UN Highlights

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World population is estimated to cross the six billion threshold on October 12, 1999.

World population is projected to cross the 7 billion mark in 2013; the 8 billion mark in 2028; the 9 billion mark in 2054.World population nearly stabilises at just above 10 billion after 2200.

It has taken just 12 years for the world to add this most recent billion people. This is the shortest period of time in world history for a billion people to be added.

World population did not reach one billion until 1804.It took 123 years to reach 2 billion in 1927, 33 years to reach 3 billion in 1960, 14 years to reach 4 billion in 1974 and 13 years to reach 5 billion in 1987.

The highest rate of world population growth (2.04 per cent) occurred in the late 1960s.The current rate (1995-2000) is 1.31 per cent.

The largest annual increase to world population (86 million) took place in the late 1980s;the current annual increase is 78 million.

Of the 78 million people currently added to the world each year, 95 per cent live in the less developed regions.

Eighty per cent of the world currently reside in the less developed regions. At the beginning of the century, 70 per cent did so. By 2050, the share of the world population living in the currently less developed regions will have risen to 90 per cent.

The population of the world is ageing. The median age increased from 23.5 years in 1950 to 26.4 years in 1999.By 2050, the median age is projected to reach 37.8 years. The number of people in the world aged 60 or older will also rise from the current one-of-ten persons to be two-of-nine by 2050.Currently around one-of-five persons in the developed countries are aged 60 or older; in 2050 nearly one-of-every three persons will be aged 60 or older.

World life expectancy at birth is now at 65 years, having increased by a remarkable 20 years since 1950; by 2050 life expectancy is expected to exceed 76 years. However, in spite of these impressive gains, recent years have shown a devastating toll from AIDS in a number of countries. In addition, in some Eastern European countries, health has been deteriorating and mortality, particularly among adult males, has been rising.

Couples in developing countries today have on average 3 children each; thirty years ago they had six. More than half of all couples in developing countries now use contraception.

The number of persons who have moved to another country has risen to over 125 million migrants today from 75 million in 1965.

The world has become increasingly urban. Currently, around 46 per cent of the world population lives in urban areas; the majority of the world’s population will be urban by 2006.

The World At Six Billion: Highlights