Geneva - The number of people on the planet continues to increase at a record rate of 80 million a year. June 16th next year is expected to bring "the day of six billion" when the number of people on earth reaches double what it was in 1960.
The UN Population Fund said yesterday this trend will continue for at least another 10 years because of the "bulge" in the proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds. This plus rising life expectancy in developing countries means the next billion population increase will probably be reached by 2010.