World population hits seven billion

By Elizabeth Mwai

The world’s population has hit seven billion-mark. This is according to the United Nations Population Fund (Unfpa).

This comes just 14 years after it struck the six billion-mark. "According to 2008 revision, the world population is expected to rise by 2.53 billion people, to reach 9.1 billion in 2050," says Unfpa website.

The population has been swelling slowly for most of human history, with the numbers in the last half-century reaching six billion in late 1999 and 6.7 billion in 2006.

Unfpa attributes the high population status to lower mortality, longer life expectancy, and a youthful population in countries where fertility remains high.

The population watchdog says essentially all of the growth will take place in the less developed countries.