UN: World population to hit 7 billion

The United Nations says mankind will confront greater challenges as the Earth's population is projected to reach 7 billion at the end of October.

The UN Population Fund announced the figure at a news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo.

It says the global population during the last 50 years has increased from 3 billion to 7 billion, which means an annual increase of 78 million.

The head of the UNPF office in Tokyo, Kiyoko Ikegami, said international cooperation will become indispensable for solving problems in a world with 7 billion people. She said it will become more difficult for developing countries to secure food, water and other natural resources.

Ikegami added that Japan will also be impacted by environmental problems caused by deforestation, which results from the need to secure resources for increasing numbers of people. She said Japan should recognize the population boom as a global issue.

The UNPF plans to hold symposiums and photo exhibits on the issue in various countries in October.