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A map of the world according to where the next billion people will have to live

A map of the world according to where the next billion people will have to live
Picture: YouTube/screengrab

There are currently over seven billion people on Earth, and scientists predict that the population will grow to eight billion by 2030.

That’s an extra billion people in just 15 years.

It is a well-established fact that the Earth’s population is expanding at a rate previously unseen.

While this growth will be global, it will be most prominent in Asian and African countries.

But where will the extra billion people go?

Naturecreated a video to outline a number of places, ranging from ‘highly sustainable’ to ‘fairly sustainable’ where the population might go.

Two researchers ruled out regions with high water stress land covered with ice and places with species that need protecting.

The science journal came up with a few places: large areas of central Africa with lots of natural resources, was one.

South America, with its warm climate, can support the production of crops like rice and maize.

But even those options are fraught with challenges

At the moment, these areas are poorly governed and there are few jobs. [South America's] nearby biodiversity hotspots like the Amazon Basin need protecting.

You can watch the rest of the video, below:

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