Map of populations by country

Time taken for each billion people to be added to the world's population

In sociology and biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species. In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. A population shares a particular characteristic of interest most often that of living in a given geographic area. Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. In taxonomy population is a low-level taxonomic rank. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos Taxonomic rank ( rank, category, taxonomic category is an abstract term used in the Scientific classification, or Taxonomy, of organisms

Human populations can be defined by many characteristics such as mortality, migration, family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the labor force, and family planning. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific Human migration denotes any movement by Humans from one locality to another sometimes over long distances or Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society organisations In Economics the people in the labor force are the suppliers of labor Family planning is frequently used to mean that people plan when to have children using Birth control, preconceptional counseling. Various aspects of human behavior in populations are also studied in sociology, economics, and geography. Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena

Study of populations is almost always governed by the laws of probability, and the conclusions of the studies may thus not always be applicable to some individuals. Probability is the likelihood or chance that something is the case or will happen This odd factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything. Demography is used extensively in marketing, which relates to economic units, such as retailers, to potential customers. In popular usage "marketing" is the promotion of products especially Advertising and Branding However in professional usage the term has a wider meaning of For example, a coffee shop that wants to sell to a younger audience looks at the demographics of an area to be able to appeal to this younger audience. CoFFEE is an Open source Software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL in a digital classroom

World Population

Main article: World population

According to papers published by the United States Census Bureau, the world population hit 6. The world population is the total number of living Humans on Earth at a given time The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census 5 billion (6,500,000,000) on January 25, 2006. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The United Nations Population Fund designated October 12, 1999 as the approximate day on which world population reached 6 billion. The United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA) began operations in 1969 as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (the name was changed in 1987 Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) This was about 12 years after world population reached 5 billion, in 1987. However, the population of some countries, such as Nigeria, is not even known to the nearest million, so there is a considerable margin of error in such estimates. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal

In 2008 the United Nations Population Division projected that the world's population will likely surpass 9 billion in 2050. ^[1] The last 50 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and substantial increase in agricultural productivity, particularly in the period 1960 to 1995^[2] made by the Green Revolution. All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, Death, and Disease. The Green Revolution refers to the transformation of Agriculture that began in 1945 at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to ^[3]

Population control

Main article: Population control

Population control is the practice of curtailing population increase, usually by reducing the birth rate. Population control is the practice of limiting population increase usually by reducing the Birth rate. Surviving records from Ancient Greece document the first known examples of population control. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca These include the colonization movement, which saw Greek outposts being built across the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins to accommodate the excess population of individual states. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey Infanticide, including abortion, was encouraged in some Greek city states in order to keep population down. Infanticide is the practice of someone intentionally causing the death of an Infant. ^[4]

An important example of mandated population control is China's one-child policy, in which having more than one child is made extremely unattractive. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The one-child policy is the Population control policy (or planned birth policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC This has led to allegations that practices like forced abortions, forced sterilization, and infanticide are used as a result of the policy. The country's sex ratio at birth of 112 boys to 100 girls may be evidence that the latter is often sex-selective. Sex ratio is the Ratio of Males to Females in a Population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception secondary sex ratio is Sex-selective abortion is the targeted Abortion of a Fetus based upon its Sex. However, other countries without a one-child policy also have similar sex ratios.

It is helpful to distinguish between fertility control as individual decision-making and population control as a governmental or state-level policy of regulating population growth. This page consists of two tables Table 1 is sourced from the CIA World Factbook''' Fertility control may occur when individuals or couples or families take steps to decrease or to regulate the timing of their own child-bearing. In Ansley Coale's oft-cited formulation, three preconditions for a sustained decline in fertility are: (1) acceptance of calculated choice (as opposed to fate or chance or divine will) as a valid element in fertility, (2) perceived advantages from reduced fertility, and (3) knowledge and mastery of effective techniques of control. Ansley Johnson Coale (1917-2002 was one of America's foremost Demographers A native of Baltimore, Maryland, he earned his B ^[5] In contrast to a society with natural fertility, a society that desires to limit fertility and has the means to do so may use those means to delay childbearing, space childbearing, or stop childbearing. Natural fertility is a concept developed by French Demographer Louis Henry to refer to the level of fertility that would prevail in a population that makes Delaying sexual intercourse (or marriage), or the adoption of natural or artificial means of contraception are most often an individual or family decision, not a matter of a state policy or societal-wide sanctions. On the other hand, individuals who assume some sense of control over their own fertility can also accelerate the frequency or success of child-bearing through planning.

