Families downsizing
IPS Inter-Press Service - Italy
Nicaragua, a country of 5.8 million people, is also making efforts to promote family planning. Its crude birth rate has in fact fallen from 46 to 24 live births per 1,000 population between 1970 and 2009, according to the United Nations Population Division. ,…(27 July 2011)

‘Green’ the environment
Borneo Post - Malaysia
Engineers should think ‘green’ and not merely ‘large’ when designing and commissioning projects, Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said yesterday. Launching the Asean Australian Engineering Congress here, he said the ‘green approach’ was necessary because environmental issues such as the greenhouse effect, deforestation, pollution, environmental degradation and climate change had grown to an alarming proportion in many parts of the world. (...) “Overpopulation poses yet another challenge. According to the United Nations Population Division, the worldwide population is expected to increase by 2.6 billion over the next 45 years…that is from 6.5 billion today to over nine billion by then. “The huge population is already putting a strain on limited natural resources that we have. All these problems, which are becoming commonplace, demand that we re-examine and change the way we live.”…(26 July 2011)

What a population of 7 billion people means for the planet
The Guardian - UK
Demographers aren't known for their sense of humor, but the ones who work for the United Nations recently announced that the world's human population will hit 7 billion on Halloween this year. Since censuses and other surveys can scarcely justify such a precise calculation, it's tempting to imagine that the UN Population Division, the data shop that pinpointed the Day of 7 Billion, is hinting that we should all be afraid, be very afraid. We have reason to be. The 21st century is not yet a dozen years old, and there are already 1 billion more people than in October 1999 — with the outlook for future energy and food supplies looking bleaker than it has for decades. …(18 July 2011)

UN body rejigs Bangladesh head count
Bangladesh News 24 - Bangladesh
The United Nations Population Division has revised its head count figure for Bangladesh that drew flak from several quarters in 2010. To one's surprise, the UN has also revised drastically the mid-century (2050) population projection for Bangladesh, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA on October 21, 2010 in its 'State of the World Population 2010' said that 'the population of Bangladesh is now 164.4 million, with an annual growth rate of 1.4 percent'. The government, however, rejected the numbers outright, as it was 15 million more than the count of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) that conducts census every 10 years. Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith binned the report saying it was 'unauthoised meddling'. "They (UNFPA) have no such right," he said after the report was released. Finally, on May 3, 2011, the UN Population Division revised Bangladesh's population close to 149 million.Prior to 2004, the UN Population Division estimated that Bangladesh's population would reach 218 million in 2050, and in 2004, they said it would be 243 million. In 2006, they jumped up to 256 million and then dropped the figure in 2008 when they said Bangladesh's population would be 222.5 million, close to other estimates like the one of US Population Reference Bureau. Now they say in 2050, Bangladesh's population would be 194 million and 'that is the peak – thereafter population declines'. bdnews24.com tried drawing planning minister's attention to the issue at the release of the preliminary results of the 5th Population and Housing Census 2011, but he chose not to react.Later prime minister's advisor Mashiur Rahman in his speech quipped, "In the world of knowledge, if we think we are the only wise people, then knowledge will not expand." "We should also accept those, who cultivate knowledge," he added referring to a query bdnews24.com raised before the planning minister whether organisations other than the government's BBS had the mandate to generate population data. "It's ridiculous," said Ahmed-al Sabir, a population researcher and consultant of USA-based Measure Evaluation."It only creates confusion," he said, adding that BBS should remove such confusions in a pro-active manner. However, UNFPA assistant representative Noor Mohammad told bdnews24.com that they do not generate any population data. "We bring out a world population report every year using data from Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat." "They generate the counts taking different countries' statistics," he said, adding that population projections can be different due to different methods of calculation."As census is conducted every 10 years, the UN Population Division generates those data during the interim periods," he said, adding all UN organisations use those data. The preliminary results of the 5th Population and Housing Census 2011 showed Bangladesh's population hitting 142.319 million on March 15. (17 July 2011)

Empowering Women Reduces Poverty
The Star - Kenya
According to the median projection of the UN Population Division, world population will reach 8 billion by 2025, 9 billion by 2043, and then 10 billion by 2083. These projections though are premised on access to family planning and the rights of women, men and young people to make their own choices about childbearing,…(12 July 2011)

World's population soon to hit 7 billion
CBC - Canada
The UN Population Division expects the population to keep growing until the middle of this century, despite dramatic declines in fertility rates around the world.
The vast majority of current population growth is in the developing world. Approximately 97 out of every 100 people are born in countries that are already struggling to meet the needs of their citizens
,…(10 July 2011)

