This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
The United Nations estimates that the world reached seven billion people on Monday. No one can be sure. The United States Census Bureau does not expect that to happen until March.
联合国估计世界人口于周一达到了70亿。没有人可以肯定这一点。美国人口普查局预计明年三月前世界人口不会达到70亿。
Populations are growing faster than economies in many poor countries in Africa and some in Asia. At the same time, low fertility rates in Japan and many European nations have raised concerns about labor shortages.
多数非洲及部分亚洲贫穷国家人口增长速度大于经济增长速度。与此同时，日本与许多欧洲国家的低生育率已经引起了对劳动力短缺的担忧。
Population experts at the United Nations estimated that the world reached six billion in October nineteen ninety-nine. They predict nine billion by twenty-fifty and ten billion by the end of the century.
联合国人口专家估计世界人口于1999年10月达到了60亿。他们预计世界人口将于2050年达到90亿，本世纪末达到100亿。
China's population of one and a third billion is currently the world's largest. India is second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to pass China and reach one and a half billion people around twenty twenty-five. India will also have one of the world's youngest populations.
中国以13亿人口位居全球首位，印度以12亿人口位居次席。但印度人口有望在2025年左右超过中国，达到15亿。印度还将拥有全球最年轻化的人群之一。
Economists say this is a chance for a so-called demographic dividend. India could gain from the skills of young people in a growing economy at a time when other countries have aging populations. But economists say current rates of growth, although high, may not create enough jobs.
经济学家表示这是一个所谓人口红利的机会。当其它国家面临人口老龄化时，印度却可以从持续增长的经济中有技术的年轻人中获利。但经济学家表示，印度当前经济增长速度虽然已经很高，但可能无法创造足够的就业机会。
Also, the public education system is failing to meet demand and schooling is often of poor quality. Another concern is health care. Nearly half of India's children under the age of five are malnourished. Sarah Crowe at the United Nations Children's Fund in New Delhi says these two problems "could keep India back."
此外，公共教育体系未能满足需求，学校教育质量往往很差。医疗是另一个让人关注的问题。近一半印度5岁以下儿童营养不良。联合国儿童基金会新德里办事处工作人员Sarah Crowe表示，这两个问题可能使印度持续落后。
SARAH CROWE: "That child is unable to really grow to its ability and will remain in a state of stunting and not be able to learn when it goes to school -- when he or she goes to school, and indeed later earn and really pay back and pay into the economic and help the country and the region move forward. We have, you know, out of every two hundred million children who start school, only ten percent complete grade twelve."
SARAH CROWE：“儿童无法真正成长，将一直保留在发育不良状态，上学时也无法学习。当他或她去上学，实际上随后赚到的和对经济的回报和投入有助于推动该国家和地区向前发展。你知道，印度每2亿上学的儿童只有10%上完12年级。”
Michal Rutkowski is the director of human development in South Asia at the World Bank. He says the seven billionth person was likely to be a girl born in rural Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is one of India's poorest and most crowded states, with nearly two hundred million people.
Michal Rutkowski是世界银行人类发展局南亚地区负责人。他表示，第70亿人可能是出生于印度北方邦农村的一名女孩。北方邦是印度最贫穷和人口最多的省份之一，拥有近2亿人口。
He says reaching seven billion people in the world is a good time for a call to action.
他表示，世界人口达到70亿是一个呼吁采取行动的好时机。
MICHAL RUTKOWSKI: "I think the bottom line of the story is that the public policy needs to become really, really serious about gender equality and about access to services -- to combat malnutrition, and to provide for access to health services, water, sanitation, schooling."
MICHAL RUTKOWSKI：“我认为事情归根结底在于公共政策特别需要关注性别平等，关注公共服务的提供---解决营养不良，提供医疗服务，水，公共卫生和学校教育。”
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