31.6 5.8 figure prob. We are anticipating a world close to nine billion inhabitants,'' the division's director, Joseph Chamie, told the U.N. Commission on Population and Development. But he said a U.N. projection for the year 2000 calculated 40 years ago was remarkably accurate in predicting a figure of slightly more than six billion, even though in the aftermath of World War Two, when the world population was slightly above two billion, few believed it would nearly triple by the end of the century. Chamie said the population increase of some three billion by the year 2050 was expected to take place in less developed regions. He said India alone would grow by 50 percent in the next five decades, from one billion to 1.53 billion, and would be the largest country in the world.
China now has the world's biggest population.
Chamie gave no figure but it is generally estimated at some 1.2 billion. But he said China's fertility rate, which in 1950 was among the world's highest with approximately 6.2 children per couple, was now well below replacement level, at 1.8 children per couple. He said that between now and 2050, the populations of 30 countries were projected to decline. We can only accurately obtain our population by conducting a credible census. 25.23mill 1.31 1.06 4.