Population is over 6.6billion
The world’s population currently stands at 6,607,653,400. By next July it will around 6,682,477,930 – that’s an increase of nearly 7.5m.
In fact, every two seconds, one person joins the planet's expanding urban population, and in 2008, for the first time in human history, a majority of people will live in cities. The UN Population Fund has released its State of the World 2007 population report, which calls for a “revolution in thinking” to help cities unleash their potential to spur economic growth and solve social problems.
If global development priorities are not reassessed to account for massive urban poverty, well over half of the 1.1 billion people projected to join the world’s population between now and 2030 may live in under-serviced slums, according to the Worldwatch Institute’s report.
Additionally, while cities cover only 0.4% of the Earth’s surface, they generate the bulk of the world’s carbon emissions, making cities key to alleviating the climate crisis, notes the report.
As recently as a century ago, the vast majority of the world’s people lived in rural areas, but by sometime next year more than half of all people will live in urban areas. Over 60 million people—roughly the population of France—are now added to the planet’s burgeoning cities and suburbs each year, mostly in low-income urban settlements in developing countries.
Unplanned and chaotic urbanization is taking a huge toll on human health and the quality of the environment, contributing to social, ecological, and economic instability in many countries. Of the 3 billion urban dwellers today, 1 billion live in “slums,” defined as areas where people cannot secure key necessities such as clean water, a nearby toilet, or durable housing. An estimated 1.6 million urban residents die each year due to lack of clean water and sanitation as a result.
“For a child living in a slum, disease and violence are daily threats, while education and health care are often a distant hope,” said Molly O’Meara Sheehan, State of the World roject director. “Policymakers need to address the ‘urbanization of poverty’ by stepping up investments in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.” From 1970 to 2000, urban aid worldwide was estimated at $60 billion—just 4% of the $1.5 trillion in total development assistance.
The Commission for Africa has identified urbanization as the second greatest challenge confronting the world’s most rapidly urbanizing continent, after HIV/AIDS. Only about 35% of Africa’s population is urban, but it is predicted that this figure will jump to 50% by 2030. “The promise of independence has given way to the harsh realities of urban living mainly because too many of us were ill-prepared for our urban future,” notes Anna Tibaijuka, executive director of UN-HABITAT, in the report’s foreword.
Our photos State of the World 2007 contributors from left to right: Janet L. Sawin, Dana Firas, Molly O'Meara Sheehan, Peter Newman, and Chris Flavin.
More information: www.worldwatchinstitute.org/home
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