THE 20th World Population Day was celebrated on Saturday under the banner of 'Fight Poverty, Educate Girls' and focused on women and the economic crisis.

The theme for 2009 is aimed at building awareness of the importance of educating girls, including human rights, gender equality and poverty.

World Population Day seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues to find solutions for such problems.

In 2000, world population stood at 6,06 billion and it was growing by 78 million a year.

The world population on July 11 2007 was estimated to have been 6 727 551 263.

According to a 2008 press release by the US Census Bureau, the world population is expected to grow to 7 billion people in 2012.

The United Nations estimates that in 2050, there will be between 7,3 billion and 10,7 billion people living on earth.

World Population Day is an annual event, observed on July 11, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues.

The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.