You are living in an extraordinary time — the planet Earth is, at this very moment, experiencing an incredible human population rise. It is estimated that the world population reached one billion in 1804. Not until 1927 did we hit two billion. Then, just 33 years later – 1960 – we eclipsed three billion. Population reached four billion in 1974 (14 years), five billion in 1987 (13 years), six billion in 1999 (12 years) and seven billion in 2011 (12 years). Now, we are well on the way to 8 billion, probably in late 2022.
Never has the volume of growth been as large as it is now.
This rapid increase is no longer due to a high growth rate acting on a relatively small population base. As recently as the year 1967, a population growth rate of 2.11% acted on a total population of 3.4 billion to produce annual global population growth of 73 million people. Now, the situation is the opposite. The global growth has fallen by 50% — a good thing, to be sure. But, this lower growth rate of 1.1% is acting on an enormous total population of 7.6 billion. Counter intuitively, this is resulting in even larger annual population growth than in 1967 — over 80 million additional people per year.
Population Media Center (PMC) envisions a sustainable world with equal rights for all. It is a positive vision – a cherished hope in this troubled world. After all, environmental degradation, prejudice against women and girls, and huge population growth are causing very serious problems. Join us to learn more.
Why would any parent trade a child for a benefit as small as a pair of goats? It’s unimaginable to us, but some cultural norms are so range-bound, the trade may actually seem like a good deal. Here’s how we can change that perception.
Species are going extinct at a rate so alarming that scientists called it a “biological annihilation” in the peer-reviewed journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors predict “Humanity will eventually pay a very high price for the decimation of the only assemblage of life that we know of in the universe.”
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