ABSTRACT
Every minute, the population of the world increases by about 200 people. This growth amounts to an annual increase of more than 70 million people or an annual population growth rate of about 1% (
Figure 1.1
). While it is anticipated that this annual growth rate will continue to decline, it is possible that some time this century the population of the world will exceed 10 billion people. Population increases in developed countries such as the
U.S. will be offset by declines in other developed countries in Europe. Therefore, the majority of the global population increase of more than 3 billion people in the next 50 to 100 years will occur in developing countries that already face shortages of potable water and food. Both India and China will face huge population increases, and it is probable that India at some point will have the world’s largest population. In Africa, it is projected that the population of Nigeria could double and approach that of the U.S.
