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7 Billion And Counting: World Population Hits A Milestone As Earth's human population hits 7 billion, there's little agreement on what its future growth will look like. And different countries all face their own challenges to maintain a stable, productive population.
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7 Billion And Counting

Different countries all face unique challenges to maintain a stable, productive population.

Thursday

Along With Humans, Who Else Is In The 7 Billion Club?

Animal Kings: Ants, like these workers carrying eggs to a plant's leaf after rain flooded their nest, have a combined biomass estimated in the billions of tons. Gurinder Osan/AP hide caption

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Gurinder Osan/AP

The Two-Way

Along With Humans, Who Else Is In The 7 Billion Club?

There are now 7 billion people, according to the U.N.'s population division. That prompts a question: Who else is in the 7 Billion Club? To learn which other animals had reached that plateau, we asked wildlife experts — who said it's a tough call.

When Governments Pay People To Have Babies

More, please. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images hide caption

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Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Planet Money

When Governments Pay People To Have Babies

It's a strategy some countries have adopted to boost falling fertility rates. Here's why it often fails.

When Governments Pay People To Have Babies

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Wednesday

Asian, European Nations Fret Over Birth Dearth

A South Korean man takes a photo of his baby during a picnic in Seoul, in 2009. After years of promoting family planning, South Korea is seeing unprecedented numbers of women staying single into their 30s — up from a handful a generation ago to 40 percent. Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

Asian, European Nations Fret Over Birth Dearth

While much of the world worries about how to sustain 7 billion people, in many countries, low birthrates are the more pressing problem. From Germany and Russia to Japan and South Korea, leaders are desperate to reverse a trend of lower birthrates.

In Karachi, New Aspirations To Be A Global Player

The population of Karachi, Pakistan, has been boosted by a new influx of young people. And now the city, seen here during a political rally in January, is making a bid to attract global elites.

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Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images

In Karachi, New Aspirations To Be A Global Player

The grandest expression of the world's population growth is the word "megacity." In them, people and ideas clash: The ancient collides with the modern; secular with religious; global with local. In Karachi, Pakistan, those forces can be seen in the story of a single piece of real estate.

In Karachi, New Aspirations To Be A Global Player

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Tuesday

As Population, Consumption Rise, Builder Goes Small

The world's population has just hit 7 billion people and continues to grow. Population experts are concerned about the rise in consumption that will accompany the increase in people. One California home builder, ZETA Communities, designs and builds small, highly energy-efficient homes.

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Zeta Communities

As Population, Consumption Rise, Builder Goes Small

As the world's population tops 7 billion people, population experts are worried about inevitable increases in cars, computers, bigger homes and a drain on resources. In an effort to combat this, one California company is producing small, energy-efficient homes — some as tiny as 300 square feet.

As Population, Consumption Rise, Builder Goes Small

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Monday

Opinion

Op-Ed: 7 Billion Now, But Population Will Drop

Earth's population crossed the 7 billion mark Monday. The growing population has been the subject of doomsday scenarios, but Colum Lynch worries that the U.S. and other wealthy countries will soon have too few citizens. He predicts the world population will decline by the end of this century.

Op-Ed: 7 Billion Now, But Population Will Drop

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7 Billion: Trick Or Treat For Crowded Countries?

Monday marks the birthday of the world's seven billionth citizen, says the United Nations. What does it mean for consumption, congestion and urbanization, particularly in countries like India and Nigeria? Host Michel Martin speaks with Anand Giridharadas, author of India Calling, and Teju Cole, author of Open City.

7 Billion: Trick Or Treat For Crowded Countries?

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7 Billion People? Yes, Give Or Take 56 Million

Several babies born today have been deemed the symbolic 7 billionth person — including a little girl named Nargis in Lucknow, India. Here she is with her mother, Vinita.

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Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

The Two-Way

7 Billion People? Yes, Give Or Take 56 Million

While the U.N. has declared that the world's population hit 7 billion today, it also concedes there's a 1 to 2 percent margin of error. And that the milestone might have been reached six months ago — or might not happen for another six months.

Visualizing How A Population Hits 7 Billion

Watch as global population explodes from 300 million to 7 billion.

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Adam Cole, Maggie Starbard/NPR

Visualizing How A Population Hits 7 Billion

The U.N. says today symbolically marks the moment when the world's population reaches 7 billion. A little more than two centuries ago, the global population was 1 billion. How did it grow so big so fast? With the help of a sound montage and video, it gets a bit easier to see how the Earth can produce that kind of a crowd.

Visualizing How A Population Hits 7 Billion

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Nations Grow Populations, And Face New Problems

Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial district, includes the world's third- and sixth-tallest buildings. The city's population is 23 million.

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Frank Langfitt/NPR

Nations Grow Populations, And Face New Problems

Monday marks the symbolic arrival of a milestone in the world's population: 7 billion humans. And as the number of people grows, so does the need for infrastructure to support them, such as roads and schools. Both China and South Sudan have fast-growing populations, but the challenges the two countries face are vastly different.

Nations Grow Populations, And Face New Problems

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Sunday

When Humans Hit 7 Billion, Will It Happen In India?

Newborns lie together at a district women's hospital in Allahabad, in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. Fifty-one babies are born in India every minute.

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Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

When Humans Hit 7 Billion, Will It Happen In India?

When the world's 7 billionth person is born sometime on Oct. 31, there's a good chance he or she will be born in India, where 51 babies are born every minute. A visit to the most densely populated neighborhood in one of the world's densest cities offers a look at what life might be like for Citizen No. 7 Billion.

When Humans Hit 7 Billion, Will It Happen In India?

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Friday

Friday

Countdown To 7 Billion: A Tale Of Two Worlds

Indian schoolchildren write English alphabets on slates at a primary school outside Hyderabad in June. India is on track to overtake China as the most populous nation in just 16 years. Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Countdown To 7 Billion: A Tale Of Two Worlds

The United Nations says that the seven-billionth person will soon be born into this world — most likely in India, which is on track to overtake China as the most populous nation in just 16 years. Less-developed regions of the world will be responsible for nearly all the global population growth for the next four decades, while the richer nations' population growth looks to be flat.