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Based on the population growth between 2014 and 2015 and the population of Europe in 2015, the population of Europe in 2016 is estimated to be about 741.2 million people, which is the third most populous continent behind Asia and Africa. Overall, there are fifty-six states that are considered to be in the boundaries of the European continent. However, six of these states have limited recognition, but the other fifty states are internationally recognized. Despite sharing territory with Asia, the Russian Federation has the largest population in Europe. The country with the largest population solely in Europe is the Federal Republic of Germany. The country (internationally recognized) with the smallest population in Europe is the Holy See, otherwise known as Vatican City. The Holy See only has around 850 people. It also has the least total area, less than half a mile of square miles. Other than the Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan has the most total area of all European nations.
Religion in Europe 2016
The main religion throughout Europe is considered to be Christianity. However, Christianity is made up of various sects, but the three major sects are Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodoxy. Roman Catholicism is much more prominent and widely practiced in Western and Southern Europe. The Holy See, the home of the Roman Catholic Pope, is located in Rome, Italy, which is a part of Southern Europe. Spain and Portugal are also known to be very Catholic countries as well. Northern Europe more frequently practices Protestantism and Eastern Europe more so practices Orthodoxy. Russian and Greek Orthodox are two of the most largely practiced Orthodox religions. A survey taken in 2012 indicated that 72% of the European Union reports that Christianity is the largest religion in their respective nation. However, because Turkey is a part of Europe and over 98% of Turks practice Islam, Islam has a presence in Europe as well. Lastly, Judaism only has a small population, and France has the largest Jewish community, despite their reputation for being fairly irreligious.
Geography of Europe 2016
Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean on the north, the Atlantic Ocean on the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas on the south. Europe consists of two countries that share its land with another continent: Russia and Turkey. The European portion of Russia is all of the land to the west of the Ural Mountains. The European portion of Turkey consists of the land to the west of the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, and the Bosphorus. Also, Europe does not include the majority of Anatolia.

The longest river in all of Europe is the Volga River, which is about 2,290 miles long. The shortest river in Europe is the Morava River, which is about 219 miles long. The largest landscape feature of Europe is considered to be the East European Plain. It is the largest non-mountainous part of the continent and is made up of river basins throughout Eastern Europe. Another large geographical feature of Europe is the Messeta Central, which is a plateau region that makes up about 40% of Spain. Some of the major mountain ranges are the Ural Mountains, which separate Europe and Asia, the Caucasus Mountains, which also separate Europe and Asia, the Pyrenees, which separates France and Spain, and the Alps, which run across Central Western Europe. There are only seventeen nations in the continent that are landlocked. The other countries touch at least one body of water.
European Wildlife 2016
One of the main animals that existed in Europe, but is now extinct, is the wooly mammoth, which became extinct before the Neolithic period. Some other extinct animals include the dwarf hippopotamus and the dwarf elephants. Early human settlement in the region caused the extinction of these animals. Presently, though endangered, bears and wolves are found throughout Europe. The Brown Bear, the largest predator in Europe, is mainly found in the Balkan Peninsula, Russia, and Scandinavia. The second largest predator in Europe is the wolf, which mainly live in the Balkan Peninsula and Eastern Europe. Some other animals found throughout Europe are wild cats, foxes, jackals, vipers, grass snakes, and martens. Lastly, some important sea animals in Europe are the zooplankton, echinoderms, squids, octopuses, and dolphins.
European Union 2016
The European Union is an organization of twenty-eight sovereign states within the European continent. The following countries are members of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The membership spans over 1,707,787 square miles of land across the continent. The Union makes up over 500 million people, which accounts for over 7% of the world's population. It was established in order to help economic and social development, protect the freedoms and rights of all of its members, and to help promote European identity on an international level. In an attempt to further promote these objectives, the European Union has established a single currency, known as the euro.

The area of the continent that uses the euro is known as the eurozone, which consists of eighteen countries. Latvia was the most recent country to join the eurozone on January 1, 2016. The only European Union members that are not legally obligated to join the eurozone are Denmark and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the creation of the eurozone was to lessen the number of problems with exchange rates, interest rates, price stability, and to help make it easier for traveling citizens. All of the banks and financial institutions in the eurozone are under the direction and control of the European Central Bank, the main bank of the eurozone.

The European Union does not have too much control over education and science. However, the Erasmus Programme, established in 1987, is a program designed to allow international exchange for college students to be an easy process. There are international programs for teachers and those in vocational education training courses in order to help better educate the population.

