The population of the earth is the number of people. How many people can planet Earth support? How is the counting going?

MOSCOW, July 25 - RIA Novosti. The global population will reach 10 billion in 2053, but the number of residents in Russia and Ukraine will decrease by 7.9 and 9 million, and in Japan by a “record” 24.7 million, reports the Washington Population Bureau (PRB). ).

"Despite the overall decline in birth rates across the planet, the rate of growth of the Earth's population will remain at high level, which is enough to reach the 10 billion mark. Of course, the picture in different regions will be dramatically different - for example, the population of Europe will continue to fall, while the population of Africa will double by 2050,” said Jeffrey Jordan, president and director of the Bureau.

The non-profit organization is now one of the world's leading global population forecasters, publishing annual reports and estimates of global population growth since 1962. This year, Jordan reports, the forecasts were improved by adding six new demographic indicators that take into account how the availability of different resources affects population growth.

According to new PRB forecasts, the world's population will approach 9.9 billion by 2050, and in 2053 it will cross the 10 billion mark. Much of this growth will come from Africa, with its population expected to reach 2.5 billion by then. At the same time, the number of inhabitants of America will increase by only 223 million, Asia - by 900 million, and the number of inhabitants of Europe will decrease by approximately 12 million.

The main socio-demographic problem of this growth will be that almost all of this growth will occur in the most underdeveloped countries on Earth. PRB estimates that the population of the world's 48 least developed countries will double by 2050 to almost two billion people. At the same time, in 29 countries on this list, almost all of which are in Africa, the population will more than double. Niger's population, for example, will triple by mid-century.

On the other side of the “table of ranks” the situation is the opposite - the population will decrease mainly in all developed countries except the United States, in a total of 42 countries of the world. The traditional “leader” in this regard will be Japan, where the number of inhabitants will decrease by almost 25 million, and its close competitors will be Russia, Ukraine and Romania.

With all this, the top three “ten” countries in terms of population will remain the same - India, China and the USA. There will be a series of reshuffles below, with Nigeria moving up to fourth, Indonesia down to fifth and Brazil down to seventh.

Such population growth in the poorest and most deprived countries of the world, according to PRB experts, speaks to the urgent need for a speedy transition to a sustainable development economy to provide this mass of people with the necessary resources and basic necessities without causing critical harm to the planet.

"The population of the world... What associations arise in everyone who hears this phrase?" - asks author Irene N. in her article. Further, she claims that every 0.24 seconds another baby is born on our planet, and in an hour the world population is replenished by more than 15 thousand newborns. And almost every minute (0.56 seconds) a person dies, and our world loses almost 6.5 thousand people per hour.
On this topic, I found Monty White's PhD interesting, who claims that the world's population increased to seven billion during precisely the period indicated in the Bible. However, read below for yourself.

Everything is very simple - ordinary arithmetic speaks of the absolute mathematical rationality of the young age of the earth.

Creationists are often asked, “How could the world's population reach 6.5 billion people if the earth is only about 6,000 years old, and if there were only two people living on it in the beginning?” Let's see what simple arithmetic tells us.

One plus one equals billions

Let's start from the beginning - with one man and one woman. Now let's say they got married and had children, and then their children got married and had children. Let's also assume that the population doubles every 150 years. Consequently, in 150 years there will be four people living on earth, in another 150 years - eight people, and in another 150 years - sixteen people, and so on. It should be noted that this population growth rate is actually very conservative. In fact, even taking into account disease, famine and natural disasters, the population over lately doubled approximately every 40 years.1

After 32 times the population doubling, which is just 4800 years, the world population would reach almost 8.6 billion people. This is 2 billion more people than live on earth today, namely 6.5 billion people. This figure was recorded on March 1, 2006 by the US Census Bureau.2 This simple calculation shows that if we started with Adam and Eve and took into account the standard rate of population growth that we just noted above, the current population figure could very well be achieved for 6000 years.

