In 2011, it's estimated that the human population of our Earth will be nearing 7 billion. 12 years ago, we were estimated to have reached the 6 billion mark. Which means that at the rate our population is going now, the human race produces 1 billion babies roughly every decade.
And one of the largest, if not the largest, age group in the world? Teenagers.
Out of our almost 7 billion people, 1 billion are considered adolescent. Now that is about 1/6th, 1/7th of the population, and if you think about it, that's huge.
Developing countries like Uganda and countries in Central Africa are experiencing the biggest adolescent boom. Despite AIDS and other chronic diseases plaguing Africa, the population of Uganda is expected to triple by 2050. This giant influx of young people in such countries however, brings many problems, such as the sanitation and education issues that Africa already faces. Imagine tripiling the population; it would be tripiling the problem.
It makes me wonder, how many people can this world really hold? We cannot, obviously, continue to grow at the rate of 1billion every decade. But what do we do? Birthing restrictions?
Is there anything we can do without restricting basic human rights? It's a creepy thing to think about, and a possible major problem in the near future.
The New York Times
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