PEDIATRICS Vol. 10 No. 3 September 1952, pp. 359-363
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PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

POPULATION TRENDS AND PEDIATRIC OBJECTIVES

HENRY F. HELMHOLZ M.D.

Editors: MYRON E. WEGMAN, M.D..

TODAY there are about 60,000 more people in the world to feed, clothe and house than there were yesterday; and tomorrow there will be 60,000 more than there are today. This continuous excess of births over deaths is more marked now than ever before in history, an excess of approximately 20,000,000 in a year. It is hardly necessary to point out here that a claim for great accuracy cannot be made for the figures given in this paper. Such as they are, however, they can support the main contention of this communication.

It is estimated that there are about 2,500,000,000 people in the world today. The population in 5000 B.C. has been reckoned at from 5 to 10 million; in 3500 B.C., from 20 to 40 million; between 1000-500 B.C. 100 million; between 100-500 A.D. 200 million; in 1825, 1 billion (1,000,000,000) and in 1930, 2 billion (2,000,000,000). The percentage increase in the years B.C. was 0.05%, from 1650-1750 A.D., 0.29% and from 1900 to 1950 A.D., 0.75%. It is estimated that at present the increase in population is about 1% a year, which figures out to an increase of 2 persons every 3 seconds, and 200,000,000 in a decade. In spite of World War II, Europe increased 20,000,000 in population from 1940 to 1950.