And Baby Makes 6 Billion

Science World, Oct 4, 1999 by M. Vilar

On October 12, 1999, a baby will be born somewhere on Earth. With that birth the world's population will reach a milestone of 6 billion humans on the planet, claim experts at the United Nations Population Fund in New York City. How do they estimate the exact day and year?

Demographers, scientists who study population statistics, use math equations to both project current population growth and estimate the number of people alive. "The date is just an educated guess," says demographer Peter Johnson, in fact, baby may have already been born!

[GRAPH OMITTED]