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DECEMBER 31, 1999 - JANUARY 7, 2000, VOLUME 25 NUMBER 52
Monitor
More to Come, But Will We Be Too Many?
The population of the world 2,000 years ago was about 300 million. It took more than 1,600 years to double to 600 million. Truly rapid global population growth started in 1950, with the reduction in mortality in less developed countries. With fertility declining in most of the world, the global population growth rate has been decreasing since its peak of 2.0% in 1965-1970. On the cusp of the millennium, the world's population stands at 6 billion and is growing at 1.3% per year, or an annual net gain of 78 million people.
Source: United Nations Population Fund; www.popin.org/pop1998/
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