Asked by: Jacob Hackett, Swadlincote
According to UN Census figures, the number of births for 2005-2010 is expected to be 20.3 per year, per thousand people, averaged over the planet. The same figure for deaths from all causes is 8.5. So for each person that dies, 2.39 babies are born.
However, the birth rate is dropping while deaths are (slightly) increasing. By 2050, the ratio is expected to be 1:1.34.
Read more:
- How small can a population be and still survive?
- Why hasn’t evolution made it pleasant to give birth?
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Authors
Luis trained as a zoologist, but now works as a science and technology educator. In his spare time he builds 3D-printed robots, in the hope that he will be spared when the revolution inevitably comes.
