On
this date in 1987, a baby boy named Matej Gaspar was born in Zagreb,
Yugoslavia (now Croatia). He was proclaimed the five billionth
inhabitant of Earth.
The
United Nations Fund for Population Activities has declared every July
11 to be the “Day of Five Billion.” They hope to draw attention
to population growth and the importance of reining in the pace of
growth so that the Earth's finite resources don't get stretched too
far.
Since
around 150 babies are born each minute, worldwide, of course this
particular birth on this particular date being the five billionth is
just a estimate. We know that little Matej Gaspar was born at 1:35
a.m. EST, but when exactly were the babies in Africa and Cambodia
born that day and week, and when exactly did all the people die that
week? Matej serves more as a symbol of the five billionth person
rather than the actual five billionth person.
As
a matter of fact, the population census data used to make these
announcements has an error margin of plus or minus TWELVE MONTHS!
So
don't take too seriously the fact that October 12 is called
the Day of 6 Billion because of the October 12, 1999, birth of Adnan
Mevic in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. And don't be surprised
that there is a disagreement about what should be the Day of 7
Billion—October 31 (for a little girl born in the Philippines on
this date in 2011) or some day in March (for someone born in March of
2012).
But what you should take seriously is that there are seven billion people on
the planet. Estimates predict that there will be eight billion people
in 2027 and nine billion in 2046!
Based
on how fast the billions pile up, would you like to make a guess of
what year scholars believe the human population reached one
billion people?
Check
out the answer below these photos of adorable babies born on October
31, 2011.
ANSWER:
The human population finally reached the one billion milestone, it is
estimated, in the year 1804. So for thousands and thousands and
thousands of years, there was less than one billion people—and now
there are seven billion! W-O-W!
Also
on this date:
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