Egypt – along with Ethiopia – has exceeded Germany in terms of overall population. The Population Reference Bureau in Germany released the information in its most recent study, which showed Germany move from 14th to 16th place in terms of overall population. Experts in the German Foundation for World Population expect Germany to retreat to 29 by 2050. Germany's current population is 81.1 million. The study also revealed that world population will reach seven billion this year. However, population growth rates are slow. The study said population growth rates have reduced from 2.1 percent in the 1960s to 1.2 percent. This indicates that population pressure will be less during coming years. Despite the 1 percent reduction in birth rates, world population continues to increase because the lifespan of the average person is longer. The study expects the world's population to increase by one billion every 12 years. The difference between declining mortality and increasing birth rates contribute to unprecedented growth. The study also found that industrial countries have seen declining birth rates and that eight people out of every ten live in developing countries. China is still the most crowded country in the world with a population of 1.35billion. India follows with 1.24 billion. Population growth is highest among southern African countries. Experts attribute the growth to ignorance and/or expense of birth control methods.
