Information » Environment » People » Population Growth
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The population of the earth has greatly increased in the last century. The world's population is now nearly six billion, and it is believed that this will grow to nine billion by 2050
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However this growth will come to an end, and it is predicted population levels will stabilise or even start to fall
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The main problem with population growth is the strain it puts on the world's resources. There is only so much land suitable for growing food for example, and much of this is being used up for the development of industry and cities
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This is a particular problem in developing countries, which have the largest population growth, and will suffer most from potential food shortages. People in these countries are often very poor and cannot afford to buy more food
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The strain on water resources is also a cause for concern. By 2025, it is estimated that nearly half of the world's population will live in areas where water is scarce
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Some groups believe that population growth needs to be controlled and one of the main ways of doing this is to give more women access to comprehensive methods of birth control