Impact of the Flood

However, we know from the Bible that around 2500 BC (4,500 years ago), the global Flood reduced the number of people on earth to eight people.3 But if we assume that the population doubles every 150 years, we again see that if Starting with Noah's family in 2500 BC, 4500 years would be more than enough time for the current population to reach 6.5 billion.

From two people who were created 6,000 years ago, and then from eight people who were aboard Noah's Ark some 4,500 years ago, the world's population could easily have grown to the number we celebrate today - over 6.5 billion people.

Evolutionists always tell us that people have existed on earth for hundreds of thousands of years. If we still assume that people have existed for approximately 50,000 years and use the above method of counting, the result would be that the population has doubled 332 times, and the number of people on earth would be simply enormous - a number with a hundred followed by zeros 100 ; that is:

10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000.

This number is truly impossible to imagine, since it is billions of times greater than the number of atoms in the entire universe! This calculation shows how meaningless the claim that humans have existed on earth for tens of thousands of years is.

Everything is very simple - ordinary arithmetic speaks of the absolute mathematical rationality of the young age of the earth. From two people who were created 6,000 years ago, and then from eight people who were aboard Noah's Ark some 4,500 years ago, the world's population could easily have grown to the number we celebrate today - over 6.5 billion people.

Planet Earth is home to many living beings, the main one of which is man.

How many people inhabit the planet

The world population today is almost seven and a half billion people. The peak value of its growth was noted in 1963. Currently, the governments of some countries are pursuing a restrictive demographic policy, while others are trying to stimulate population growth within their borders. However, the overall population of the Earth is aging. Young people do not strive to reproduce. The population of planet Earth today has an unnatural bias towards the elderly. This feature will complicate the financial support of pensioners.

According to scientists, by the end of the twenty-first century the world population will reach the eleventh billion.

Where do the most people live?

In 2009, an alarm bell rang. The world population living in cities has become equal in size to the number of people in villages and rural areas. The reasons for this movement of labor are simple. The world's population strives for convenience and wealth. Salaries in cities are higher, and life is simpler. This will all change as the world's urban populations become more food insecure. Many will be forced to move again to the provinces, closer to the land.

The world population table is as follows: Fifteen countries are home to nearly five billion people. In total, there are more than two hundred states on our planet.

Most populous countries

The world population can be presented in the form of a table. The most populous countries will be indicated.

Most populous cities

The world population map today already has three cities whose population exceeded twenty million people. Shanghai is one of the largest cities in China, which stands on the Yangtze River. Karachi is a port city in Pakistan. The Chinese capital, Beijing, closes the top three.

In terms of population density, the palm is held by the main city of the Philippines - Manila. The world population map reports that in some areas this figure reaches seventy thousand people per square kilometer! The infrastructure does not cope well with such an influx of residents. For example: in Moscow this figure does not exceed five thousand people per square kilometer.

Also on the list of cities with a very high population density are Indian Mumbai (this locality was previously called Bombay), the capital of France - Paris, the Chinese autonomy of Macau, the dwarf state of Monaco, the heart of Catalonia - Barcelona, ​​as well as Dhaka (Bangladesh), the city-state of Singapore , Tokyo (Japan), and the previously mentioned Shanghai.

Population growth statistics by period

Despite the fact that humanity appeared more than three hundred years ago, for a long time its development was extremely slow. The short life expectancy and extremely difficult conditions took their toll.

Humanity exchanged its first billion only at the beginning of the nineteenth century, in 1820. A little more than a hundred years passed, and in 1927, newspapermen trumpeted the joyful news of the second billion earthlings. Just 33 years later, in 1960, they spoke about the third.

From this period, scientists began to seriously worry about the boom in global population growth. But this did not stop the four billionth inhabitant of the planet from joyfully announcing its appearance in 1974. In 1987, the bill reached five billion. The six billionth earthling was born closer to the millennium, at the end of 1999. Less than twelve years have passed since there are a billion more of us. At the current birth rate, no later than the end of the first quarter of this century, the name of the eight billionth person will appear in newspapers.