What a world of 7bn could mean, by Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
The Observer - Uganda
On October 31, 2011, the world population will reach seven billion, according to the United Nations Population Division. This global milestone presents a challenge, an opportunity, and a call to action. Whether we can live together on a healthy planet will depend on the choices that we make now.
,…(10 July 2011)

World Population Day observed Monday
Manila Bulletin - Philippines
The world’s current population is estimated at 6.8 billion. At the beginning of 2005, the United Nations Population Division released revisions to its World Population Prospects publication with a scenario placing the world’s population at a little more than nine billion in 2050. A month ago, however, the 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects projected world population to reach seven billion in October, 2011. Most of the population growth would occur in the developing world.,…(10 July 2011)

Unplanned urbanisation and future of Dhaka city
Financial Express - Bangladesh
Dhaka will be the second largest city in the world in terms of population by 2015, next to Tokyo, with a growth of urban population at a rate of 3.1 per cent per year, according to a report of the United Nations Population Division on agglomeration in the world cities. By then, the projected population of the metropolis will rise to 21.1 million.,…(10 July 2011)

Sanjeev Sanyal: World population - Boom to bust?
Business Standard - India
Tomorrow is World Population Day and we are probably expected to spend it fretting over demographic growth. The United Nations Population Division recently forecast that world population will hit almost 7 billion this year, 9.3bn in 2050 and over 10 billion by the end of this century. It also forecasts that India will surpass China as the world’s most populous country before 2025 and that its population will peak at 1.72bn in 2060.…(10 July 2011)

In a World of 7 Billion People, We Must Invest in Adolescents and Young People, by Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
Huffington Post - USA
While there is no consensus on the planet's carrying capacity, we do know that population will continue to grow. According to projections from the U.N. Population Division, world population will likely reach 10 billion before the turn of the century.,…(6 July 2011)

Gov't pressed on population problems
Manila Bulletin - Philippines
Based on the 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects, the official United Nations population projections prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the world’s population is projected to reach 7 billion on October 31 of this year. Health Secretary Enrique Ona, who attended the press briefing, said the Aquino administration is very much committed in ensuring that the welfare of Filipino families will be safeguarded. He said that the position of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on the issue regarding the RH Bill is that he is against abortion but is supportive of responsible parenthood.,…(7 July 2011)

Approaching a world of seven billion people, by Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
The Independent - UK
On 31 October 2011, world population will reach 7 billion, according to the United Nations Population Division. This global milestone presents a challenge, an opportunity, and a call to action. Whether we can live together on a healthy planet will depend on the choices that we make now.,…(6 July 2011)

The ghost of Thomas Malthus hovers over unsustainable global population increases
The Australian - Australia
Still, we have been able to take comfort that population growth looked like peaking at about nine billion by the middle of this century and falling after that. At least that was until the UN Population Division released its latest two-yearly projections in May. It has increased its 2050 figure by 156 million to 9.3 billion from its estimate two years earlier, and by 390 million since 2002. Instead of population growth stopping in the middle of the century, it is projecting merely a marked slowing down, to reach 10.1 billion by 2100.,…(2 July 2011)

Nigerian population to hit 402m in 2050
Business Day - Nigeria
Another survey by the United Nations Population Division has tended to support the US Census Board, saying the African continent is expected to lead the global population explosion in an era when the Asia leaders and Russia would be declining while the US would maintain a plateau (stagnate).,…(2 July 2011)

Longer lifespans could be a blow for Asia
China Daily - China
But amid the raging faith-versus-opinion debate, statistics reveal that the population of the Philippines is exploding. According to the United Nations Population Division, at the current rate of growth, the 93 million people now living in the country could grow to 100 million by 2015, and 150 million by 2050. Many fear that the Philippines will not be able to support so many people. In the long term, the trend creates challenges not only for policymakers, but also countless poor families that support multiple children. ,…(2 July 2011)

Census Update: What the World Will Look like in 2050
Time - USA
In fact, according to the U.N. Population Division, although only 18% of the world's population lives in so-called high-fertility countries (places where women have more than 1.5 daughters on average), most of those countries are in Africa; the continent is expected to experience significant population growth in the coming decades, which could compound the already-dire food-supply issues in some African nations. ,…(30 June 2011)