There are twenty-four official and working languages among the European Union: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, and Swedish. The most widely spoken languages in the European Union are English (51%), German (27%), French (24%), Italian (16%), and Spanish, (15%). In fact, about 56% of the population can engage in conversation in a language other than their native language. Also, the European Union has no specific religious affiliation and is considered to be a secular organization. However, among those in the European Union, Roman Catholicism is the most widely practiced religion; about 48% of the population practices it. The next largest religious affiliation is atheism and agnosticism, which is about 23% of the population. Only 2% of the population practices Islam.
European Population Decline

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Population of Europe 2016 Based on the population growth between 2014 and 2015 and the population of Europe in 2015, the population of Europe in 2016 is estimated to be about 741.2 million people, which is the third most populous continent behind Asia and Africa. Overall, there are fifty-six states...

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Asia Population 2013

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Based on the most recent population growth trends, the population of Asia is estimated to be 4,426,683,000 compared to 4,299,000,000 in 2013. Asia consists of 49 countries, 6 countries that are either partially recognized or unrecognized, and 6 countries that are dependent on other countries. In fact, it is the largest continent of Earth, covering about 8.8% of the total surface area. It covers 44,579,000 square kilometers, which is about 30% of the Earth's land area. The most populated country in Asia is the People's Republic of China with an estimated population 1.35 billion people. The least populated country is the Republic of Maldives with an estimated population of about 330,000 in 2012. The largest country in terms of area is the Russian Federation with about 17.1 million square kilometers. The smallest country in terms of area is also the Republic of Maldives with a bout 298 square kilometers.
Asian Geography 2016
Throughout the course of history, the boundaries of Asia have been disputed, especially due to the enlargement of the Russian Federation throughout history. However, the current boundaries are as follows: east of the Suez Canal and the Ural Mountains, south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas, west of the Pacific Ocean, north of the Indian Ocean, and south of the Arctic Ocean. There are two countries that are partly in Europe as well: Russia and Turkey. The Asian portion of Russia is all of the land to the east of the Ural Mountains. The Asian portion of Turkey consists of mainly Anatolia, separated by the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, and the Bosphorus.
Asia is traditionally split up into six regions: Central Asia, Western Asia, Southern Asia, Eastern Asia, and Southeastern Asia. Central Asia is made up of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia. Western Asia (otherwise known as the Middle East) is made up of Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Southern Asia is made up of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhustan, Bangladesh, and Iraq. Eastern Asia is made up of China, Hong Kong, Macao, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Taiwan. Southeastern Asia is made up of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste.
Central Asia 2016
Central Asia extends from the Caspian Sea to China (west to east) and from Afghanistan to Russia (south to north). This region is made up of a diverse selection of geographical features. One in particular is that it contains desert regions, including the Gobi desert. In fact, it contains the world's northernmost desert, which is located in Mongolia. It also contains a few mountain ranges, including the Great Khinghan and Tian Shan Mountains. Part of Central Asia is made up of grassy steppes, which extend into Europe, and are a part of the Eurasian Steppe. However, overall, most of the region is dry and rugged. Islam is the most widely practiced religion in Central Asia. Also, the major language spoken in these Central Asian countries is Russian. However, there are many local languages spoken in each country. For example, Turkmen, a language derived from Turkish, is spoken in Turkmenistan, and Kazakh is spoken in Kazakhstan.
Western Asia 2016
Western Asia is not only hope to many prolific cultures today, but it is also considered to be the home of the world's earliest civilizations. It is bordered on the north with Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Mountains and is surrounded by seven seas: the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. Overall, the area tends to be arid and frequently experiences droughts. However, its land is made up of forests, fertile valleys, grasslands, deserts, and mountains. The land's most important source of irrigation is the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The largest economy in this region is Turkey, and the largest industry in this region is petroleum.
Southern Asia 2016
Southern Asia is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the South and the other regions of Asia on all other sides. The main part of the region is made up of the peninsula India. However, its geographical features include rainforests, deserts, glaciers, and grasslands as well. Other than the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea also border this region. The Himalaya Mountain Range run along the northern border of the region. Because of the location of the mountains, the temperatures stay fairly moderate throughout the year. The two major languages spoken in this region are Hindi and Bengali. Lastly, the three major religions in this region are Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
Eastern Asia 2016
Eastern Asia makes up about 28% of the geographical size and 38% of the population of the entire continent. In fact, this region is also geographically larger than Europe. The largest city in the world, Tokyo, Japan, is located in this region of the continent. The largest cultural influence for this region is said to be Northern China, bringing Confucian philosophy and political and other religious philosophies as well.
Southeastern Asia 2016
Southeastern Asia is the region of the continent south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea, and north of Australia. The Malay Archipelago, located in the Philippines, is considered to be one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. Many large mountains, including Hkakabo Razi and Mount Kinabalu, also characterize the region. For the most part, the region tends to be tropical and humid throughout the year. Due to the tropical climate, there are wet and dry seasons, which are made worse due to monsoons. The region contains three endangered species of tigers: the Sumatran Tiger, the Malayan Tiger, and the Indochinese Tiger. Lastly, the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard, occupies Indonesian islands in this region.
Asian Climate 2016
Since Asia is the largest continent on Earth, it makes sense that it also has the widest variety of climate. Siberia, in the northern part of Asia, has some of the coldest temperatures in all of the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, though, the southeastern portion of the country experiences tropical weather and temperatures. Many of the drastic climate changes are due to the large bodies of water surrounding the continent. Monsoons surround the continent, causing severe winds across the countries. During the winter, these monsoon winds blow from the North into East Asia, which is the cause of the bitterly cold and dry weather in the winters. However, the winds change direction in the summer and affect the countries in the south and southeastern portion of the continent. These winds cause the hot and humid weather due to the monsoon winds from the seas below the continent.
Religion in Asia 2016
Asia is the home and birthplace of most of the world's major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and many others. Judaism originated in West Asia and is still primarily practiced there, specifically Israel. Christianity is the main religion practiced in places like the Philippines and East Timor due to the influence of Spain and Portugal. Also, Eastern Orthodoxy is practiced in Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, and Russia. Islam, originating in Saudi Arabia, is now the largest and most widespread religion in all of Asia. Asia contains 12.7% of the world's Muslim population. Hinduism is largely practiced in Southeast Asia, specifically India and Nepal. In fact, over 80% of those countries' populations practice Hinduism. Lastly, Buddhism is highly practiced in Southeast and East Asia, specifically Cambodia and Thailand, where over 95% of their populations practice Buddhism.
Asia's Growing Population

