Growing, and Growing
The world’s population will increase from today’s 7.6 billion people to 9.8 billion by 2050, as India surpasses China as the world’s most populous country and Nigeria eclipses the US for the number three spot.
Half of the world’s population growth over the intervening period will be concentrated in just nine countries: India, Nigeria, Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the US, Uganda and Indonesia, Al Jazeera cited a new United Nations report as saying.
India will overtake China, which currently has a population of 1.4 billion, as early as 2024, the report said. Meanwhile, the populations of some 26 African countries will “at least double” by 2050.
NPR notes that around 800 million people already go to bed hungry around the world, mostly because a third of the food produced across the globe goes to waste. That’s enough to feed the entire 800 million with some left over. But the prospect of adding a full 2 billion more people raises serious questions about what it will take to feed them – and the environmental damage the effort will require.
No comments:
Post a Comment