World Population Day July 11, 2012                                                         2012 Theme: Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

The World Population Day is observed on July 11, 2012. It is an annual event which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues. It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, approximately the date on which the world's population reached five billion people. World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989

The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet Earth. It is estimated that the population of the world reached one billion in 1804, two billion in 1927, three billion in 1960, four billion in 1974, five billion in 1987, and six billion in 1999. It is projected to reach seven billion in October 2011, and around eight billion by 2025 - 2030. By 2045 - 2050, the world's population is currently projected to reach around nine billion, with alternative scenarios ranging from 7.4 billion to 10.6 billion.

The scientific consensus is that the current population expansion and accompanying increase in usage of resources is linked to threats to the ecosystem. The InterAcademy Panel Statement on Population Growth, which was ratified by 58 member national academies in 1994, called the growth in human numbers "unprecedented", and stated that many environmental problems, such as rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming, and pollution, were aggravated by the population expansion.

Background

Infant mortality has been dropping rapidly in many sub-Saharan African countries. As has happened elsewhere in the world, one would expect a time lag before birthrates drop. The effect of such lags is a rapid, albeit temporary, rise in population.

Rising population can sometimes create opportunities such as for increased economic growth. However, it can also create risks – particularly among vulnerable populations – such as of hunger, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and even conflict.

Falling birthrates can also pose economic challenges in the absence of immigration, as the size of the workforce relative to the size of the population decreases.

At a global level, there are concerns that legal and regulatory frameworks and political will are insufficient to the task of managing the growing global and local demands for food, water and energy, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.