GROWTH

Population evolution in different continents. The vertical axis is logarithmic and is millions of people.

Different regions have different rates ofpopulation growth. According to the above table, the growth in population of the different regions from 2000 to 2005 was:

237.771 million in Asia

92.293 million in Africa

38.052 million in Latin America

16.241 million in Northern America

3.264 million in Europe

1.955 million in Oceania

383.047 million in the whole world

In the 20th century, the world saw the biggest increase in its population in human history due to lessening of the mortality rate in many countries due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity attributed to the Green Revolution.^[44][45][46]

In 2000, the United Nations estimated that the world's population was growing at the rate of 1.14% (or about seventy-five million people) per year,^[47] down from a peak of eighty-eight million per year in 1989. In the last few centuries, the number of people living on Earth has increased many times over. By 2000, there were ten times as many people on Earth as there were three hundred years ago. According to data from the CIA's 2005–2006 World Factbooks, the world human population increased by an average of 203,800 people every day.^[48] The CIA Factbook increased this to 211,090 people every day in 2007, and again to 220,980 people every day in 2009.

A world map showing countries by fertility rate, 2005-2010.

7-8 Children     6-7 Children     5-6 Children     4-5 Children

3-4 Children     2-3 Children     1-2 Children     0-1 Children

Globally, the population growth rate has been steadily declining from its peak of 2.19% in 1963, but growth remains high in Latin America, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.^[49]

In some countries there is negative population growth (i.e. net decrease in population over time), especially in Central and Eastern Europe (mainly due to low fertility rates). Within the next decade, Japan and some countries in Western Europe are also expected to encounter negative population growth due to sub-replacement fertility rates.

In 2006, the United Nations stated that the rate of population growth is diminishing due to the demographic transition. If this trend continues, the rate of growth may diminish to zero, concurrent with a world population plateau of 9.2 billion, in 2050.^[50] However, this is only one of many estimates published by the UN. In 2009, UN projections for 2050 range from about 8 billion to 10.5 billion.^[51]

Population (est.) 10,000 BC–AD 2000.

Population (est.) 10,000 BC–AD 2000 in log y scale

World population 1950–2000

Increase rate 1950–2000