Unit 17 Time, exercise 1

Read text A below and use it to complete the student's notes.

China

Current – 1.3 billion (1 one fifth of world population)

Increase 1950–1990 = 2 over half a billion

By 3 2030 = 1.5 billion, but will then 4 fall

India

1950–2000 population 5 more than doubled

Birth rate slowing, but predicted to be 1.5 billion by 62050


A

PeopleAt the present time, the population of China is around 1.3 billion. That is about one fifth of the world's current population. During the period from 1950 to 1990, the population increased from half a billion to over one billion. Recent predictions, based on annual birth rates, suggest that there will be a continued growth in population. By 2030, the Chinese population will be 1.5 billion. However, this growth will not be permanent. Ongoing studies show that after 2030, the population will begin to fall.

India's population has also grown very quickly. In the five decades from 1950 to 2000, the population more than doubled. Although there has been a temporary slowdown in the number of people born each year, by the middle of the 21st century India's population will also be more than 1.5 billion.