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Asian Population 2016 Based on the most recent population growth trends, the population of Asia is estimated to be 4,426,683,000 compared to 4,299,000,000 in 2013. Asia consists of 49 countries, 6 countries that are either partially recognized or unrecognized, and 6 countries that are dependent on other countries. In fact,...

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China, US and Europe Population Pyramids

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China, US and Europe Population Pyramids

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CHINA - EUROPE - USA: Moving Population Pyramids

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This animation demonstrates the process of population aging in China, Europe and the USA

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Politicians and campaign groups claimed the figures underlined a failure by successive Governments to "get a grip" on immigration.

It follows polling showing concerns over immigration hitting a three-year high earlier this year and contributing to electoral success for the UK Independence Party.

But other commentators argued that what now amounts to a 21st century baby boom could be an unexpected consequence of the long economic downturn, with a generation of "recession babies" changing the face of family life.

The figures also laid bare what charities called a "demographic revolution" with the number of people over the age of 90 in the UK passing half a million - growing by a third in last decade.

They also expose a major shift in the make-up of the elderly population with some of the first clear evidence that men are beginning to narrow the gap with women in terms of life expectancy.

But the figures also paint a picture of an increasingly divided nation, with the southern half of Britain - particularly London - making up the bulk of population growth through both migration and births.

The ONS said that immigration accounted for just around 40 per cent of the year-on-year-growth, with almost 520,000 foreigners moving to Britain the 12 months to June 2012.

But when the numbers leaving are taken into account migration was overshadowed by the 21st Century baby boom as the biggest factor.

Overall there were 813,200 births, the highest number in a single year since 1972. Meanwhile advances in medical care mean that the number of people dying has fallen steadily over the last decade.

Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives said that the surging birth rate - particularly among older mothers - meant there was now a national shortage of manpower in maternity wards.

Economists and commentators said that the recession itself might have actively encouraged couples to have a second or third child rather than the wife going back to work.

Dr Jonathan Cave, an economist and population expert at Warwick University, said: "The subtlety of that balance is possibly enough to account for this pattern."

