Dr Hans Rosling addressing the 8th EBU News Assembly (EBU)

In a talk given to the EBU News Assembly, celebrity statistician Dr Hans Rosling told delegates that journalists have missed what may be the biggest story of their time - namely the drop in the fertility rate from an average of five babies born per woman 50 years ago to 2.5 today.

The drop is unprecedented in human history, and the rate of fertility is still trending downwards. The number of children in the world today is the largest it will ever be.

Rosling explained that the world has entered into the age of 'peak child'. That is, the population will continue to grow as the peak child generation grows up, and it is likely that three or four billion new adults will be added to the global population. However, in the second half of this century, this fast population growth will finally come to an end.

He went on to say that many of journalists have failed to recognise some of the most fundamental shifts in the development of mankind. The news media's lack of awareness of the developments and trends revealed by these statistics paints a dark and inaccurate picture of the world, and provides a poor foundation for accurately portraying the world in which we live.

Dr Rosling added that journalists cling to outdated and pessimistic statistics on world population, accepting data from activist groups with vested interests, often ignoring impartial but complex data describing "slow moving" but profound shifts, which will have heavy impact on worldwide healthcare, business, military, international relations and economic development.

On top of that, journalists have held on to statistics that are at least thirty years out of date, continuing to use terms that cease to be relevant, like the "developed" and "developing world". They tend to focus on fast moving stories and ignore those that take time to unfold and develop, missing major stories that are right before their eyes.

Find out more about Hans Rosling and the fascinating world of statistics at www.gapminder.org/videos/the-joy-of-stats/.