Mirrors of the Past

Abstract

Historically, the situation of children is known less by systematic studies or statistics than by anecdotes, diaries and letters, mostly written by people of the upper classes. By the year AD 1, the world population was just 200 million; by 1000, it had increased to some 300 million. By 1750, the entire world population was estimated at less than 800 million, by 1800 at one billion. One hundred years later (1900), it reached 1.7 billion. In 1945, it was 2.3 billion; the less developed regions then counted for 1.6 billion. By 1960, the world total crossed the 3 billion mark and by 1999, it reached 6 billion; over 80 per cent lived in the less developed regions. It appears that the population might exceed 7 billion by 2015 and 9 billion before 2050. Population growth is concentrated on the developing countries. The more developed countries have shown little growth: between 1950 and 2000, the population only increased from 800,000 to 1,100,000, and will show little growth until 2050. Twenty-eight per cent of the world populations are children aged under 15 (UN Population Division, 2006; Wikipedia, 2007). The world is getting crowded and that affects children.