Latest update : 2011-11-01
World Population: 7 billion, and counting (part 2)
Today marks a landmark moment in human history: the number of people on the planet is now, for the first time, more than 7 billion. It took more than a century for the world's population to go from one to two billion, but it took only 12 to grow from six billion to billion. Within 70 years, the population is expected to grow to a massive 10 billion. So is this a cause for celebration or concern?
- Medhi DRISSI. Paris Bureau chief, Food and Agriculture Organization;
- Jan RIELAENDER. Economist on the Africa desk, OECD;
- Christophe Z. GUILMOTO. Senior Fellow in Demography, 'Institut de recherche pour le développement';
- Steven SINDING. Former Director-General, International Planned Parenthood Federation. Co-author, 'Population Matters' - from MANCHESTER, Vermont, US.