Seniors in conversation at Jongmyo Park, in downtown Seoul, Republic of Korea.
At the end of October 2011, the world population will pass the 7 billion mark. This year’s annual report by UNFPA, the UN population fund, highlights the remarkable trends behind the numbers: roughly one in two people now lives in an urban area, the global average life span is 68 years, and close to a billion people are 60 and over. The report sees the possibilities in 7 billion – for fostering sustainable cities, productive labour forces, and generations young and old that contribute to the well-being of economies and societies.