Meanwhile Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, said: "There have been a number of discussions about mothers saying that it is not worth their while pursuing their career, that they might as well stay at home because of the outlook for promotion and employment.

"There have been discussions from people saying 'I am not going to pursue my career all-out because the prospects are not good enough and the childcare costs are so high, I might as well have another child."

Cathy Ranson, editor-in-chief of Netmums, added: "The really tough economic times of the past few years have made people reassess what is important.

"People have seen working hard no longer brings all the material awards they could have expected in the past, so many women are deciding to start families younger or extend their existing families, as it is more fulfilling, instead of chasing the career dream.

But the high birth rate was itself fuelled by immigration with large numbers of relatively young adults moving to the UK to work.

More than a quarter of the 813,200 newborn babies have a foreign-born mother compared with only one in six a decade earlier.

Nigel Farage, its leader, said: "The results of this increase in population can be felt in communities up and down the country as public services struggle to cope with the increase in demand.

"At the same time we face cuts to front line services and send billions of pounds abroad in foreign aid.

"And this is before Romanian and Bulgarian citizens have full access to the UK come January next year."

Alp Mehmet, vice chairman of the pressure group Migration Watch said: "The ONS figures clearly show that immigration is the main driver of population growth in the UK.

"These figures have a significant bearing on future needs like school places and housing as well as services.

This is why the Government has to stay the course in its efforts to bring immigration under control."

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UK has fastest growing population in Europe

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Politicians and campaign groups claimed the figures underlined a failure by successive Governments to "get a grip" on immigration. It follows polling showing concerns over immigration hitting a three-year high earlier this year and contributing to electoral success for the UK Independence Party.

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Africa's population will more than double to 2.4 billion within 40 years, according to a major study, thanks in large part to better health care.

Sub-Saharan Africa's population is rising faster than the rest of the world because modern medicine and health care on the continent means more babies are surviving birth complications, and fewer adults are dying from preventable diseases.

But the number of children being born is not dropping, or is doing so very slowly.

"This means that population growth rates would naturally rise if birth rates stay as they are," said Carl Haub, the co-author of the report, from the Population Reference Bureau in the US.

African mothers have an average of 5.2 children, rising to 7.6 in Niger, the country with the world's highest fertility rate that is close to five times the European average of 1.6 children born to each woman.

The baby boom means that its current population of 1.1 billion will increase to at least 2.4 billion by the middle of the century, according to the study from the respected organisation.

Children pose for a camera in the Erasmia township, Johannesburg, South Africa

"Nearly all of that growth will be in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the region's poorest," said Wendy Baldwin, the organisation's president.

"Rapid population growth makes it difficult for economies to create enough jobs to lift large numbers of people out of poverty."

Seven of the 10 countries with the highest fertility rates also appear among the bottom 10 listed on the United Nations' Human Development Index.

By 2050, many African countries will have more than twice the number of people compared to today. Kenya's population will rise from 44 million to 97 million and Nigeria's from 174 million to 440 million.

Some will nearly triple. Somalia will have 27 million people in 2050, up from an estimated 10 million today, and the Democratic Republic of Congo's 71 million population is predicted to rise to 182 million.

"This is clearly going to increase pressure on Africa's governments to deliver education, health care, security and, most importantly jobs," said Julia Schünemann, director of the Africa Futures Project at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa.

"But it should be seen as an opportunity, too. African countries also have the world's fastest economic growth rates. The question is, can those economies grow fast enough to offset the demands of population growth.

"In general, I don't think we should be too pessimistic."

International aid agencies are increasingly focusing efforts in Africa on family planning by advising governments how to widen access to contraceptives and helping women choose when to have children.

But this is unpopular in some countries, especially where religious doctrine that frowns on contraception holds sway with government leaders.

Projections included in the Population Reference Bureau's study assume that "family planning will become widespread", said Mr Haub.

"If not, Africa's population will grow more rapidly, further constraining efforts to address poverty, create jobs, and protect the environment," he said.

Africa's rising middle class would contribute to a slowing of birth rates, as wealthier families tend to choose to have fewer children, the study found.

The report gives 20 different indicators for more than 200 countries.

It found that British mothers give birth to an average of two children, higher than the EU average of 1.6. Bosnia-Herzegovina has the world's lowest birth rate of 1.2 children.

The world's population is forecast to increase from roughly 7.1 billion today to more than 9.7 billion in 2050, the report calculated.

