),

5. Rwanda(44),

6. Equatorial Guinea (43),

7. Zimbabwe (37),

8. Central African Republic (39),

9. Angola (41),

10. Botswana (35). 

             Population Problems 

 Probably overpopulation is the main threat to the world today. In the past, people had many children, partly because so many died as babies, and partly to provide workers for the family agriculture. Today, far more children grow into adults and live longer. 

 Even in relatively advanced Europe, life expectancy until the 18th century was only about 33-35 years: today it is 75-84 years. But in developing countries, the tradition of large families persists. China has tried to tackle this by passing laws that limit the number of children to one per family. A second child means the family loses many of the state benefits, such as education. Many people think this is wrong as it takes away the freedom of the individual. But the situation in China was desperate, with the population soaring and only ten percent of the land good for agriculture. 

However, after the devastating earthquake in Sichuan on 12 May 2008, where thousands of children were among the victims, the government relaxed its one-child policy in that region. Another concern now is the vast aging population of China. This means that the workforce will decrease after some years, The cost of social welfare for old people will increase. 

 Another major problem in the world is food. There is, at the moment, enough food produced to feed everyone on the Earth, yet it is estimated that half the population of the world is almost at starvation level. The problem is getting the food to the right places at the right times, but all the time the population is increasing. In 1900, the world population was estimated at 1650 million: today it is over 7 billion. 

                                 What can be done about this?

There is an answer to control overpopulation. 

The populace is the most unmistakable issue of this century. The number of inhabitants in any nation or district is the absolute number of individuals living in that nation or locale. The topic of the populace continues in practically every one of the countries of the world. The most populated nations at this point are China, India, and the USA. The issue of populace regardless of any nation emerges due to assets. In many states, because of a shortage of assets, people face a lot of hardships. There have been different populace control measures executed by nations at various times.