Demographics

On Water

As global population increases and people become wealthier, agricultural production will need to likewise increase, but food systems may become more stressed because of competition for water.

Water is also used in everyday products at astounding rates - e.g. a single cup of coffee costs 130 litres of water, while about 18,900 litres are needed to produce 1 kg of roasted coffee.

A 2012 infographic looked at the state of the world's "water economy".

This chart shows life expectancy mapped against number of children per woman for each country in the world. Over time, most countries have moved towards the bottom right corner of the chart, corresponding to long lives and low fertility.

Halcyon In Figures

posted on 10 March 2012

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Demographics

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Halcyon In Figures

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Global

In Figures - Global Population

With global population now exceeding 7 billion, National Geographic examined provided a broad overview of demographic trends that got us to today and will impact us tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the global population is still growing by an estimated 79 million per year.

It was just over two centuries ago that the global population was 1 billion — in 1804. But better medicine and improved agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy for children, dramatically increasing the world population, especially in the West. U.N. forecasts suggest the world population could hit a peak of 10.1 billion by 2100 before beginning to decline.