Population, Poverty, and Projections Discussion

What is the world’s population? What percentage lives in poverty? What are the projections for population in the years to come?

The world’s current population is 7,721,820,260 and increasing. China ranks as the most populated country with 1,367,485,388 people. The second largest country is India with a population of 1,251,695,584. The U.S. ranks third, with a population of 321,368,864. Close to 50% of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day. To me this is very sad. It makes me feel guilty and selfish for the things I don’t appreciate or take for granted. This quote by The World Food Programme really stood out to me. It says, “The poor are hungry and their hunger traps them in poverty.” It is fact that hunger is the number one cause of death in the world, killing more than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. The figures on world poverty over the years however, are declining and this is projected to continue. (It doesn’t make me feel much better, but it is nice to know that one less person or family here and there, no longer has to suffer this way.)

It is estimated that in the year 2050, The number of people will grow from 7.3 billion to 9.7 billion. This is 100m more than was estimated in the UN's last report two years ago. Africa contributes more than half of this growth. The population is set to double to 2.5 billion. The United States is expected to lose their rank as the third most populated country to Nigeria, with population amounting to 413 million. It is anticipated that China will also step down in the ranks, becoming second to India in 2022 (six years earlier than the previous forecast). In 2028 China’s population will peak at 1.4 billion. Four decades later, India will reach their peak population at 1.75 billion.

http://www.census.gov/popclock/