Iran and World

The seven billionth person in the world is expected to arrive sometime after midnight on October 31, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

It is impossible to identify the newborn who will break the barrier but hospitals around the world are encouraged to celebrate a "symbolic child" including St Thomas' Hospital in London.

The UNFPA, that is in charge of monitoring the world population, said the seven billion mark was passed earlier than expected because people are living longer, more babies are surviving and more children are being born in the developing world.

Although the world population is not growing as fast as it was in the mid 1960s, because developed countries like Britain have a lower birth rate, the number of people in 58 countries, including India, continues to grow.

Previously the UN had kept to the conservative estimate that the population will grow to more than 10 billion by 2100.

However if birth rates in developing countries continue to grow, the total could reach 10.6 billion by 2050 and 15 billion by 2100.

�Much of this increase is expected to come from the high fertility countries, which comprise 39 in Africa, nine in Asia, six in Oceania and four in Latin America,� reported the UN.

Environmentalists, including high profile figures like Sir David Attenborough, argue that the situation is simply not sustainable as food and water

World population could double, warns UN

The number of people on Earth could double by the end of the century, the United Nations has warned, as the world population passes the milestone of seven billion for the first time at the end of the month.

World population could double, warns UN

The number of people on Earth could double by the end of the century, the United Nations has warned, as the world population passes the milestone of seven billion for the first time at the end of the month.

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