The numbers are vast. On a planet inhabited by 2.5 billion people in 1950 -
within the lifetimes of many alive today - there are now more than double this
number. Population was still growing by 1.2 per cent a year in 2009, with
fertility at an average 2.6 children per women, well above the 2.1 replacement
level, according to the PRB’s World Population Datasheet 2009.