[via The Australian]

Earth contains nearly 6.5 billion inhabitants […] Of every 100 people in the world, 61 live in Asia, 14 in Africa, 11 in Europe, nine in Latin America, five in North America and less than one in Oceania […] The six most populous countries – China, India, the US, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan – contain between them 3.3 billion inhabitants.

Life expectancy is longest in Japan at 82 years, followed by Iceland and Switzerland at 80. But people can expect to live just 36 years in Zimbabwe, 38 in Zambia and 40 in Malawi – mainly as a result of the AIDS epidemic in those southern African states.

Agronomists say the earth has the potential to support many more inhabitants – up to 15 billion. The question is how to share out the resources rather than whether we can produce enough.