From npr
Looks like somewhere during 1000 CE, we almost disappeared as a race, then rallied and never looked back as we made babies with a vengeance and healthcare got better (hence fewer deaths, longer life span).
It was just over two centuries ago that the global population was 1 billion — in 1804. But better medicine and improved agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy for children, dramatically increasing the world population, especially in the West.
As higher standards of living and better health care are reaching more parts of the world, the rates of fertility — and population growth — have started to slow down, though the population will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
U.N. forecasts suggest the world population could hit a peak of 10.1 billion by 2100 before beginning to decline. But exact numbers are hard to come by — just small variations in fertility rates could mean a population of 15 billion by the end of the century.
Produced by Adam Cole
Cinematography by Maggie Starbard
via bitrebels