India, currently the second most populous country in the world, will overtake China to become the most populous by 2030, it is estimated. By 2050, India's population will be 1.6 billion and China's 1.3 billion.

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Africa's population to double to 2.4 billion by 2050

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Africa's population will more than double to 2.4 billion within 40 years, according to a major study, thanks in large part to better health care. Sub-Saharan Africa's population is rising faster than the rest of the world because modern medicine and health care on the continent means more babies are surviving birth complications, and fewer adults are dying from preventable diseases.

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Something isn't quite right with this picture. There seem to be too many children here. Isn't this the country famed for its one-child policy? Aren't there big fines and penalties for having that second child?

A man is watching two children play. He says both of them are his.

"Many people here have more than one child. Some have four children," he adds.

This migrant workers' village on the outskirts of Beijing is typical of itinerant communities, where families are finding ways to beat the system.

The one-child policy has been in place since 1979 to try to curb China's population growth. It has worked -- some estimates say hundreds of millions of births have been averted.

And it hasn't been bad for the economy, either. As China has opened up, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty as the nation's economy grows faster than the population.

But there have always been loopholes. The wealthier families have paid fines, and some have traveled overseas to have a second child with a foreign passport. China's ethnic populations have been largely exempt as rural families have multiple children to help work the fields. Offspring of one-child families who then marry also may have more than one child.

In this migrant village, however, one father says he thinks this has always been an unfair policy.

"What has fairness got to do with it?" he says. "If you have more money, then you can have more children; and if you're poor, you only have one child."

He won't reveal his name and doesn't want his face photographed. But he is willing to talk.

He says people here sometimes pay brokers to bribe officials for documentation for additional children. It can cost up to $1,000 but is still much less than the official fine, which can be as high as 200,000 Renminbi, or more than $31,000.

In his case, he waited until his second child was born and registered both together as twins.

It is illegal, and he says people worry about being caught but are willing to take the risk.

The Zhang family decided to have a second child more than 20 years ago.

It certainly wasn't fashionable or patriotic. They paid a big price -- not just a hefty fine, but the father, Zhang Jian, even lost his job.

"Yes, once I had two kids, I lost my job. But I'm not scared of that, I don't care. The most important thing is to raise my kids. This is for happiness," he says.

His daughter Zhang Dongjuan is forever grateful for her parents' sacrifice.

"I am very happy. I'm the luckiest girl in the world," she says.

She shows me photos of her sister, now away from home working as a banker. They are very close, she says.

Dongjuan says her friends were always envious of her, and she's already planning to have two children when she marries.

"Yes, I think the policy should be finished, because we all have a lot of pressure if we have just one child," she says. "If we have two children, then four people can afford to look after two set of parents, we'll have less pressure."

There are growing calls for an end to the policy. Critics say China's population is aging and is heavily weighted toward male children. Eventually, they say this will have a serious impact on the country's economy and social cohesion.

On advertising billboards now there is a new image. One in Beijing promoting Chinese values -- patriotism and inclusiveness -- shows grandparents, parents and, yes, two children.

It is in stark contrast with another more horrifying image. Last month a photo appeared on the Internet and quickly went around the world showing the brutal side of the one-child policy: a mother forced into an abortion lying exhausted and disheveled on her hospital bed, beside her a fully formed fetus.

Between these two images -- the new Chinese poster family and the exhausted mother -- lies the reality of a policy that has defined China for three decades, but is now being questioned.

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some find ways to beat one-child policy - cnn

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In China, some find ways to beat one-child policy

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Something isn't quite right with this picture. There seem to be too many children here. Isn't this the country famed for its one-child policy? Aren't there big fines and penalties for having that second child? A man is watching two children play. He says both of them are his.

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - History suggests Singapore will enjoy a welcome baby boom in this Year of the Dragon, the most auspicious for births in the Chinese zodiac.

But after 25 years of state-sponsored matchmaking and fertility-boosting campaigns, the government's attempts to arrest a sliding birth rate are falling flat, with potentially profound consequences for the wealthy Asian city-state.

The calls to conception are now urgent and constant to citizens whose fertility ranks last among 222 nations in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook.

Faced with dismal statistics like that, the government has begun a review of population and immigration policy and says it plans new measures to encourage births by the time it publishes the results of its consultation early next year.

The message to have more babies is all the more pressing as resentment builds over an influx of foreigners who now make up more than a third of the population of 5.2 million, a factor that is eroding support for the long-ruling People's Action Party.

