The world is at seven billion persons today October 31, 2011 and so what? That was exactly my reaction! At least until I saw a little click on BBC home page. Maybe it was not the first time I was seeing it, I had previously ignored it. Although I had been keenly following the issues relating to the debate including writing one article on this site earlier,(The World awaits the birth of the seven billionth baby on Hallowe'en Day), it made no sense to me. It read 'the world at seven billion'Population control, what's your number?, how many more? and Seven stories. However as I scroll down the pages of BBC this dawn in search of information on the CAN 2012 draw held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, I had a very strong urge to check this small click and see whatever it contained.Just out of curiosity, I chose to press the button that says 'what's your number?' Wow! I could not believe the amount of demographic information has there. It said 'the world's population is expected to hit seven billion in the next few weeks. After growing very slowly for most of human history, the number of people on Earth has more than doubled in the last 50 years'. It has a Population calculator designed by the United Nations Population Fund.It asked the question 'where do you fit into this story of human life'? The system required me to fill in my date of birth to find out and then I thought what the heck, this might seem quite exciting and so why no get in there and check it out.
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| More babies are being born into the world today than ever and which of these babies was me or you? If that is more important, how about how many more will you add to the population! I mean not just the number of direct children you have given or will give birth to, but your descendants |
It said when you were born, you were the:3,768,525,838th person alive on Earth. How do you read that? Please check it out on Google translator.Even Google read the figure wrongly. I was the three billion, seven and sixty-eight million, five hundred twenty-five thousand, eight hundred and thirty-eightieth person. Google, please the figure is not three million. When I was born, even the population in Ghana was over seven million and so how much more the whole world! Then it goes on to generate more astonishing information on me as 77,949,983,711th person to have lived since history began. Ok, factor in the prehistoric period which might have been far more lengthier, and draw your own conclusion. How big is Ghana's population where I was born? You are a male and living in Ghana.
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| This is my personal population data |
What's next? The global population will continue to increase during your lifetime and beyond, reaching 10 billion by 2083. However, the rate of growth is expected to slow. Most of the current growth is happening within your group of countries, or the developing world.
Longer lives: Death rates and birth rates are falling in your area. This means working-age people like you will be supporting increasing numbers of older people during the next decades. By 2050, there will be just 4.6 working-age people for every person aged 65 or above in your area - a decrease of 63% from 2000.
Battle for resources: It is estimated that the richest group of countries consumes double the resources used by other areas of the world - including yours. The UN estimates that if current population and consumption trends continue, by the 2030s we will need the equivalent of two Earths to support us.
Did you know? Children born in rural areas across the world are nearly twice as likely to be underweight as urban children.
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| Population data on longevity in Ghana relative to the highest and least in the world. |
Longer lives: Death rates and birth rates are falling in your area. This means working-age people like you will be supporting increasing numbers of older people during the next decades. By 2050, there will be just 4.6 working-age people for every person aged 65 or above in your area - a decrease of 63% from 2000.
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| Ghana at birth on 6th March 1957 and today thru to 2050 |
Battle for resources: It is estimated that the richest group of countries consumes double the resources used by other areas of the world - including yours. The UN estimates that if current population and consumption trends continue, by the 2030s we will need the equivalent of two Earths to support us.
Did you know? Children born in rural areas across the world are nearly twice as likely to be underweight as urban children.
7,906 people
the amount the population has grown while you've been on this site
Sources:
All population data are based on estimates by the UN Population Division and all calculations provided by the UN Population Fund. The remaining data are from other sections of the UN, the Global Footprint Network and the International Telecommunications Union.
Notes on the data: Only birth dates after 1910 can be accommodated and only countries with populations of more than 100,000 people are included. Where available, the UN's medium variant and average figures from 2005-2010 have been used. World and country population clocks are estimates based on the latest UN figures and growth rates. They may not tally precisely with other clocks because of the way this application is configured.
Three country groupings - developed, developing and least developed - featured in the conclusions are those referenced by the UN for assessing the Millennium Development Goals. The transition countries of Eastern Europe have been grouped with developed nations.
