World Population Day is celebrated around the world to spread awareness of population growth. This year’s theme is centred around the importance of family planning. The observance places a special focus on developing regions, where it is estimated that around 214 million women lack effective family planning, for reasons ranging from lack of information or services, to lack of support from their partners or communities. Currently, the world’s population stands at over seven billion – and according to U.N. reports, it is growing at a pace of almost 83 million people every year. Hitting Five Billion In an estimate by the U.N., it is on this day in July 1987 that the world’s population reached five billion. Two years later, the first World Population Day was established by the United Nations Development Programme, to bring awareness to the rising number. The United Nations recognises rapid population growth as a serious problem – one on par with climate change, citing that by the end of the century, the world’s population may be as high as 17 billion – a fact that experts say is physically unsustainable. To understand how rapidly the world’s population is increasing, you have to look at how the world has been shaped in history. In 1000 AD, there were only 400 million people, and it wasn’t until 1804 that the world reached one billion. After 1804, the growth rate increased – adding two billion people in around 150 years. Experts state that the rising population rate has continued to accelerate – the world’s population has increased approximately one billion in the last 12 years. Mother Africa International observers are looking to the continent of Africa, which they believe may see a wide-scale population growth crisis in the next few decades – as they project a twofold increase of the population of 1.3 billion to over 2.5 billion. Three-fourths of this growth, they believe, will occur in 27 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and Nigeria, the continent’s current most populous nation, will see its population grow from around 191 million to a staggering 411 million in 2050. The concern lies with these African nations now having significantly larger numbers of people to feed, educate and employ. As the population increases, so will the demand for land. There will be a high demand for food, which will be forced from fewer land and water resources. Overpopulation places a huge strain on a country’s economy, environment and its ability to function peacefully. Why is the population growing? Many suggest that the advances in science and medicine mean that societies are better able to save and prolong lives. The death rate is now in decline. Whereas in ancient history the birth and death rate stood equal. A lack of education in the concept of family planning is also listed as a cause of population growth, and “young marriages” are also seen as increasing the chances of people having more children – allowing greater time for the development of a family. Experts say poverty, and the need for “more hands” to help in manual tasks for survival, is also a driving factor for people to produce more children. They also state that unplanned pregnancies are an increasing problem, for both developed and developing countries around the world. Attempting to Control a Rising Population There is no easy solution to solving the global population crisis. Currently, international organisations are looking to implement education systems that help the masses understand the effect of overpopulation, and on sex education. They are also looking to encourage open dialogue on abortion and voluntary sterilisation should be seen when talking about overpopulation. Governments of various countries are also debating implementing various policies related to tax exemptions to curb overpopulation, lowering rates of income tax for those couples who have limited children – and even introducing higher taxation rates for those who have “excess children”. Raising awareness of family planning is also seen as key to curb the population growth. Arranging comprehensive medical and social activities to help couples determine freely the number and spacing of their children and to select the means by which this may be achieved. This is the concept that World Population Day, today, is headlining with – and around the world people are helping to spread that message.<doc-sep>Today – 11 July – is marked each year by the UN as World Population Day. Annually, they look at whether the world is under or overpopulated, the problems this may cause, and how we can overcome these challenges. Each year there is a theme, and for 2018 this is ‘Family Planning is a Human Right’. It’s been 50 years since the International Conference on Human Rights where family planning was given human right status, so this theme is to highlight it and ensure women across the world have access. At this conference, it was decreed that ‘Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.’ The day will be looking into how we can improve this for people in more deprived countries, and ensure that people who already have access to birth control can get advice and treatment in the safest and more informed way. The themes do often look at issues such as birth control and education around it, as in certain countries overpopulation can be caused by lack of knowledge or availability of contraception. Not only does birth control help deal with population problems, it also gives women bodily autonomy and reduces poverty. Find out more about the world population and how it’s changed here. MORE : Amesbury Novichok victim Charlie Rowley ‘has spoken to police’ MORE : Mysterious black sarcophagus is unearthed in Egypt and we don’t know who’s inside<doc-sep>The theme of this year’s World Population Day, observed on July 11, is ‘Family Planning is a Human Right’. India, data suggests, has the largest number of women with unmet need for contraception in the world. “The reliance on modern contraceptives for spacing births is also low, with a 1.5 per cent uptake of IUDs, 4.1 per cent women reliant on the pill, and 5.6 per cent males who use condoms. Access to contraceptive information is fundamental to achieving gender equality. We need to stress on the importance of male engagement for a successful family planning programme,” stated a press release issued by the Advocating Reproductive Choices — a coalition of more than 170 civil society organisations and individuals.<doc-sep>
The current population of the world is 7.6 billion people. (Representational) World Population Day, a United Nations' initiative celebrated every year on July 11 to raise awareness about the exploding world population, focuses on reproductive rights this year to mark 50 years since family planning won recognition as a human right. Here are 10 facts about the world's population: Reproductive Rights - An estimated 214 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for modern contraception, with women in the poorest 20 per cent of the population having the least access to sexual and reproductive health services. - Nearly half of the estimated 56 million abortions carried out worldwide each year are unsafe, leading to the deaths of at least 22,800 women every year, due to a combination of lack of access to contraception, strict laws on abortion and stigma around terminations. - 95 percent of the world's births among adolescents girls occur in developing countries. Growth Of Cities - The world's population totals 7.6 billion people and is expected to grow to nearly 10 billion by the middle of this century before levelling off at around 11.2 billion by the end. - More people live in urban than rural areas, with 55 percent residing in urban areas in 2018, compared to 30 percent in 1950. By 2050 this proportion is expected to reach approximately 70 percent. - The most urbanised regions are North America (with 82 percent of people living in urban areas), Latin America and the Caribbean (81 percent), Europe (74 percent) and Oceania (68 percent). - Asia is about 50 percent urbanised, while Africa is still predominantly rural (43 percent). - Africa and Asia are home to nearly 90 percent of the world's rural population, with India having the largest number of people living in rural areas (893 million), followed by China (578 million). - Tokyo is the world's largest city with 37 million inhabitants, followed by Delhi with 29 million and Shanghai with 26 million people. - The world is ageing rapidly. People aged 60 and older make up 12.3 per cent of the global population, and by 2050, that number will rise to almost 22 percent. © Thomson Reuters 2018