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New Study Projects World Population of 11B by 2100

vinces99 (2792707) writes Using modern statistical tools, a new study led by the University of Washington and the United Nations finds that world population is likely to keep growing throughout the 21st century. The number of people on Earth is likely to reach 11 billion by 2100, the study concludes, about 2 billion higher than widely cited previous estimates. The paper published online Sept. 18 in the journal Science includes the most up-to-date numbers for future world population, and describes a new method for creating such estimates. "The consensus over the past 20 years or so was that world population, which is currently around 7 billion, would go up to 9 billion and level off or probably decline," said corresponding author Adrian Raftery, a UW professor of statistics and of sociology. ... The paper explains the most recent United Nations population data released in July. This is the first U.N. population report to use modern statistics, known as Bayesian statistics, that combines all available information to generate better predictions.

Most of the anticipated growth is in Africa, where population is projected to quadruple from around 1 billion today to 4 billion by the end of the century. The main reason is that birth rates in sub-Saharan Africa have not been going down as fast as had been expected. There is an 80 percent chance that the population in Africa at the end of the century will be between 3.5 billion and 5.1 billion people.

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  1. Re:No, It Won't by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 0, Troll

    All problems of mankind are man made.
    Water is in abundance, we only manage it badly.
    The planet can easy feed 100 billions, we have space for so many people and the food is easy grown.
    The idea that food only growth with fertilizers that need lots of energy to produce is nonsense, a myth spread by the current 'status quo' ... 20% to 40% of the food grown in western countries is: thrown away. For what ever reason.

    The only way we can reach 11 billion for 2100 is if we start making soylent green out of people when they reach 30.
    Do you really want to eat the 'meat' of a 30 year old sinew male, not to mention he likely is black or yellow, eek! The average cow is a year or two old :)
    And considering the pollution levels, a 30 year old human is likely not really save to consume.

    The problem of the world are political factions, not really food production or population.

    But I agree, with a few more billion hard core christians or muslims we wont come far.

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  2. Re:Not a problem... by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 0, Troll

    The sand of the Sahara does not fertilize anything.
    It is: sand.
    Hint: check on wikipedia what sand actually is.
    Another hint: your windows are made of sand, so are the chips in your computer, so are solar panels, the glasses of your glasses ...
    (* facepalm *)

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.