World Population Approaches 7 Billion

World population is projected to reach 7 billion in 2012, according to
the U.S. Census Bureau. The world population hit 6 billion in 1999.

These figures come from the updated world population estimates and
projections released today through the Census Bureau’s International Data
Base (IDB). The IDB provides information on population size and growth, age
and sex composition, mortality, fertility and net migration. The data are
available for 226 countries and other selected geographies.

This revision to the IDB includes updated projections for 34 countries.
Compared to previous estimates, this revision indicates that the world
population will be 146 million larger in 2050.

The Census Bureau’s latest projections show world population growing
at a slower pace during the first half of the 21st century than the latter
half of the 20th century. The world population doubled from 3 billion in
1959 to 6 billion in 1999, but is projected to increase by only 50 percent
between 1999 and 2040.

Global population growth, about 1.2 percent per year, is projected to
decline to 0.5 percent by 2050. However, this growth will be concentrated
in less-developed countries.

About 1.5 percent of the current global population is 80 or older, with
more than half living in developed countries. By 2050, about 5 percent of
the world’s population is projected to be 80 or older, with about three in
four likely to be living in less-developed countries. For developed
countries, the percentage of the population 80 or older will grow to about
10 percent in 2050.

World population estimates and projections include the impact of HIV and
AIDS. Of the 34 countries updated in this revision, nine are hard hit by
this pandemic (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire [Ivory Coast], Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Guinea, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Central African Republic).
Data for other countries seriously affected by HIV and AIDS are also
available from the International Data Base.

The International Data Base offers online users a choice of ways to
retrieve demographic data, including:

· Country summary pages showing key population indicators <
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/summaries.html>

· Tables of demographic indicators for countries and regions <
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/tables.html>

· Population pyramids showing age and sex composition <
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/pyramids.html>.

For more information about this update, including the list of updated
countries, visit