The United Nations says the world's population will reach seven billion people on Monday.
Of that, Vancouver Island accounts for a paltry 770,000 people with the Capital Region and surrounding areas home to about 365,000 folks, according to the province's Guide to the B.C. Economy and Labour Market.
As for the future,Vancouver Island's population growth is expected to be slower than in other parts of the province, says the guide.
And that means goods-producing industries are also expected to continue to see slower-than average growth in the next few years – including the service sector.
An ageing population, which includes many workers who are approaching retirement age, together with slower-than average population growth, may be one reason why the region’s workforce is not expected to grow as much as in the rest of the province, says the guide.
Worldwide, just 200 years ago there were only one billion people on the planet, and over the next 150 years that number grew to three billion.
But in the past 50 years, the global population has more than doubled, and the UN projects that it could possibly grow to 15 billion by the year 2100.