The United Nations expects the world's population to increase from slightly more than 7 billion today to 9.6 billion by 2050. Almost all of the growth will occur in developing regions, especially Africa. For the most part, people in developed countries-where population is expected to remain largely unchanged over the coming decades-have consistent access to family planning resources and education about sexual health. (Even so, what the United Nations calls "low-fertility countries" have their own challenges: A recent Brookings Institution report found that a poor woman in the United States is more than five times as likely as an affluent woman to have an unintended birth.) The reasons population continues to climb in some areas of the world are varied and often tradition-bound. Here are a few examples and some ways they are being addressed.
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