Somewhat off-topic, but this is handy: http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_totl&tdim=true&dl=en&hl=en&q=world+population
Select individual nations on the left. In the box marked "Population" select growth rate, fertility, and things like GDP. Hold the cursor on the graph line to reveal the underlying statistic. The bad news is that the population is now approaching 7 billion. The good news is that the growth rate and fertility rate are falling, and contraceptive prevalence is above 60%, although not increasing. so future trend look good. Even after fertility falls sharply, the absolute population will increase for a while. the fertility rate in China is 1.77, below replacement rate which is around 2.2, but the absolute population continues to increase and it will continue for a while. the growth rate in China is now 0.5%. For the world it is 1.2%. It peaked at 2.1% in 1971. Other stats here: http://www.google.com/publicdata/home - Jed
