Although Latin America exhibits many noteworthy characteristics, one of the most striking since the end of World War II has been the breathtaking growth of the region's population. From 1950 to 1975 the total population of Latin America more than doubled, approaching 330 million persons in the latter year. Growth rates are almost uniformly high, with such major populations as Brazil and Mexico manifesting 2.8 percent per year while other nations such as Colombia and Venezuela exhibit

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... ed annual growth rates of 3.4 percent. Actually these figures do not do justice to the true magnitude of the popula tion growth currently being experienced in Latin America. Given the annual rates cited above, the populations of Mexico and Brazil will double every twenty-five years while those of Colombia and Venezuela will double in slightly over twenty years. The population of Latin America as a whole will, by the end of the century, have increased to 644 million, a size only slightly smaller than the combined populations of Europe and North America today.