The latest United Nations reports predict the world population to reach seven billion during the course of this year.
Further projections estimate growth will continue to nine billion by 2050 and 10 billion by 2100.
Developing countries will contribute a massive 97% of this growth, with Africa expected to contribute 1.1 billion people (49%) to the growth. With a population doubling almost every 20 years, established infrastructures will be placed under incredible strain.
In contrast, the developed world is expected to only contribute 3% of the growth. Wealthy countries such as Japan or Germany will either see no growth or a decline in their population statistics, creating another problem in that they will not have enough people to replace their established work forces.
Major population growth began in 1750 with the Industrial Revolution, reaching one billion in 1800 and two billion in 1920. The population then further jumped to 3.5 billion in the 1960’s and has grown steadily at a rate of approximately 2% a year.
“In the 1960’s and 1970’s people expected a population bomb. Now we have mini-bombs going off in the most fragile parts of the world. Issues of inequality and poverty may spill over from less-developed countries, which will not be good for their neighbors or the rest of the world,” David Bloom, a professor of economics and demography at Harvard School of Public Health, informed Bloomberg.
“The demographic picture is indeed complex and poses some formidable challenges. Those challenges are not insurmountable, but we cannot deal with them by sticking our heads in the sand,” Bloom added.
Experts find it difficult to predict exactly what the effect such a large population will have on the planet, although all agree that resources will be strained to the limit.
“Every billion people we add to the planet makes life difficult for everyone and will do more damage to the environment,” John Bongaarts, a demographer for New York’s Population Council said.
“Can we support 10 billion people? Probably. But we would all be better off with a smaller population.”