World Population Day Marks Countdown to 7 Billion

Twenty-four years ago the United Nations marked the “Day of 5 Billion” by designating July 11^th as World Population Day.  This year on World Population Day the UN reported that world population would cross the 7 billion threshold on October 31, 2011.  The announcement confirmed earlier demographic estimates indicating that world population would cross the 7 billion mark this year, just 12 years after the 6 billion mark was crossed in October of 1999. 

The United Nations Population Fund commemorated this year’s World Population Day by launching a social media campaign, “7 Billion Actions,” which urges everyone in the world to respond in some way to the many challenges or issues related to population growth including poverty and inequality, women and girls, young people, reproductive health and rights, environment, aging, and urbanization.

In writing about World Population Day for the Huffington Post, Robert Walker, the Executive Vice President of the Population Institute, warned that, “Unless we successfully address the 21st-century challenges posed by population growth, food insecurity and water scarcity, many of the gains that we have made in improving the human condition could be reversed.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-walker/world-population-day_b_893577.html