LATEST UPDATE: November 26, 2011 (numbers from 2006)

Here are a few notes on population to conclude the part on anthropogenic changes. The numbers come from comments and maps published in the Penguin State of the World Atlas and are thought as food for thought. Please visit the websites of the World Watch Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme for additional information.

• Some Numbers¹

MONEY:
• one person if five is living on less than $1 a day
• the average inhabitant of the world's richest country is over 100 times wealthier than the average inhabitant of the poorest
• in 2003, the richest countries (highest GDP/person) included: U.S., Canada, western/northern Europe (except Portugal, Spain), Japan, Israel, Australia, New Zealand
• in 2003, except for Yemen (and probably Afghanistan), the poorest countries (lowest GDP/person) were found exclusively in Africa
• African countries with a GDP/person < $1000: Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone
• African countries with relatively high GDP ($5,000-10,000/person): South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, Tunisia
• Inflation: the average (1990-2000) annual change in the consumer price index was 100% or higher in: Brazil, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus
• Aid: the poorer countries of the world pay out more in interest on their debts than they receive in economic aid, most of which takes the form of low-interest loans
• in 2000, developing countries' debts amounted to nearly $2,000 billion
• aid spending, as a percentage of GNP, is declining. The USA is the least generous donor, contributing just 0.01% of its national income
• illegal drugs: a small proportion of the world population uses illegal drugs, providing enormous profits in a multinational trade
• the global trade in illegal drugs is worth twice as much as the motor vehicle industry. A UN estimate is that the total value of the trade in illicit drugs is well over $400 billion a year.
• example cocaine: in 2001 Colombia's growers got $880 per 1kg; the U.S. wholesale price was $20,500, while the U.S. street price was $82,000
• example opium: in 2001 Afghan growers got $300 per 1kg; the U.S. wholesale price was $39,000, while the U.S. street price was $131,000
• military spending: U.S. military spending increased by 30% from 1998 to 2003. The total U.S. military spending in 2003 was $322 billion, $8 billion more than the next ten highest military spenders combined (Russia, China, Japan, UK, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy, India, South Korea). The rest of the world's spending was $188 billion.
LIFE:
• the average life expectancy today in the poorest African countries is the same as in Japan in 1900
• life expectancy is 75 years or more in the U.S., Canada, Cuba, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, western Europe and Greece, Israel, Kuwait, and Brunei
• the lowest life expectancy with 45 years or less are exclusively found in Africa: Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Angola, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Niger, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau
• the only country outside Africa with a life expectancy of less than 55 years is Laos
• the only countries in Africa with a life expectancy of more than 64 years are Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco
• in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, life expectancy has declined as a result of the social and economic chaos that ensued in the transition from the undemocratic command economies of the old Soviet bloc
HIV/AIDS:
• In some Sub-Saharan African countries, a decline in average life expectancy is mostly explained by the HIV/AIDS epidemic
• by 2020 more people will have died from HIV/AIDS than the total killed in both world wars
• by 2020, 68 Million people will have died of HIV/AIDS of which 55 Million will have died in Sub-Saharan Africa
countries in which more than 15% of the people are HIV/AIDS infected: South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya
• cost of condoms (one year's supply as a proportion of the GNP/person): U.S./Western Europe/Japan: < 1%; Guinea/Rwanda/Congo/Benin/Laos: 10-16%; Madagascar/Mali: 23-27%; Ethiopia/Togo: 30-31%; Burma/Burundi: 42-45%
• injecting drugs is causing rates of HIV to increase rapidly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, especially among young people
• drugs are available that prolong the life of a person infected by HIV/AIDS, but at prices that cannot be afforded by most people in developing countries
WATER:
• countries in which more than 50% have no access to improved water sources, such as a protected well, spring or tap: Haiti, Oman, Cambodia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauretania
• by 2025 two-thirds of the world's population will be short of water
FOOD:
• there is enough food in the world to feed everybody. The problem lies in the distribution. Much is wasted while many starve.
• two billion people - one third of the world's population - suffer from malnutrition
• countries in which more than 40% of children under 5 years of age are at least moderately underweight: North Korea, Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burundi, Mali
• American countries in which 21-40% of children under 5 years of age are at least moderately underweight: Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador
• malnutrition in the poor world contrasts with over-nutrition in the rich world. The global food market shows particularly large surpluses of grain
• 1 billion adults are overweight and 300 million are obese
• 3% of Japanese and 10% of Britons are clinically obese; 61% of Americans are overweight
• obesity is a serious health issue, leading to heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. It kills 0.5 million people each year in North America and Europe.
URBANIZATION AND TRAFFIC:
• nearly half of the world's population live in cities
• the proportion of people living in cities is likely to grow from 40% in 1980 to 60% in 2020
• richer countries tend to have a larger proportion of city dwellers that the poorer countries
• the world's car population has grown five times as fast as the human population over the last 50 years
• road transport plays a vital role in the economy and lifestyle of the richer nations, increasing their dependence on oil
• the increasing number of private cars and road freight is leading to severe congestion in some industrialized countries
• in developing countries, where the increase in vehicles is not linked to an improvement in infrastructure, the high proportion of road deaths is a growing problem.
• 3000 people are killed on the world's roads every day - more than are killed by malaria
• while in many European countries and the U.S., the number of road deaths per 10,000 motor vehicles was 2 or less in 1990, it was 26 in China, 55 in Kenya, and 161 in Nigeria
• by 2030, on current trends, 2.5 million people in developing countries will die each year from traffic accidents
ENERGY USE:
• over 90% of energy used comes from non-renewable sources
• in 2000, the countries with the highest average energy used per person were: Iceland, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, USA, Canada, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, Brunei
• with 5% of the world population, the U.S. consumes 25% of the world's energy produced
POPULATION:
• the world's population doubled in the second half of the 20th century, passing 6 billion at the start of the 21st century
• the growth rate has slowed, especially in the two most populous countries: China and India
• every 1.25 seconds, a new baby is born in India
• at the current rate, the world population will top 9 billion in 2050, with Africa and the Middle East growing fastest
• as countries get richer, the population grows more slowly
• as population growth slows in the richer countries, the average age rises. Then the economically active must support themselves and the rising number of older people. The results is a looming welfare crisis.

• Related Web Sites

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme
• World Watch Institute

• References

• ⁽¹⁾"The Penguin State of the World Atlas" by Dan Smith, 2003. Penguin Books, ISBN: 0-14.200318-2