Fertile People in Infertile Lands: the Demographic Situation

Abstract

There can be few literate people today who are unaware of the rapid and accelerating growth of the world’s population. There were about 500 million people on earth in 1650; 1000 million in 1850; 2000 million in 1930, and 3000 million in 1960; and with the current 1.9 per cent annual growth rate by 1975 the world population had risen to 4000 million. About 71 per cent of this enormous total live in the less-developed countries (LDCs) which account also for 86 per cent of present population growth. Thus, by the year 2000 they will contain more than three-quarters of the world’s inhabitants.