World population to hit 7 bn on Oct 31

The world's population will reach seven billion in five days, the UN has said, as it urges the global community to seize the opportunity and invest in health and education of its youth.

Actions taken now will decide whether the future will be healthy, sustainable and prosperous or marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks, a United Nations report has said.

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"The world must seize the opportunity to invest in the health and education of its youth to reap the full benefits of future economic development or else face a continuation of the sorry state of disparities in which hundreds of millions of people in developing nations lack the most basic ingredients for a decent life," said UN Population Fund Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin.

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He said planning and right investments in people will empower them to make choices that are not only good for themselves, but also for a world of seven billion.

The UNFPA report 'The State of World Population 2011' notes that the record population size can be viewed in many ways as a success for humanity because it means people are living longer and more children are surviving worldwide.

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But not everyone has benefited from this achievement or the higher quality of life that this implies, it added.

Great disparities exist among and within countries and in rights and opportunities between men and women as evidenced by the fact that 215 million women of child-bearing age in developing countries lack access to voluntary family planning, while millions of adolescent girls and boys there have little access to sex education and information on how to prevent pregnancies or protect themselves from HIV.

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"Our work is far from done," Osotimehin said.

"We must tear down economic, legal and social barriers, to put women and men and boys and girls on an equal footing in all spheres of life."

Of the world's seven billion, 1.8 billion are young people between the ages of 10 and 24, he said.

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"Young people hold the key to the future, with the potential to transform the global political landscape and to propel economies through their creativity and capacities for innovation.

Osotimehin said that the investment in the health and education of our youth would yield enormous returns in economic growth and development for generations to come.