The World at 7 Billion People-World Population Day 2011

World Population Day 2011

World Population Day is an annual event, observed on July 11, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues. The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989. It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, approximately the date on which the world's population reached five billion people.



The world population on the 20th anniversary of Five Billion Day, July 11, 2007, was estimated to have been 6,727,551,263.

World Population Day

Today, population explosion is one of the major concerns of the world. As this issue of uncontrolled population growth is giving birth to other major problems in the world. Few of the major consequences of the rapid growth of population in the current time are Poverty, Unemployment, Pollution, Deforestations etc. There is severe need to check this explosion and observance of World Population Day is just a step in this direction.

 July 11 is observed as World Population Day all over the world for the promotion of crucial issues such as the importance of family planning, including gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights. The observance of this day is a ray of light towards the growth and development in the current time of ever growing population. The day has been celebrated every year since 1989, year of its announcement.

World population Day was instituted by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program in 1989. The date of observance of World Population Day was inspired by the date of Five Billion Day. As, the world’s population reached five billion people on Five Billion Day, July 11, 1987. This concern of rapid growth of population resulted into the establishment of World population Day on the same date. Since then, with the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) encouragement, governments, non-governmental organizations, institutions and individuals organize various educational activities to celebrate the annual event.

Every year the celebrations of World Population Day are based on the particular theme, decided by the United Nations. The day is celebrated worldwide by business groups, community organizations and individuals in various ways. Different events like seminar discussions, educational information sessions etc are conducted to mark the day’s celebration.

The year 2010 will mark the 21st anniversary of the World population day. . The ever growing population of the world has reached to 6,793,593,686, as on 01/01/2010


World Population Day 2011:Population Facts

    60% of the world’s population resides in Asia.
    17% of the world’s population resides in India.
    20% of the world’s population resides in the People's Republic of China.
    12 % of the world’s population resides in Africa.
    11% of the world's population resides in Europe.
    8% of the world’s population resides in North America.
    5.3% of the world’s population resides in South America

World Population Day 2011: The World at 7 Billion

World Population Day will kick off the 7 Billion Actions campaign.

The tremendous interest generated by the Day of 5 Billion on 11 July 1987 led to the establishment of World Population Day as an annual event. For more than 20 years, 11 July has been an occasion to mark the significance of population trends and related issues.

This year, as the world population is expected to surpass 7 billion, UNFPA and partners are launching a campaign called 7 Billion Actions. It aims to engage people, spur commitment and spark actions related to the opportunities and challenges presented by a world of 7 billion people.

In many ways a world of 7 billion is an achievement: Globally, people are living longer and healthier lives, and couples are choosing to have fewer children. However, meeting the needs of current and future generations presents daunting challenges as our numbers continue to increase.

Whether we can live together equitably on a healthy planet will depend on the choices and decisions we make now. In a world of 7 billion people, and counting, we need to count each other. 

World Population Day 2011: U.S. & World Population Clocks

U.S. 311,730,784

World 6,947,991,307

05:20 UTC (EST+5) Jul 10, 2011