Global population growth is occurring at an unprecedented rate, adding over 200,000 people per day. It took hundreds of thousands of years to reach 1 billion people in 1800, but each subsequent billion has been reached in progressively less time, with the last billion added in just 12 years. Rapid population growth is driven by improved agriculture increasing the global food supply. Most growth is occurring in developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia, with India projected to surpass China's population by 2028. Sustaining the needs of the growing billions will be challenging as suitable land and resources are already under pressure and employment opportunities are limited. Continued unchecked growth risks unpredictable catastrophe.

1. Global Population Growth
By John J. Hidore
Estimates of Early Population Growth
October 19, 2013---Global population is growing faster than at any time in
history. We are now adding
about 227,000 people per day to the planet. This adds 85,000,000 people to the
planet each year. That annual
increase is the same
as adding the population of the United States to the planet every four years.
What is astonishing in the growth
data is how fast the rate of growth has been increasing. It took hundreds of
thousands of years for the first
billion to be reached in about 1800. The time it has taken for adding each billion
has dropped rapidly. The last
billion was added in just 12 years from 1999 to 2011. At the beginning of 2013
global population growth stood
at a little over seven billion. The key element in driving population growth is
changing technology which has
increased the global food supply.
Some estimates of early human population size
125,000
1-5 million
50 million
0.5 billion
1 million years ago
11,000 B.C
3,000 B.C
1,500 A.D.
Adding the billions
1 billion
2 billion
3 billion
4 billion
5 billion
6 billion
1800
1930
1960
1974
1987
1999
200,000 to a million years
130 years
30 years
14 years
13 years
12 years

2. 7 Billion
2011
12 years
.
The human population reached its highest annual growth
rate of about 2 percent per year, in the early 1970s.
growth rate in 2012 was around 1.2 %.
The
While the rate has
dropped the absolute number of humans added to the planet
each year continues to be greater than in the past.
Population Growth in Asia
Today the fastest-growing countries are the developing
countries.
Many of the nations with the highest growth
rates are in Africa and southwest Asia.
largest population of any country.
China has the
However, India, which
has a smaller population than China but has a higher growth
rate, is adding 1/3 more people each year than is China.
The UN projects India to surpass China as the most populous
country in the world about 2028.
At that time both
countries will have a population of about 1.45 billion.
China’s population will begin to stabilize in 2028
India will continue to grow for some time.
and
Most of the
growth will be in developing countries, with more than half
in Africa. The population in Sub-Saharan Africa is
projected to double from the 2010 population of 0.86 to
1.96 billion in 2050.

3. Impact Of Population Growth
The key element in the future relationship between the
human species and the global environment is the continued
rapid growth of the human population. In 1968, Stanford
biologist Paul Ehrlich published the book The Population
Bomb.
At the time he wrote the book the human population
was 3.5 billion. It has more than doubled since.
All data indications are that the population will continue
to grow.
How much it will grow can only be estimated and
the estimates from different organizations vary.
This
year, 2013, the United Nations has forecasted a global
population growth of 8.1 billion by 2025 and 9.6 billion
for 2050.
The next billion people added to the earth will want and expect food,
clothing, shelter, and some means of employment. How are these needs to be
met? There are already a billion people with some degree of malnutrition. Most
of the population supports themselves from agriculture. All good, and even
marginal, land is already occupied, and much productive land is being removed
from agriculture due to erosion and general depletion. How are these
agriculturalists going to find employment? These are critical issues!
The momentum for an increasing population seems to be difficult to
change. Global business thrives on population growth. It seems the options are
limited. Either the human species understands what is taking place and
mandates a change, or these trends will continue until some unpredictable

4. catastrophe eliminates a substantial portion of the people now living!
Recent reports:
United Nations. 2013. World Population Prospects