All of the projected growth in world population will take place in today's developing countries. The 49 least developed countries will nearly triple in size in 50 years, from 668 million to 1.86 billion people.
To accommodate the nearly 8 billion people expected by 2025 and improve their diets, food production will have to double and distribution improve.
The world's richest countries, with 20 per cent of global population, account for 86 per cent of private consumption; the poorest 20 per cent, just 1.3 per cent. A child born today in an industrialised country will add more to consumption and pollution over his or her lifetime than 30 to 50 children born in developing countries.
Nearly 60 per cent of people in developing countries lack basic sanitation, a third do not have access to clean water, one quarter lack adequate housing, 20 per cent do not have access to modern health services, and 20 per cent of children do not attend school through grade five.
Support from international donors for reproductive health and population programmes is less than half the amount required.