According to the World Population Clock, there are 7,327,599,308 people packed onto the planet at the time of writing this article. This figure is growing at at a dizzying rate – around 1.14% annually, which means there are about 80 million more mouths to feed every year.
The world's population doubled in the 40 years from 1959 (three billion) to 1999 (six billion). Although the growth rate is slowing, by 2050, the population may reach between 8.3 and 10.9 billion. China is the world's most populous country with more than 1.4 billion inhabitants, but India is catching up and is expected to overtake China by 2030.
To raise awareness of the planet's soaring birth rate, the United Nations has designated 11 July as World Population Day. IBTimesUK presents this gallery of overcrowding and huge gatherings around the globe to mark World Population Day 2015.
Visitors pack into an artificial wave pool at a resort to escape the summer heat in Daying county in Sichuan province, China on 27 July 2013China Daily/ReutersHindu pilgrims make their way over pontoon bridges near Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India on 9 February 2013Daniel Berehulak/Getty ImagesAn overcrowded train leaves a platform in Tongi near Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on 29 December 2003, as pilgrims flock to the annual Ijtema Muslim gatheringRafiquar Rahman/ReutersPeople crowd onto a bridge that they believe can help them escape tribulations and illnesses during the annual Caiqiaohui event in Mianyang, Sichuan province, China on 18 March 2014 ReutersDevotees try to touch the religious icon of the Black Nazarene during the annual procession in Manila on 9 January 2015 attended by over 5 million peopleTed Aljibe/AFPShi'ite Muslims gather at the shrine of Imam Hussein during Ashura commemorations in Karbala, Iraq on 4 November 2014 when an estimated 20 million people visited the holy siteMohammed Sawaf/AFPMuslim pilgrims pray at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on 10 October 2013 during the annual Hajj pilgrimageIbraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersPassengers crowd into a departure hall at a railway station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on 15 January 2009 during the annual new year mass migrationReutersA passenger uses a window to board a crowded train at a railway station in Hefei, Anhui province during China's lunar new year travel peak season on 19 January 2008Jianan Yu/ReutersCommuters wait for a train at a subway station in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 28 May 2013Nacho Doce/ReutersStation workers push a passenger into a crowded subway train at the Ikebukuro station on the Marunouchi line during rush hour in Tokyo on 26 January 2007Kim Kyung Hoon/ReutersResidential buildings in Po Lam, one of Hong Kong's satellite towns that houses 25% of the world's 100 tallest residential buildings, on 14 September 2011Bobby Yip/ReutersLaundry hangs outside a student dormitory at a college in Wuhan, Hubei province on 5 March 2009ReutersScooters and motorcycles fill the offramp at a junction during rush hour in Taipei, Taiwan on 29 October 2009Nicky Loh/ReutersApplicants walk into the entrance of a university to take part in the entrance exam for postgraduate studies in Wuhan, Hubei province on 10 January 2009ReutersYellow taxis line up on a ramp in Chongqing municipality on 17 November 2009ReutersBuses and commuters cross the diagonal crossing at Oxford Circus in London on 2 November 2009Stefan Wermuth/ReutersSan Lorenzo fans use their hands to block out the sun during their Argentine First Division match against Estudiantes in Buenos Aires on 1 December 2013Marcos Brindicci/ReutersThe colourful lights of the fairground illuminate the sunset on the opening day of Oktoberfest, which attracts 6 million people, in Munich on 20 September 2014Joerg Koch/Getty ImagesHigh-rise residential buildings are seen behind a slum in Mumbai on 20 July 2010Danish Siddiqui/ReutersThousands of internally displaced people queue for supplies at Kibati camp near Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on 10 December 2008Peter Andrews/ReutersPassengers travel in and on an overcrowded train in the eastern Indian city of Patna on 23 February 2010Krishna Murari Kishan/Reuters
