According to the United Nations' population figures, the world's population will be (1) ... for 8.9 billion by the year 2050, (2) ... to 6.7 billion in 2009. This figure (3) ... into account that each woman on the planet will give birth to two children. Eight billion, nine hundred million people may sound like an astronomical figure, yet statistics (4) ... that, throughout the world, the number of children being born is (5) ... . The explanation (6) ... for this is the fact that women have become better educated and would rather (7) ... a career than enjoy motherhood. Therefore, they (8) ... bringing up many children and being out of work for long periods of time. All the same, the world's population will continue to increase in spite of the ageing population. This will happen because of an overall rise in life expectancy, especially in the developed countries. The main (9) ... for this is that many diseases which were fatal in the past, can be (10) ... nowadays.