Population shift.

• Position: GRAPH: INTERNATIONAL

China enacted a strict one-child policy in 1979 to rein in its skyrocketing population (see article, p. 8]. Though the policy succeeded in slowing population growth, China is still the world's most-populous nation. In fact, China and runner-up India together make up a whopping 37 percent of the global population, which recently passed the 7 billion mark. United Nations demographers predict that these two nations will still hold the top two spots in 2050--but they also project a few interesting changes.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

(1) Between now and 2050, the U.S. population is projected to --.

a drop by about 7 million

b stay the same

c increase by 15 million

d increase by 90 million

(2) Eight nations appear on both graphs. How many of them are expected to have smaller populations in 2050 than they do today?

a none

b one

c two

d three

(3) Which nation on both graphs is projected to experience the greatest percentage increase in its population by 2050?

a Bangladesh

b United States

c Nigeria

d India

(4) You can infer from the graphs that Japan's population

a is skyrocketing

b is not expected to reach 200 million by 2050

c will drop by a third by 2050

d will neither rise nor fall by 2050

(5) In 2050, the world population is projected to reach 9 billion. At that time, the two most-populous nations will account for -- of that population.

a one third

b one quarter

c just over half

d 60 percent

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(1) Throughout history, developing countries have tended to have higher population-growth rates than developed countries. What...