1. WORLD POPULATION REACHES 7 BILLION October 31, 2011

2. 7 billionth baby!  Baby Nargis was born at 07:25 local time in the Mall village in north India.  Nargis symbolises the 7 billionth person born in the world.  In an event held there, the newborn girl was given a birth certificate by the local administration

3. Facts:  The United Nations has estimated that the world population has now reached 7 billion on Monday.  Ban Ki-Moon said, "Our world is one of terrible contradictions. Plenty of food but one billion people go hungry. Lavish lifestyles for a few, but poverty for too many others."

4. History… Demographers say it took until 1804 for the world to reach its first billion people, and a century more until it hit two billion in 1927.

5. Increasing…  During the 20th century there was a dramatic increase:  3 billion in 1959  4 billion in 1974  5 billion in 1987  6 billion in 1998.

6. Future…  The UN estimates the world's population will reach eight billion by 2025 and 10 billion by 2083.  But the numbers could vary widely, depending on everything from life expectancy, to access to birth control, to infant mortality rates.

7. India’s sex-preference abortions  According to US government estimates, India has 893 girls for every 1,000 boys at birth, compared with 955 girls per 1,000 boys in the US.

8. China’s One-Child Policy  China is the world's most populous nation with1.34 billion people.  It’s one-child policy, a set of restrictions launched three decades ago limits most urban families to one child.

9. China’s sex selective abortions  China, like India, also has a highly skewed sex ratio, with aid groups saying sex-selective abortions have resulted in an estimated 43 million fewer girls than there should be, given the overall population.

10. Too many boys!  Globally, nearly 800,000 girls are being eliminated every year before they are born due to preference for boys

11. What are the consequences?  Why is having too many boys and not enough girls bad for a country?

12. What is the main difference between girls and boys? Why do countries such as India and China prefer girls over boys??

13. Aging Populations  Soon, demographers say, there will not be enough young Chinese to support its enormous elderly population.

14. India overtakes China India, with 1.2 billion people, is expected to overtake China around 2030, when the Indian population reaches an estimated 1.6 billion.