"We have a problem. The long-term trend is down but we cannot give up," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a speech on Sunday about the nation's future. "We need to create the right environment, the right social environment, the right ethos so that Singaporeans want to settle down and have kids."

Social and economic engineering is nothing new in Singapore, where a firm government hand helped to steer a small island with no natural resources into one of the world's most affluent countries in a little over a generation.

But the relentless drop in the birth rate reveals the limits of that influence in what has been described as a "nanny state".

For a global trade and financial center like Singapore, its extremely low fertility rate has implications for economic growth, tax revenues, healthcare costs and immigration policy as the number of elderly people looks set to triple by 2030.

There are now 6.3 Singaporeans of working age for every senior citizen. By 2030, the ratio will be closer to 2:1.

At current levels, the birth rate implies that the local population will fall by half within a generation, said Sanjeev Sanyal, a Singapore-based global strategist at Deutsche Bank.

"Even to attract a pipeline of good quality foreign talent, you need socio-political continuity and stability that can only be provided by a robust anchor population," he said.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE

If there were any doubts about the government's blatant message, the mint maker Mentos put out an advertisement urging married Singaporeans to do their civic duty on the evening of the August 9 National Day festivities.

"I'm talking about making a baby, baby," went the video's rapped lyrics, accompanied by hip-thrusting animated hearts. "It's National Night, let's make Singapore's birthrate spike."

Not long ago, Singapore had the opposite problem.

From the mid-1960s, with post-war baby boomers hitting child-bearing age, the fears were that a population surge would threaten the development of the newly independent nation.

With the slogan "Stop at two", the government penalized big families, legalized abortion and rewarded sterilization. It was so effective that, by 1987, the policy was reversed and the slogan became "Have three or more if you can afford it".

Conspiring against more births are powerful contraceptives in the form of intense career pressure, long work hours, small apartments, waiting lists for nursery care and soaring prices.

"Work/life balance is what everybody's after," said Evonne, a marketing professional in her 30s, adding she and her husband plan to have one child. "If you don't want kids, no matter what the government throws at you, I don't think you really care."

The 2010 census showed Singaporeans are marrying later than a decade earlier. In the age group 30-34, a key time for career, 43 percent of men and 31 percent of women were not married.

For women in their 40s who were or had been married, those with only one child rose to 19 percent from 15 percent.

The issue is acute for the ethnic Chinese who make up 74 percent of Singapore's citizens and permanent residents, a majority that has ebbed from nearly 78 percent in 1990. Statistics show ethnic Chinese are having fewer babies than the Malay and Indian communities and are more likely to be single.

Officials have sought to balance the call for more children with a message that the country must remain open to immigration to provide the labor and expertise needed for future growth.

Not all are convinced, as many Internet posts show.

Gilbert Goh, who runs a support group, Transitioning, for the unemployed, decried "relentless messages sent out by the government to accept foreigners" because of the low birth rate.

"Besides seemingly solving the whole birth rate issue here for our government, foreigners also are brought in to solve a bigger issue for employers - cheap hard-working labor," he wrote on his website.

Simmering anger over immigration is widely believed to have contributed to the People's Action Party's unexpected loss of seats in last year's parliamentary elections.

SINGAPORE "WILL FOLD UP"

Saying it recognizes concerns about jobs, living standards and social cohesion, the government has put tighter controls on the number of foreigners it lets in, particularly lower-skilled and lower-wage workers.

In July, it put out a paper for public input on ways to encourage Singaporeans to marry and have families as part of its review of population and immigration policy.

The paper - "Our Population Our Future" - set out a troubling scenario for an ageing society if birth trends persist, including a less vibrant economy, an exodus of major companies and a shrinking number of workers and consumers.

To encourage parenthood, the government gives out baby bonuses of up to S$4,000 ($3,200) for each of the first two children, rising to S$6,000 for the third and fourth. It also matches deposits made into a Child Development Account.

The Social Development Network, part of a government agency, offers free romantic advice by its "Dr Love" and oversees the activities of private dating agencies.

To reverse the trend, Lee said on Sunday, changes in social and workplace attitudes are needed, along with more support for families with housing and affordable, accessible childcare.

If women were having at least two children, that would mean a rise in the population. But at a fertility rate of 0.78, according to the CIA, the number of Singaporeans is waning.

The government has different data showing women, on average, giving birth to 1.2 babies in a lifetime - down from 1.87 in 1990 and 1.42 in 2001 and far below the replacement rate.

