You may have noticed quite a few mentions of planet Earth closing in on the magic ’7 billion’ mark in recent weeks. The UN has put up an online calculator which is counting up to the milestone, and it’s currently sitting at the 6.999bn mark – it should surpass 7bn pretty soon.
To mark the occasion, the BBC has set up an online tool to help the world get some perspective on what 7bn actually means. You simply enter your date of birth and it tells you your position in the world’s population:
I was number 4,290,368,172 on Earth when I was born, and number 78,786,731,841 in terms of the number of people to have lived…ever.
You can also look at country-specific stats. As you can see, in the UK there are 85 births every hour, but only 66 deaths. It doesn’t take Columbo to work out which direction the UK’s population is heading in:
If you leave the country field blank, it will inform you that there are 15,347 births every hour globally, but only 6,418 deaths equating to an average yearly growth of 1.162%.
Tales of two extremes
Moldova is the world’s fastest shrinking country by population, with more people dying than being born. But that’s not because of a poor healthcare system, as the BBC notes:
“In richer economies, although death rates are also low, widely-available birth control and a desire for smaller families keep birth rates subdued. Fewer babies ensures populations level off or even decline, like in Moldova”
Conversely, Qatar is the fastest growing country, rising by over 500 people per day:
“In developing nations, where improvements in health care and sanitation are seeing death rates fall, birth rates still remain relatively high. This is leading to rapidly rising populations. In fact, 97 out of every 100 new people on the planet are currently born in developing countries, such as Qatar.”
The global population is expected to reach 10bn by 2083, however the rate of growth is expected to slow. Little of the current growth is happening in developed countries. Also, the average family size globally has declined by half since 1950 – from five children in to 2.5.
Check out the BBC population tool for yourself: 7 billion people and you: What’s your number?
An android app for the event "7 Billion and You-Find ur No." search for it.
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LikeWhile India and China are the two most populous countries on earth and America uses the largest chunk of the world’s resources. The BEEB chooses to highlight population growth in Africa. There are signs in India telling people not to defecate in their overpopulated streets. In China, people walk over infants who are ran over by trucks. Both these places have over a billion residents each and they choose to highlight and belittle Africa. I am thoroughly disgusted and offended by this racist kind of discourse. Mere words are not enough to register my distaste. SHAME ON YOU!
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LikeConversation from Twitter
bbccouk_blogged http:\/\/t.co\/3KkjvtES justice for Rhea Page!
tksnackz if u schedule any more tweets to me ill bash u! Lol.
I fit in DEF lol MenonDivya shareables
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ето ме тук
What if your family lived in a home on an island you couldn’t leave?
With limited amount of food and safe drinking water.
It would be very important to make things last wouldn’t it?
Especially when your family kept growing and growing… and growing.
Well… it doesn’t matter where your home is.
Because we all lived on an island we can’t leave.
So please only use what you need because supplies are truly limited
We can do that…
I'm fitting nicely in Canada. If there is a shortage of space, I think Facebook has room for more people.
351 739 192
I fit in, way WAY out in the country, buffered by fields and woods that my family owns, away from 6.9999 billion of the people. I try to avoid these things you refer to as people, as they are pushy, needy, sometimes stinky and greedy. I prefer the fresh air, void of the sound of traffic, machines, and voices.
I got :When you were born, you were the:4,569,477,726thperson alive on Earth