The changing consumer
Asian Investor - UK
In emerging markets, there is an annual income threshold of around $6,000 where consumption explodes. Discretionary spending becomes possible, including travel and holidays,” explains Neele. And the number of people with this level of income is rising. The UN’s Population Division expects the number to rise from 2.5 billion now to more than 5 billion by 2030. …(29 June 2011)

Where have all the girls gone
Foreign Policy - USA
The story begins in the mid-20th century, when several factors converged to make Western demographers worried about global population growth. Thanks to advances in public health, people were living longer than ever before. Projections released by the U.N. Population Division in 1951 suggested what the sum of all those extra years of life could be: Rapid population growth was on the horizon, particularly in the developing world. As pundits forecast a global "population explosion," anxiety mounted in policy circles, and the population control movement that coalesced brought together everyone from environmentalists to McCarthyites. Viewed through a 1960s Beltway lens, mounting numbers of people meant higher rates of poverty, which in turn made countries more vulnerable to communism. ,…(27 June 2011)

The great shift from farm to city
Los Angeles Times - USA
This will be matched by an almost as dramatic decline in rural population. The United Nations Population Division predicts that the population of the world's villages and rural areas will stop growing around eight years from now and that, by 2050, the rural population will have fallen by 600 million due to migration to cities and urban encroachment on villages.(19 June 2011)

Population growth spurs surge to Asia's cities
Channel News Asia - Singapore
Somewhere in the world -- Asia would be a good bet -- a pregnant woman is carrying a baby destined to be the planet's seven billionth human being. The historic baby is due to be born on October 31, the United Nations Population Division predicts. Bookmakers have made Asia the hot favourite for the symbolic arrival, possibly for no better reason than that the sun rises in the east, giving Asian mothers a head start,…(20 June 2011)

A world of 10 billion
Macleans - Canada
With fertility levels slipping in many parts of the world, it will take an estimated 14 years, from 2011 to 2025, for the world to add its eight-billionth person, and another 18 years to add its ninth. Adding number 10 billion won’t happen until 2083, a full 40 years after the nine billionth is born. These forecasts are based on the UN Population Division’s “medium-variant” scenarios, which are considered the most likely to come to pass. ... (15 June 2011)

Textiles for Humankind
Textile World - USA
In the recently published "2010 Revision of World Population Prospects," the Population Division of the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates that the global population will reach 9.3 billion in 2050 and 10.1 billion in 2100. In a previous report published in 2008, the UN estimated the global population would reach up to 9.15 billion people in 2050. (...) These somewhat theoretical figures seem to point to big opportunities for new textile business outside the fashion sector. However, as noted by investment banker Martin O. Hutchinson, a contributing editor to the Money Map Report and Money Morning: "[T]his explosive population growth figures to be a disaster from a global-resources standpoint - and for two very good reasons. "First, if we want all 10.1 billion people [in 2100] to enjoy a standard of living that's essentially on par with us here in the West (meaning they all have automobiles, washing machines, refrigerator/freezers, and all the rest of the latest electronic gadgets), the consumer demand will put an impossible strain on global resources - and if the global-warming theory proves accurate, will heat our planet up like a meatball in a wok. "Second, the vast majority of these new people will be in very poor countries, many of which are already stretched in terms of water, food and other resources."
In this scenario, recycling becomes a simple matter of surviving; and recycled fiber material is an excellent raw material for all kinds of industrial textiles products such as geotextiles and many more. ,…(14 June 2011)

Pacific population reaches 10m
Islands Business - Fiji
The 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects, prepared by the Population Division at the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), shows that a small variation in fertility could lead to major long-term differences in the size of the global population. Based on the medium projection, the number of people in the world—currently close to 7 billion—should pass 8 billion in 2023, 9 billion by 2041 and then 10 billion at some point after 2081.…(15 June 2011)

We’re all...just little bits of history repeating
Significance Magazine - UK
In May 2011 the United Nations Population Division released “The 2010 Revision” of its world population estimates and projections. The headline story was that the projection was up greatly on the previous medium variant estimate. We were now projected to number 10.1 billion within the next ninety years, 9.3 billion by 2050. The Division’s press release came with a health warning “Small variations in fertility can produce major differences in the size of populations over the long run. The high projection variant, whose fertility is just half a child above that in the medium variant, produces a world population of 10.6 billion in 2050 and 15.8 billion in 2100. The low variant, whose fertility remains half a child below that of the medium, produces a population that reaches 8.1 billion in 2050 and declines towards the second half of this century to reach 6.2 billion in 2100.”,…(13 June 2011)