The estimate of the number of people that have been born on this planet, since the dawn of the species at around 50,000 B.C., according to the Population Reference Bureau, is about 106.5 billion. The world population today is about 6.5 billion. In 1961, the population was 3 billion. In 1987, the population was 5 billion. It is estimated that the population will reach 9 billion around the year 2050.