This Year 82 Million More People on Earth

At the turn of the year, estimates say there will be 6.75 billion people living on Earth with most increase in developing countries.

At New Year’s, the world’s population should reach 6.75 billion people, a German birth control group reported on Tuesday.

The German’s World Population Foundation said that this year the number of people on earth increased by 82 million.

The Hannover-based organisation said that, according to its estimates, a total of 6,751,643,600 people will be populating the planet on January 1, 2009.

Almost all of the increase pertains to developing countries in which women have more pregnancies, the foundation said, adding that those women also did not have contraceptives available.

In developing countries, an increase in the population means lesser availability of resources, education and health care, the organisation said.

- If we want to tackle poverty at the source, we have to help women avoid unwanted pregnancy. We have to spend more on sex education and contraception – the organisation’s secretary, Renate Baer, said.

A child born in Germany today can expect to live 79 years on average, while the life expectancy of a child born in Africa is only 54, Baer said.