• has reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011
• is projected to reach 8 billion by 2024
• has doubled in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion)
• is currently growing at a rate of around 1.14 % 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 nearly stabilize at just above 10 billion persons after 2062
• 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.

Sources for the world population counter:

• World Population Prospect: the 2012 Revision - United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (June 13, 2013)
• International Programs Center at the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division

For more detailed information:

• World Population (Worldometers)