Wheat prices have staged the most drastic rise in more than 50 years, as a drought in Russia fuels growing worries that it could lead to a global shortage of the grain. Harsh heat and a lack of rain in Russia have killed half of the crop in some hard-hit areas. The slump in production in one of the world's most fertile breadbaskets has pushed prices up 62% since early June,...

World's population is expected to reach 8 billion mark by 2025 and would further increase up to 9.4 billion in 40 years from now but India will creep up to 1.7 billion by 2050, US experts have said. The current population of the world is 6.8 billion, while India has a staggering graph of 1.2 billion, a place behind China with 1.3 billion. Africa's population will be growing most quickly....

With 267 people being born every minute and 108 dying, the world’s population will top seven billion next year, a research group projects, while the ratio of working-age adults to support the elderly in developed countries declines precipitously because of lower birthrates and longer life spans. In a sobering assessment of those two trends, William P. Butz, president of the Population Reference Bureau, said that “chronically low birthrates in developed countries...

Singapore is the most crowded country in the world, according to the Overpopulation Index. The index also finds that countries like United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland are more crowded than India or China, which are the most populous nations on earth. The index was published by the Optimum Population Trust which has been campaigning for measures to stem the population growth in the United Kingdom. The trust has also sought strict measures...

India is incredible (after shining), with the fastest growth rate, an emerging demographic dividend and innovative brains for the globe. But the vast majority in rural India — employed in agriculture, small-scale and tiny industries, self-employed, and with no assets — does not find it so. This government, claiming inclusive growth for the grossly deprived and poor, has not taken actions to bring down prices of essential food items, unprecedented...