From Mexico to Cairo and beyond: Twenty years of population challenges and development goals

According to the United Nations, world population numbered 6.5 billion in 2005 and is currently growing at about 1.2 per cent annually (United Nations, 2005). The 7 billion mark is projected to be reached in 2012, just six years from today. Long-range population projections reveal that the world’s population could ultimately stabilize at about 9 billion people.