- The world's population is expected to rise from the current
6.5 billion to 9.1 billion by 2050, the UN says.
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- Virtually all the growth will be in the developing world,
according to a report by the UN Population Division.
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- By contrast, the population of developed countries will
remain almost static at 1.2 billion, the report adds.
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- It says India will overtake China as the world's most
populous country by 2030 - five years earlier than previously expected.
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- The figures in the revised report are based on national
censuses, population surveys and review of trends.
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- In 2002, the UN Population Division had estimated a population
in 2050 of 8.9 billion.
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- 'Buying time'
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- The new report predicts that the population in the world's
50 poorest countries will more than double by 2050.
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- It says that nations such as Afghanistan, Chad and East
Timor will see their numbers going up three-fold.
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- "They are the ones not being able to provide adequate
shelter, adequate food for all their people," Haina Zlotnik, the UN
Population Division's chief, told a news conference in New York.
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- "If fertility dropped downwards, they would be buying
time to face the problems they are facing," Ms Zlotnik said.
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- The report also says that Africa - unlike other regions
- has seen average life expectancy at birth decline from 62 years in 1995
to 48 years in 2000-2005.
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- It attributes the sharp fall to the continuing spread
of HIV/Aids and other infectious diseases, as well as armed conflicts and
economic stagnation.
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- Lower fertility
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- However, the overall trend shows a lower rate of growth
in the past 20 to 50 years.
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- "The population continues to grow but at a lower
pace," said Thomas Buettner, author of the report.
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- "Family planning and lower fertility make the difference,"
he said.
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- Fertility is expected to decline from 2.6 children per
woman today to slightly over 2 children per woman in 2050, the report says.
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- © BBC MMV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/4297169.stm
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