Chinese walk to work in downtown Beijing November 2, 2010. Chinese census takers are fanning out across China, aiming to visit 400 million households over 10 days. At last count 10 years, the country has 1.29 billion people. UPI/Stephen shaver |
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LUCKNOW, India, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- India marked the arrival Monday of girl named Nargis as the world's symbolic 7 billionth citizen, the Plan India child rights group said.
The United Nations had estimated that Oct. 31 would mark the day when the world population reached 7 billion.
Nargis was born as the first child to Ajay and Vinita Yadav in Mall village near Lucknow, capital of the northern Uttar Pradesh State, the Times of India reported.
The state is the most populous state in India, which has the world's second highest population after China. The baby weighed 6.6 pounds, the Times of India reported.
The BBC reported Nargis was born at 7:25 a.m. local time.
Bhagyashri Dengle, executive director of Plan India, said: "Nargis' birth as the symbolic 7th billion baby attempts to draw attention to the serious issue of declining child sex ratio in India," the Times report said.
Other girls born in the state Monday also earned the symbolic 7 billionth title.
Nargis' father was quoted as saying he and his wife would ensure their girl gets good education and does well in life.
Plan International in Britain, which had identified Uttar Pradesh as the place of birth of the 7 billionth person, said Nargis was chosen symbolically because it was not possible to know where exactly the 7 billionth baby would be born, the BBC reported.
Earlier on Monday, a girl born in a hospital in Manila, the Philippines, also was declared a symbolic 7 billionth baby, the report said.