So the population of the UK is now more than sixty-two and a half million. How many more can that tiny island accommodate? In Australia the government is giving financial incentives to anyone prepared to leave Sydney and go live in the country.

Does the world really have twenty years left? The population explosion is a hellava lot more frightening than so-called global warming. In fact global warming could be put down to the population explosion; all those bodies breathing. Perhaps, if nature doesn’t take her course with ever more violence – earthquakes, mud slides, floods, tsunami’s, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etcetera, the Christian fundamentalists and the Islamists have been put among us to, in the name of god of course, help reduce the population with more bombs, decapitations and the cutting of throats; there’s a thought. Perhaps the intelligent design lot can intelligently get us out of this mess. Sorry to sound so pessimistic today. None of this really concerns me. It’s a real shame though that people in the public eye like Brad Pitt (six children) and the Beckhams (four children) and others haven’t set an example in restricting their breeding because what other problems are caused by there being too many people on the planet? Have they ever stopped for a moment to wonder what their children’s futures will be? And cannot Popey boy see what damage his church creates in the banning of contraception? I should imagine heaven is getting as full as earth or soon will be at this rate.

A student in his final year at university fully expecting to get good results when he takes his exams has much lower expectations for his future prospects. Speaking at his campus in West London, he acknowledges that his chances of landing a job when he leaves university are very slim. "There will be 200 of us leaving at the same time," he says, "and we will all be chasing after the few positions that might be available. "Looking for a job is a plight all too familiar to millions of young people around the world. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), youth unemployment has been rising dramatically and the trend is set to continue. It is a global phenomenon, with many countries experiencing youth unemployment figures in the region of 17-25%. In countries such as Yemen it is even worse, with youth unemployment figures estimated to be closer to 40%. Youth unemployment has been one of the underlying causes behind the political upheaval across North Africa, which began in the middle of December.

"Youth unemployment is a serious problem which governments must urgently tackle," says Glenda Quintini, an economist with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is a problem the OECD has flagged up for several years, one it feels will remain for many more years, not least as it was exacerbated by the financial crisis. As governments slash budgets in the aftermath of the financial crisis, about 25 million people across the European Union (EU) have been made jobless. Global prospects for jobs are bleak in these difficult times, particularly for the next generation of workers - those who are leaving education now. Many young people think their education was a waste of time if they cannot find work afterwards

There is the belief that a bachelor degree is now not enough, that a masters degree is needed, then an internship to understand the company, and then there might, just might be an offer of a job. Whatever the situation, there are still more students globally than there are jobs. And it can only get worse.