The city-state is not alone. Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea also have very low fertility rates and many of the same cost, space and career pressures.

Among Southeast Asian neighbors, Thailand's fertility rate of 1.66 is below replacement but the populations are growing in Indonesia (2.23), Malaysia (2.64) and the Philippines (3.15).

Lee Kuan Yew, the country's founding leader and father of the current prime minister, warned in August that Singapore "will fold up" unless it reverses the drop in the birth rate.

"Do we want to replace ourselves or do we want to shrink and get older and be replaced by migrants and work permit holders?" said Lee, who launched the "Stop at two" campaign in 1966.

Some hope for a zodiac-linked baby boom that is borne out by government figures. Births rose in previous Dragon years in 1976, 1988 and 2000, but those were only minor spikes in a steady decline in Singapore's fertility rate from 3.07 in 1970.

The government is promising new measures to encourage births and help families but unless career and cost pressures change dramatically, there may be little effect.

"Can Singaporeans be persuaded to have more children?" was the survey question during a recent television panel discussion on the birth rate. Channel News Asia's telephone poll may not have been completely scientific, but the answer was clear - a resounding 74 percent of respondents said "no".

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Tiny Singapore risks economic gloom without big baby boom

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - History suggests Singapore will enjoy a welcome baby boom in this Year of the Dragon, the most auspicious for births in the Chinese zodiac. But after 25 years of state-sponsored matchmaking and fertility-boosting campaigns, the government's attempts to arrest a sliding birth rate are falling flat, with potentially profound consequences for the wealthy Asian city-state.

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* "New political economy" needed

By Nina Chestney

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N. report warned on Monday.

As the world's population looks set to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2040 from 7 billion now, and the number of middle-class consumers increases by 3 billion over the next 20 years, the demand for resources will rise exponentially.

Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water, according to U.N. estimates, at a time when a changing environment is creating new limits to supply.

And if the world fails to tackle these problems, it risks condemning up to 3 billion people into poverty, the report said.

Efforts towards sustainable development are neither fast enough nor deep enough, as well as suffering from a lack of political will, the United Nations' high-level panel on global sustainability said.

"The current global development model is unsustainable. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required," the report said.

"Tinkering on the margins will not do the job. The current global economic crisis ... offers an opportunity for significant reforms."

Although the number of people living in absolute poverty has been reduced to 27 percent of world population from 46 percent in 1990 and the global economy has grown 75 percent since 1992, improved lifestyles and changing consumer habits have put natural resources under increasing strain.

There are 20 million more undernourished people now than in 2000; 5.2 million hectares of forest are lost per year - an area the size of Costa Rica; 85 percent of all fish stocks are over-exploited or depleted; and carbon dioxide emissions have risen 38 percent between 1990 and 2009, which heightens the risk of sea level rise and more extreme weather.

The panel, which made 56 recommendations for sustainable development to be included in economic policy as quickly as possible, said a "new political economy" was needed.

"Let's use the upcoming Rio+20 summit to kick off this global transition towards a sustainable growth model for the 21st century that the world so badly needs," EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in response to the report, referring to a U.N. sustainable development summit this June in Brazil.

ACTION

Among the panel's recommendations, it urged governments to agree on a set of sustainable development goals which would complement the eight Millennium Development Goals to 2015 and create a framework for action after 2015.

They should work with international organisations to create an "evergreen revolution", which would at least double productivity while reducing resource use and avoiding further biodiversity losses, the report said.

Water and marine ecosystems should be managed more efficiently and there should be universal access to affordable sustainable energy by 2030.

To make the economy more sustainable, carbon and natural resource pricing should be established through taxation, regulation or emissions trading schemes by 2020 and fossil fuel subsidies should also be phased out by that time.

National fiscal and credit systems should be reformed to provide long-term incentives for sustainable practices as well as disincentives for unsustainable ones.

Sovereign wealth and public pension funds, as well as development banks and export credit agencies should apply sustainable development criteria to their investment decisions, and governments or stock market watchdogs should revise regulations to encourage their use.

Governments and scientists should also strengthen the relationship between policy and science by regularly examining the science behind environmental thresholds or "tipping points" and the United Nations should consider naming a chief scientific adviser or board to advise the organisation, the report said.

The report is available at

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cyclical consumer goods and services (trbc)

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World lacks enough food, fuel as population soars-UN

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"New political economy" needed By Nina Chestney LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N.