Updated 11 January 2012

The United Nations world population report was released on 31 October 2011 to mark a milestone in human population of 7 billion on the date. 

The 126-page document titled, "The State of the World Population 2011" published by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, foresees a global population of 9.3 billion people in 2050, and more than 10 billion by the end of this century. However, this could top 15 billion if birth rates are just slightly higher than expected. The report highlights that much of this increase is expected to come from Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America.

The report trends behind the numbers and makes the case for greater investment to meet the needs of all segments of the world’s population, especially girls and women, for education and family planning. The report gives an overview of 130 cities and is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNPFA) is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty.

UNFPA has warned that demographic pressures posed mighty challenges for easing poverty and conserving the environment. However, it added that: "With only a small variation in fertility, particularly in the most populous countries, the total could be higher.”

The table below shows the years in which the world’s population reached increments of 1 billion:

The World Federation has produced a brief summary of the report to highlight the new challenges that the world will be facing in the coming century.

A summary of the report and a full report can be found here.

For more information please email relief@world-federation.org