has doubled in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion)
is currently growing at a rate of around 1.13 % per year
growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at 2%
growth rate is currently declining and is projected to continue to decline in the coming years
average annual population change is currently estimated at over 80 million
world population will reach 10 billion persons in the year 2056
a tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history up to the year 1800 for world population to reach 1 billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in less than 30 years (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), the fifth billion in 13 years (1987), the sixth billion in 12 years (1999) and the seventh billion in 12 years (2011). During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.
As recently as 1965, bicycle and car production volumes were essentially the same, at nearly 20 million each per year, but as of 2003 bike production had climbed to over 100 million per year compared with around 50 million cars produced that year.
