1. Current World Population

According to the UNFPA (The State of World Population, 1996), the

current world population (in 1996) has increased to 5.8 billion

compared to a

population of 2.5 billion in 1950. Within the last half century,

the population

has increased 2.3 times, representing an annual increase of 1.8%.

This world

population explosion since the second world war has never

previously been

experienced throughout the long history of mankind. It is

believed that ever

since mankind first settled down to form farming settlements,

several thousand

years before Christ, the global population has increased.

However, the rate of

increase was never as quick, and natural phenomenon had always

held it in

check resulting in frequent peaks and troughs. It has been

estimated that the

world population in 1650 was 0.5 billion, and roughly since that

time, the

increase has been continuous. The rate especially increased after

the

Agricultural Revolution, at the start of the Industrial

Revolution, in the nud-

eighteenth century. It reached 0.8 billion by 1750, 1.3 billion

by 1850, and 2.5

billion by 1950. Although there was a five-fold increase within

the 300 years

from 1650 to 1950, the annual increase was only 0.5%. Therefore,

it is clear

that the current annual 1.8% rate of increase since 1950 is

phenomenal in

mankind's history.

The feature of the world population since the second world war is

not

only its remarkable increase, but also the population

distribution area and the

significant differences in the growth rates between areas. The

United Nations

distinguishes countries as developed nations (Europe, North

America, Japan,

Australia and New Zealand) and developing nations (the remainder)

[See Table

1] , and the distribution of the world's 5.7 billion population

is 1.2 billion

(21%) in the developed nations, and 4.5 billion (79%) in the

developing nations.

The population distribution of the 2.5 billion in 1950 was 0.8

billion (32%) in

the developed nations, and 1.7 billion (68%) in the developing

nations.

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