Population Matters » For a sustainable future. Special Series: 7 Billion. 7 billion people and you: What's your number? 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. Want to find out more?
Visit the UN Population Fund's detailed population calculator, 7 billion and me. 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.
Three country groupings - developed, developing and least developed - featured in the conclusions are those referenced by the UN for assessing the Millennium Development Goals. Read the answers to frequently asked questions here. Finding seclusion in a world of 7 billion. Updated Fri 4 Nov 2011, 6:08pm AEDT Escaping in a world of 7 billion people is becoming increasingly difficult, but in Australia - one of the least densely populated countries - seclusion still exists. The global population passed the 7 billion milestone this week and is expected to hit 9 billion by 2050.
Hayman Island on the Great Barrier Reef is about eight kilometres in circumference, with a population of just a few hundred. Photographer Lisa Burns, 27, has lived there for the past two years. Here she paints a picture of what it's like in one of the Earth's few remaining pockets without people. I moved over with my partner. We live in a studio apartment, it's like a hotel room, we don't have a kitchen or anything like that but we've got a balcony which looks over the ocean and the reef.
The island is quite small - it's about eight kilometres in circumference - so we can't go to many places but we go for bushwalks and sunset walks when it's low tide and things like that. 7 challenges for 7 billion. Updated Thu 3 Nov 2011, 9:36am AEDT This week the world's population ticked over to 7 billion. By 2050 that number is expected to grow to 9 billion. From water shortages to rising sea levels, experts from the University of New South Wales and the University of Melbourne paint a grim future for life on Earth. They forecast dramatic changes unless significant steps are taken to curb population growth. Here seven academics outline seven challenges they say a population of 7 billion must confront.
Is it all doom and gloom as they suggest, or do we have a brighter future? Climate Australia is one of the most affluent and also the most effluent nations on Earth. What we're putting into the atmosphere really constitutes an unprecedented experiment with our planet that is going to lead to changes that haven't been seen in millions of years. Water Access to fresh water in Australia, the driest inhabited continent, is incredibly difficult. Energy Economy Ageing population Birth control Food security.