13. RAPID POPULATION
GROWTH, PHASE ONE: 14501650
Around 1450, population increased
rapidly in East Asia, Europe, and
probably India. Signs of growth also
are apparent in other densely settled
regions, such as Egypt. Soon total
world population reached new
highs, and this time, numbers never
again dipped below pre-1450 levels.
A slight decline occurred in the late
1600s, but by 1700 world population
was at least 600,000,000 people.
14. RAPID POPULATION
GROWTH, PHASE TWO: 1700 2000
• By the mid-1700s, China, Japan, and Western
Europe had reached new population highs
and were experiencing faster growth than
ever before. Thereafter, these regions
experienced only temporary and slight
population declines. In the 1800s, most of the
rest of the world followed suit, crashing
through old population ceilings. Overall world
population reached about 950,000,000 by
1800, about 1,650,000,000 by 1900, and is
almost 6,000,000,000 today. The rate of growth
was perhaps 0.3 percent per year in the
1700s, between 0.5 and 0.6 percent in the
1800s, and a stunning 1.5 percent in the 1900s.
Some countries have experienced growth
rates of more than 3 percent per
year, doubling their population in roughly 23
years.
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