Population May Triple in Century

HELSINKI, Finland — The world’s population could almost triple by the end of the next century unless there is more investment in family planning, the head of a U.N. agency said Friday.

Nafis Sadik, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, said the Earth’s population, now 5.2 billion, could be stabilized at 10 billion a century from today if family planning, education and employment opportunities are improved.

Otherwise, the population could be 14 billion by 2100, she told a seminar on women, population and development.

“These additions . . . would create enormous potential for violence and social upheaval by the millions of young people without any prospect of ever being employed,” she added.