World Population 2012

The population of the world in 2012 is expected to pass 7 billion for the first time. During January 2012, the US census bureau estimated that the world population was 6.99 billion people.Given the speed at which the population is believed to grow, it's likely that the 7 billionth person will be born sometime in the spring of this year.

From here onwards, we expect that the world's population will continue to increase, albiet at a slower rate that has been seen through the 20th century. By 2050 there are likely to be 9 billion people on planet earth.

In this hub, we'll give you all the key facts you need know about the world's population today.

People aren't evenly spread across the globe. Some parts of the world are far more densely populated than others. There are lots of reasons for this - some historical, some geographical. In Asia, for example, there are around 80 people in every square kilometer. In North America, though there are just 21 people per sq km and in Oceania, just 4 people per square km.

Right now, the continent with the most people is Asia. 4.1 billion people live there, half of them in just two countries - China and India. None of the other continents have more than a billion people, although Africa with 994 million people is almost there. Europe is the third largest continent, with 738 million people, and North America the fourth largest with a population of 528 million.

The five largest countries in the world are China (1.34 billion people), India (1.20 billion people), the USA (313 million people), Indonesia (238 million people) and Brazil (196 million people).

The smallest country is tiny Vatican City, which has a mere 800 inhabitants.

Athough there are seven billion people in the world today, that number is expected to grow even higher.

In the 20th century, population growth has been staggeringly quick. In 1900, there were less than two billion people in the world. Today, there are more than three times as many people, and the population increases by a billion people every 10-15 years.

This rapid growth has been because of the way that technology has advanced. As it has done so, medicines have improved and people have become better fed. Fewer children die young, and more people live to become old.

It is almost certain (barring catatstrophe) that the world's population will continue to increase through the 21st century, although it is likely that growth will be slightly slower than it is at the moment. If the United Nations are correct, the rate of growth will slow to such an extent that the population will only increase by 1 billion every 20 years...

We can't say exactly how many people there are in each religion, but the best estimates we have indicate the following:

• Christianity - 2 billion
• Islam - 1.7 billion
• Hinduism - 1 billion
• Buddhism - 0.5 billion

Additionally, there are thought to be around 1 billion atheists in the world.