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The following statistics highlight the urgency of the drive for lower consumption–and birthrates.
WORLD POPULATION
| 1965: | 3.3 billion |
| 1995: | 5.7 billion |
| 2025, midlevel projection: | 8.3 billion |
NET POPULATION INCREASE
| per second: | 3 |
| per hour: | 10,600 |
| per day: | 254,000 |
PERCENTAGE USE OF BIRTH CONTROL WORLDWIDE
| 1983: | 45% |
| 1994: | 57% |
FERTILITY RATE PER WOMAN WORLDWIDE
| 1950: | 4.97 |
| 1990: | 3.38 |
FERTILITY RATE IN ITALY, 1990 (world’s lowest): 1.3
FERTILITY RATE IN RWANDA, 1990 (world’s highest): 8.5
PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION IN DEVELOPING WORLD
| 1965: | 71% |
| 1995: | 80% |
| 2025: | 85% |
PERCENTAGE OF WORLD’S POPULATION IN URBAN AREAS
| 1965: | 36% |
| 1995: | 45% |
| 2025: | 61% |
WORLD’S LARGEST URBAN AREA, 1995
| Tokyo: | 26.8 million |
ANNUAL CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY PER CAPITA
| United States: | 7,662 |
| China: | 601 |
| Mali: | 22 |
CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS PER CAPITA, 1991
| United States: | 19.53 metric tons |
| China: | 2.20 metric tons |
| Mali: | 0.04 metric tons |
