The world's population has been booming for years.  The population is now threatening to reach the stage where there are simply too many people for the planet to support.

Around 1850, the world population reached one billion.  By 1987, it was at five billion and still rising rapidly.

Third World nations are responsible for a great deal of the population growth.  In 1989, about 90% of the people being born were in developing countries.  The populations of Third World countries are expected to continue to boom.

The United Nations Population Fund predicts that by the middle of the next century, the world's population will stabilize at about 14 million people.  If fertility rates were decreased to 2.1 births per woman, population stabilization could be achieved sooner.

In 1968, Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb.  The book described how the world population had risen, citing the discovery of agriculture as the cause.  The book predicted that population growth would result in widespread famine and even nuclear war.  While some of his predictions turned out to be false, famine did occur at high levels in later years.

Overpopulation has been disastrous for the planet.  Greater populations have polluted and consumed more, ruining the environment and creating or intensifying a variety of problems.  Also, with the food supply limited, increases in population make shortages in many parts of the world even worse.