Such impressive successes have been achieved primarily due to a significant reduction in bloody wars that claim millions of lives. Many were defeated dangerous diseases, medicine has learned to significantly prolong people's lives.

Consequences

Until the nineteenth century, people had little interest in the population of the world. The term “demography” was introduced into use only in 1855.

At the moment, the problem is becoming more and more threatening.

In the seventeenth century, it was believed that four billion people could live comfortably on our planet. As shown real life, this figure is significantly underestimated. The current seven and a half billion feel relatively comfortable with a reasonable distribution of resources.

Potential settlement opportunities are possible in Australia, Canada, and desert areas. This will require some efforts for improvement, but theoretically it is possible.

If we take into account exclusively territorial possibilities, then up to one and a half quadrillion people can be settled on the planet! This is a huge number, containing fifteen zeros!

But the use of resources and the rapid heating of the atmosphere will very quickly change the climate so much that the planet will become lifeless.

The maximum number of inhabitants on Earth (with moderate demands) should not exceed twelve billion. This figure is taken from food supply calculations. As the population grows, it is necessary to obtain more resources. To do this you should use more areas for sowing, increasing livestock numbers, saving water resources.

But if food problems can be solved relatively quickly, thanks to genetic technologies, then organizing clean consumption drinking water- this is a much more complex and costly undertaking.

In addition, humanity must move to the use of renewable energy sources - wind, sun, earth and water energy.

Forecasts

Chinese authorities have been trying to solve the problem of overpopulation for decades. For a long time, there was a program that allowed no more than one child per family. In addition, a powerful information campaign was carried out among the population.

Today we can say that the Chinese have succeeded. Population growth has stabilized and is projected to decline. Not the least role here was played by the factor of growth in the well-being of the people of China.

Regarding the poor in India, Indonesia, and Nigeria, the prospects are far from rosy. In just thirty years, China may lose the “palm” in the demographic issue. India's population may exceed one and a half billion people by 2050!

Population growth will only make things worse economic problems poor states.

Current programs

For a long time people were forced to have large number children. Running a household required enormous strength, and it was impossible to cope alone.

Guaranteed pension provision can help solve the problem of overpopulation.

Also possible ways to solve the demographic issue are thoughtful social policy and reasonable family planning, as well as improving economic and social status the beautiful half of humanity, the growth of the level of education in general.

Conclusion

It is very important to love yourself and your loved ones. But we should not forget that the planet on which we live is our common home, which must be treated with respect.

Today it is worth moderating your needs and thinking about planning so that our descendants can live as comfortably on the planet as we do ourselves.

Many experts believe that there is currently a threat of overpopulation of the Earth, which will lead to mass famine. It will be aggravated by a global environmental catastrophe. And therefore, urgent measures are needed, thanks to which it would be possible to regulate the number of people. But before you do anything, you need to ask yourself: how many people can live on Earth?

The same environmental law applies to all living organisms inhabiting our planet. It consists of the following phases following each other: explosion, crisis, collapse, stabilization. Any living species, once in a favorable environment, sharply increases its numbers. This is an explosion. But huge amount individuals begins to destroy their habitat. Therefore, a crisis comes, followed by collapse. It is expressed in a catastrophic decline in population to more than low level than it was originally. During the period of collapse, the environment is restored, and the population size increases to a reasonable level. After this, stabilization occurs. Humanity is currently in a phase of crisis.

It should be noted that there are 3 periods of increase in the number of people. The first period dates back to the end of the Pleistocene (2.6 million years - 11.7 thousand years ago). It was characterized by the settlement of hunting tribes throughout to the globe. The second period was observed 9 thousand years ago, when humanity mastered agriculture. The population of the Earth then increased 20 times. And the third period is associated with the industrial revolution. This process has not died out these days, but is only gaining momentum. At the same time, the Earth's population increased 30 times. The area of ​​cultivated land increased by 3 times, and productivity by 7 times.

