As we close out 2010, we reached another important milestone at crowdSPRING – more than 80,000 designers and writers (from 185+ countries) now work on crowdSPRING.

We’re proud of our community but humbled to know that 80,000 is small when compared to the population of the world – expected to exceed 7 billion people in 2011.

National Geographic is planning a year long series focusing on the world’s population. It looks to be a phenomenal series, based on the preview video below.

Some startling facts from the video:

• The global population is projected to be 9 billion by 2045
• 5 people are born every second
• In 2008, for the first time ever, more people lived in cities than in rural areas
• By 2050, 70% of us will live in megacities
• 5% of us consume 23% of the world’s energy
• 13% of us don’t have access to clean drinking water
• People speak more than 7,000 different languages

You can read more in the latest issue of National Geographic.