Population explosion.

• Position: GRAPH: INTERNATIONAL

One key piece of data in Upfront's almanac is world population-currently at 7.1 billion and counting. This figure has more than doubled in the past 50 years and will likely continue to rise in the decades ahead. But where's the increase coming from? The graph at right shows that the trend for populations in more-developed countries is different from that of populations in less-developed countries. The U.N. defines the more-developed countries as those in Europe and North America, plus Australia, New Zealand, and Japan; the less-developed countries are in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

(1) According to the graph, the world population in 1950 was about--.

a 800 million

b 1.7 billion

c 2.5 billion

d 3.1 billion

(2) The world population in 2013 is 7.1 billion. By 2050, this figure is expected to increase by about--.

a 1.8 billion

b 2.5 billion

c 3.6 billion

d 4 billion

(3) Over the next four decades, the population of more-developed countries is expected to--.

a remain relatively unchanged.

b equal the population of less-developed countries

c double

d drop significantly

(4) In 2010, about what percentage of the world population was in less-developed countries?

a 60 percent

b 70 percent

c 75 percent

d 80 percent

(5) China and India, both considered less-developed countries, are expected to have a combined population of 2.6 billion in 2015. That's about --of the world's projected population for that year.

a one quarter

b 35 percent

c 65 percent

d three fourths

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(1) Why do you think the combined population of the world's less-developed countries is so much greater than...