The population of the world has increased more in modern times than in all other ages of history combined. World population totaled about 500 million in the period from 1650 to 1850. Today the population is more than six billion. Estimate based on research by the United Nations indicates that it will increase more rabidly in the twenty five years between 2010 and 2045, reaching 7.5 billion by 2050.
No one knows the limits of population that the earth can support. Thomas Malthus, an English economist, developed a theory that became widely accepted in the nineteenth the food supply, a continual strain was extended upon available resources. Malthus cited wars, famines, epidemics, and other disasters as the usual limitations of population growth. With recent advances in science and technology, including improved agricultural methods and great stride in medicine, some of the limiting factors in population growth have been lessened, with obvious results. International organizations have recommended programmes to encourage general economic development in target areas along with a decrease in birth rates to effect a lasting solution.