Table 2.1 - Selected world indicators, 1950­90

Source: Based on data compiled by the Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre, see UNEP, 1993

Indicators (units) 1950 1970 1990
Population (billion) 2.5 3.7 5.3
Urban population (per cent) 29.3 36.6 43.1
GDP ($ billion) ­ 2040a 22 300
Life expectancy (years)b 46.4 57.9 64.7
Energy consumption (million toe) ­ 3752c 5571
Aluminium consumption (thousand tonnes/year) ­ 11 350d 17 909
Water consumption (km3/year) 1360 2590 3240
Fertiliser consumption (thousand tonnes/year) ­ 69 308 137 547
Passenger cars (million)e ­ 193.5 444.9
Passenger kilometres travelled (billion veh-km)e ­ 2584.3 4892.8
Freight kilometres travelled (billion veh-km)e ­ 656.1 1702.4
Road network (thousand km)e ­ 11 701 12 454
CO2 emissions (million tonnes/year) 6000 15 000 27 870
NOx emissions (million tonnes/year)f 6.8 18.1 89­125
SO2 emissions (million tonnes/year) 60 114 142­166
CFC emissions (million tonnes CFC-11 equivalents) ­ ­ 1.4
Municipal waste (million tonnes/year)e ­ 302g 420

See the Statistical Compendium for full details on the indicators in this table, and Table 4.7 of this report.

a data refer to 1965
b data on life expectancy represents annual mean values for the periods 1950­55, 1970­75 and 1990­95, respectively
c data refer to 1971
d data refer to 1975
e OECD countries only
f data for 1950 and 1970 refer to million tonnes of nitrogen per year
g data refer to mid-1970s