World population near 7 billion
Myanmar's Immigration and Population minister, Khin Yi, delivers his speech at a ceremony to mark the World Population Day (July 11, 2011). Credit: AP
That will be the world population by the end of October, according to the United Nations. Five infants are arriving every second, with 78 million people added each year. Much of that growth will come from Africa, in developing nations like Niger, which averages 7.1 children per mother. Unfortunately, these growing nations have insufficient resources to feed, educate and protect their children, leading to malnutrition and future developmental problems. One solution would be to invest more in education and family planning.