At the societal level, declining fertility is almost an inevitable result of growing secular education of women . However, the exercise of moderate to high levels of fertility control does not necessarily imply low fertility rates. Even among societies that exercise substantial fertility control, societies with an equal ability to exercise fertility control (to determine how many children to have and when to bear them) may display widely different levels of fertility (numbers of children borne) associated with individual and cultural preferences for the number of children or size of families. ^[6]

In contrast to fertility control, which is mainly an individual-level decision, governments may attempt to exercise population control by increasing access to means of contraception or by other population policies and programs. ^[7] The idea of "population control" as a governmental or societal-level regulation of population growth does not require "fertility control" in the sense that it has been defined above, since a state can affect the growth of a society's population even if that society practices little fertility control. It's also important to embrace policies favoring population increase as an aspect of population control, and not to assume that states want to control population only by limiting its growth. To stimulate population growth, governments may support not only immigration but also pronatalist policies such as tax benefits, financial awards, paid work leaves, and childcare to encourage the bearing of additional children. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term ^[8] Such policies have been pursued in recent years in France and Sweden, for example. With the same goal of increasing population growth, on occasion governments have sought to limit the use of abortion or modern means of birth control. An example was Romania's 1966 ban on access to contraception and abortion on demand. Nicolae Ceauşescu (nikoˈlaje tʃauˈʃesku (January 26 1918 – December 25 1989 was the communist dictator of Romania from 1965 until December 1989 when a revolution

In ecology, population control is on occasions considered to be done solely by predators, diseases, parasites, and environmental factors. A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. At many times human effects on animal and plant populations are also considered. See also [2]. Migrations of animals may be seen as a natural way of population control, for the food on land is more abundant on some seasons. A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. The area of the migrations' start is left to reproduce the food supply for large mass of animals next time around. See also immigration. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term

See also

• 1907 populations
• Biological dispersal
• Biological exponential growth
• Demography
• List of countries by fertility rate
• List of countries by population
• List of countries by population density
• List of religious populations
• Nurgaliev's law
• Overpopulation
• Population density
• Population ecology
• World largest cities

Notes

External links

• Population Activities Unit of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Promoting policy dialogues among the UNECE Member States on various facets of demographic change in Europe and North America.
• Underpopulation? MercatorNet
• World Population Counter, and separate regions.
• Current World Population from the US Census Bureau
• The Optimum Population Trust. A reliable and intelligent source of population information.
• Phishare. org (2005). Population and Health InfoShare. Retrieved February 13, 2005. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• Population Reference Bureau (2005). Retrieved February 13, 2005. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• Populationworld. com (2005). Population World: Population of World. Retrieved February 13, 2004. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "
• United Nations (2004). The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved February 13, 2004. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "
• United States Census Bureau (2005). The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census Census Bureau - Countries Ranked by Population. Retrieved February 13, 2005. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• PopulationData. net (2005). PopulationData.net - Informations and maps about populations around the world. Retrieved March 4, 2005. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• World Population Clock (French) WorldPopClock.com - World population clock.
• Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography Digital library: Complete collection of books and countries monographs published by CICRED from 1973 until today.
• New England Coalition for Sustainable Population NECSP HomePage
• Population in the News Daily news round-up
• SIEDS, Italian Society of Economics Demography and Statistics