World Population Day 2019: Ideal Population on Earth? 2 Billion! 20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know

World Population Day is celebrated every year on July 11. The day is dedicated to focusing attention on population issues, and was established by the United Nations Development Programme in 1989 in light of the Day of Five Billion observed on July 11, 1987. World Population Day 2019, like its predecessors, calls for global attention to further the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. It strives to work towards a healthier planet by keeping the burgeoning population in check. Inflation of population is a big problem for countries who do not have the resources to meet the various food, housing and health demands of its people. The earth’s population is now more than seven billion! On this note, let’s look at some of the most mind-boggling facts about the world’s population. World Population Day 2019: Theme and Significance of the Day That Highlights the Pressing Issue of Overpopulation.

1. According to WorldOMeter.com, the population of the world in 8000 BC was just five million. Today we are a seven-billion strong population.
2. With the industrial revolution, there was a sharp spurt in the world’s population. From the time humans came into existence till the 1800s, the earth’s population grew only to a billion.
3. But it took only 130 years for the number to double to two billion (1930).
4. It took only 30 years for the population to become three billion (1960).
5. In only 14 years (1974), Earth had four billion people.
6. And in only 13 years (1987), there were five billion of us!
7. Sixty years ago, there were nearly half the people there are in the world today.
8. The population of the world is growing at a rate of 1.07 percent per year.
9. On average, there are 82 million people added to the world every year.
10. By 2055, there will be 10 billion people in the world.
    Population density (Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons)
11. Asia harbours the most number of people (4,584,807,072). More than half the population of the world is on the continent alone.
12. The total number of humans on the planet from the beginning of time is estimated to be around 45 billion to 125 billion.
13. India and China are the most populous countries. But India will overtake China by 2022.
14. The average human being in the world is 28 years old, right-handed male belonging to Han Chinese ancestry.
15. Currently, there are nine million people who match that description.
16. In every 20 minutes, 3,000 people are added to the world’s population, according to Post Consumers.
17. But in the same amount of time, a species of plant or animal is going extinct.
18. Post Consumers says that a bigger problem than overpopulation is over-consumption, which has grown disproportionately more than the population.
19. For the planet to function at its optimal best, the ideal population is two billion. But we are already too late.
    Mars colonisation (Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons)
20. Space exploration and colonisation feature prominently in humanity’s plans to accommodate the population. The colonisation of Mars is the focus of scientific studies already.

So here are some of the most disconcerting facts about human population. Among all the species, humans are the only ones who have multiplied unchecked. The planet is clearly not expanding to accommodate us and the resources aren’t increasing. A better solution to counter the problem of overpopulation is to keep overconsumption in check. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 11, 2019 11:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).