10 million people lived on our planet 10 thousand years ago. By the beginning of our era, there were already 200 million people. By the middle of the 17th century, when the industrial revolution began, the planet was inhabited by 500 million people. IN early XIX century was already 1 billion, and at the beginning of the 20th century 2 billion. At the beginning of 2016, 7.3 billion people lived on Earth. Every year the population increases by 2%. It took humanity 200 thousand years to reach the first billion. The second billion was achieved in 100 years, and the third in just 40. The fourth billion in 15 years, and the fifth in 10.

Nowadays, humanity doubles every 35 years. And the amount of food doubles every 30 years. This is the main indicator of our existence. But it does not increase on its own, but due to the development of new lands. And every year it becomes more and more difficult to ensure crop growth. We must also not forget about electricity and water, which are required more and more. As a result, resources are depleted and natural natural environment is destroyed. Reserves of coal, oil, gas, and mineral raw materials are being used to the limit. But these reserves are not renewed in any way.

Therefore, the present unlimited well-being is finite in time. It will end because the habitat will be destroyed, food production will fall, and after this the population will decrease to the level that the remaining resources can provide.

Ecologists answer this question quite definitely, since the biosphere exists according to a simple law. It relates the size of organically consuming species to their numbers. The main role in the flow of energy and substances is given to small organisms. But the big ones play only a supporting role. Therefore, the main consumers in the biosphere are arthropods, mollusks, and worms. Wild vertebrates, which include amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds, consume only 1% of biosphere production.

A person with domestic animals should be part of the group of wild vertebrates, that is, consume less than 1%. But modern humanity consumes 7% of the biosphere's production. That is, much more than it should be. As a result of this, all biosphere patterns are violated. And how many people can live on Earth?

Here we must understand that the biosphere is a self-regulating system. Therefore, she strives to return the number of people to normal levels. It is 25 times lower than the modern one, that is, about 300 million people. And this is for the entire planet. A maximum of 500 million people can live on Earth, but not 7, 8 or 10 billion. This is why the productivity of valuable ecosystems is falling and they are dying out people need animals and disappear necessary plants. All this is connected with the self-regulation of the biosphere, which seeks to limit the number of humanity.

Earth population in millions of people

What will the collapse be like?

A decrease in the Earth's population will definitely occur, since the biosphere will not allow its destruction. But this can happen in different scenarios. First scenario, which still works in some countries, is hunger. Today, only 500 million people on the planet have adequate nutrition, and 2 billion are regularly malnourished. 20 million people die from hunger every year, and the human population during the same time increases by an order of magnitude.

If there are 200 million people dying of hunger per year, then population growth will stop. And if the number of deaths increases further, then the population will begin to decline. But this is a terrible and inhumane process. It will bring so much grief that it’s even scary to think about.

Second scenario purely political. It is connected with a nuclear disaster. A global conflict over non-renewable resources will begin, and a nuclear war will break out. It is capable of completely destroying all of humanity, leaving only a few intelligent beings on Earth. And then civilization will begin to be reborn in a new way. And this may take thousands of years.

Third scenario designed for people's awareness. Governments will introduce birth restrictions, which will lead to a decrease in population. However, this development of events raises great doubts, since birth control in some countries has not yet led to the desired results.

Fourth scenario connected directly to our planet. To save herself, she can weaken the Earth's magnetic field. In this case, we will find ourselves defenseless against solar plasma. It will burn everything out, but nature will quickly recover, but humanity will be almost completely destroyed. This scenario is similar to nuclear war, only the Earth itself will act as the initiator here.

There are also fifth scenario. In this case, the biosphere will begin to send signals to people on a subconscious level. They will act on the mechanisms responsible for fertility, and humanity will begin to respond to them. This will be expressed in a natural decrease in population growth, as occurs in many animal species. But here it should be understood that a person has long been cut off from nature, and therefore may not perceive the corresponding signals entering the subconscious. Who knows, maybe they are already coming, but only a few react to them.

