The Global Economy in Turbulent Times

CHAPTER 90 The Seven-Billionth Baby Is Born¹

It’s not everyday we welcome the next billionth baby. According to the United Nations, the seven-billionth baby was “born” on October 31, 2011. The last time it happened was 12 years ago on October 12, 1999—Adnan, the six-billionth baby, born in war-torn Sarajevo. When it comes to counting population, the United Nations is regarded by most as setting the gold standard. But there is already controversy: US Census Bureau reckons the milestone will not be reached until March 12, 2012. However, the two dates are within 0.4 percent of each other. Even the United Nations concedes its estimate is subject to a 1 percent margin of error. It’s not easy to get to 7 billion: According to the National Geographic, it will take more than 200 years to count to it out loud; or, if you took 7 billion steps, you would have walked around the globe 133 times.

How Did We Get Here?

It took the entire human race until 1804 to reach the first point at which the whole of one billion persons lived at the same time on Earth. The second billion was reached in 1927, 123 years later; and the third, another 32 years in 1959. The fourth billionth baby was born 15 years on in 1974, and the fifth, in Zagreb in 1987, 13 years later. The sixth billionth came in 12 years after that, and the seventh, after another 12 years. Since modern man appeared around 50,000 bc, an estimated 108 billion people lived on this Earth—implying about 6.5 percent of all humans ever born ...