Researchers show that undernourishment is not a problem of agricultural production capacity but of the current economic and political system and that, if equity of food distribution is accompanied by a reduction in over-consumption and food waste, undernutrition could be eradicated while at the same time reducing agricultural production.   Read more »

The American Museum of Natural History has posted an animation of the growth of human population. When will global population peak? And how can we minimize our impact on Earth’s resources as we approach 11 billion?  Read more »

The United Nations estimate of future world population is 9.3 million by 2050, rising to 10.1 billion by 2100. However, the U.N. figures are given with a very wide range of uncertainty – between 6.2 billion and 15.8 billion in 2100. A new model developed by a team from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) […]  Read more »

Researchers from the Beijing-based Chinese National Research Institute for Family Planning have reported a method for male contraception that they say is effective, reversible and without serious short-term side effects. In the testing conducted with nine other research centers around China, 1,045 healthy fertile males were injected monthly with 500 milligrams of a formulation of […]  Read more »

Sir David Attenborough has become a patron of an organisation that campaigns to limit the number of people in the world. The television presenter and naturalist said that he joined Optimum Population Trust (OPT) because the increase in population was having devastating effects on ecology, pollution and food production. “I’ve seen wildlife under mounting human […]  Read more »

A recent article published by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has debunked a number of myths about population growth. Myth: Population growth rates only decline as countries become wealthy and women become educated. While it is well true that population growth rates have declined most, often below replacement levels, in the wealthy […]  Read more »

Before the modern era, life expectancy was no more than 35 years and as low as 20 years in some places. By 1900, life expectancy in the United States had increased to 47 years (which is the current life expectancy in Nigeria). By 2000, it was about 77 years in the United States and more […]  Read more »

In 1950 the total world population was 2.5 billion. It is now 6.5 billion. It is expected to reach 8.9 billion by 2050 but may then decline to 5.5 billion by the end of the century. There are two reasons for the predicted drop. The birth rate has fallen from a world average of 6 […]  Read more »