Population Growth and Development

To further delve into humanity's 7 billion landmark reached last week, I feel I didn't sufficiently explain the demographic transition humanity follows.  As countries develop, death rates drop.  With advances in medical technology and sanitation, people live longer.  High birth rates then take about a generation to fall more in line with death rates.  Only then do populations reach slower, stabilized growth levels.

This demographic shift explains the Earth's 7 billion, via worldwide growth and development.  The big spike in population growth over the past 150 years represents the large portion of humanity that has already experienced declining death rates.  That alone is pretty impressive!  But this unsustainable level of rapid growth will soon slow.  Although humanity exponentially jumped 6 billion people since 1800, the population should only expand 3 billion more by 2100.  Water shortages and environmental impacts aside, it is pretty impressive that our food systems, our political systems, etc. are so advanced that we can provide for this many people.  We can grow enough food and distribute that food to 7 billion people.  Our systems surely are not perfect, but, if you consider that for most of history everyone who was not nobility was an impoverished peasant, we've definitely made some progress.  I'm proud to be part of the world of 7 billion!

Population Growth and Development