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World Population Growth

World Population Growth ,

The present world population of 5.771millions (Mid-1996) is only a small proportion (about 4 per cent) of the 77,000 millions estimated to have lived on earth during the last 600000 years. The spectacular quickening in population growth dates, only from the middle of the seventeenth century (Fig.22). Yet. Although data are unreliable, it seems that the annual rate of increase doubled between1650 and 1850, doubled again by the 1920s,.and has since doubled again. By 1970 it was 2.0 per cent per annum the total population has more than doubled during this century. and during the 1950s alone it rose by onb4ifth or nearly 500 millions - about the estimated total population in the mid seventeenth century

The annual increase now exceeds 70 million person’s the increase rate persists at its present level, the world population will be multiplied six fold within 100 years, but if there is a continued rise in the annual rate of increase there may be several billion more people.
Projections by the ‘United Nations’ demographers have been rather conservative, but it looks as if there will be between 5000 and 7000 million people on earth by AD. 2000.
Population growth by continents is extremely varied. The greatest influence on world population growth has certainly been the increase in the number of Asians, who, even without the Asian population of Russia, have long constituted the majority of mankind. Their proportion is now increasing. The numerical significance of Europe has also been great, but its rate of increase has dropped considerably during this century. The Americas and Africa both have an absolute increase far in excess of Europe (including the R.F), and their combined populations have recently, overtaken that of Europe. Although growing rapidly, the populati6n Oceania contributes little to world population growth.

During’ the 1950s the smallest annual rate of population increase (0 8 percent) was in Europe, especially northern and...