In a word, the situation is not very rosy. We learned how many people can live on Earth, and also realized that the current population has long surpassed all norms. We can only wait for further developments, since this situation cannot continue forever. Let's hope that humanity will painlessly emerge from such a delicate and critical situation.

The world population is more than 7 billion people. According toThe US Census Bureau's global population exceeded 7 billion on March 12, 2012. According to the UN, the world's population reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011. In June 2013, the UN estimated the world population at approximately 7.2 billion. World population - total number people living on Earth.Selective translation (Wikipedia article, internal ss arrows are lowered). The world's population has been growing continuously since the end of the Great Famine of 1315-1317 and the Black Death (plague epidemics) in the 1350s, when the population was about 370 million. The highest rates of population growth (above 1.8% per year) were seen briefly in the 1950s, and for a longer period during the 1960s and 1970s. The growth rate peaked at 2.2% in 1963, then fell to below 1.1% by 2012. Total annual births peaked at the end of 1980 at about 138,000,000, and now remain largely constant at 134,000,000 as of 2011, while deaths stood at 56,000,000 per year and are expected to will rise to 80 million per year by 2040.

Current UN forecasts show a further increase in population in the near future (with a steady decline in population growth rates), with the global population ranging from 8.3 to 10.9 billion by 2050. Some analysts have questioned the sustainability of continued global population growth, noting growing pressure on environment, global food and energy supplies.

Earth's population by region

Six of Earth's seven continentsconstantly populated in large numbers. Asia is the most populous continent, with 4.2 billion inhabitants - more than 60% of the world's population. The population of the two most populated countries in the world is China and India together they make up about 37% of the world's population. Africa is the second most populous continent, with a population of about 1 billion people, or 15% of the world's population. Europe with a population of 733,000,000 people represents 11% of the world's population, while in countries Latin America And Caribbean The region is home to about 600,000,000 (9%). INNorth America, mainly inUnited States and Canada lives about 352,000,000 (5%), and Oceania - the least populated region, has about 35 million inhabitants (0.5%).

Population in countries around the world today

During the European agricultural and industrial revolutions, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically. From 1700 to 1900, Europe's population increased from 100 million to 400 million. Overall, in 1900, Europe accounted for 36% of the world's population.
Population growth in Western countries accelerated after the introduction of mandatory vaccinations and improvements in medicine and sanitation Following dramatic changes in living conditions and improvements in healthcare during the 19th century, Britain's population began to double every fifty years. by 1801, population of Englandgrew to 8.3 million, and by 1901 it reached 30.5 million, the population of the United Kingdom reached 60 million in 2006.In the US, the population will increase from 5.3 million in 1800 to 106 million in 1920, and will exceed 307 million in 2010.
First half of the 20th century in Russia and the Soviet Union was marked by a series of wars, famines and other disasters, each of which was accompanied by large-scale population losses. Stephen J. Lee estimates that by the end of World War II in 1945, Russia's population was 90 million less than it otherwise would have been. Russia's population has declined significantly in recent decades, from 148 million in 1991 to 143 million in 2012, but as of 2013 this decline appears to have stopped.
In many countries developing world there has been rapid population growth over the last century. China's population has grown from approximately 430 million in 1850 to 580 million in 1953 and currently stands at over 1.3 billion. The population of the Indian subcontinent, which was about 125 million in 1750, reached 389,000,000 in 1941. Today, India and surrounding countries are home to about 1.6 billion people. Java's population has increased from five million in 1815 to more than 130 million at the beginning of the 21st century. Mexico's population grew from 13.6 million in 1900 to 112 million in 2010. During the 1920s-2000s, Kenya's population grew from 2.9 million to 37 million.

Cities ("urban areas") that had at least one million inhabitants in 2006. Only 3% of the world's population lived in cities in 1800, a proportion that rose to 47% by 2000 and was 50.5% in 2010. By 2050, the share could reach 70%.Image Source,