Population

[Lucretia]

Hello,

Please, which is correct?
1. More than half of the population of the world is hungry.
2. More than half of the population of the world are hungry.

Thank you.

[shabnem]

i think,
the second one is right because population refers to a group of people.same like the word people, we say all people are nice.

[Bridget]

Hello,

Please, which is correct?
1. More than half of the population of the world is hungry.
2. More than half of the population of the world are hungry.

Thank you.

"Is" is correct.

[Lucretia]

I'd also choose #1, but I am not so sure.

[Hiba]

hi,
well to me i guess answer no.1 is probably ritght but not sure .

[Rusty]

Hello,

Please, which is correct?
1. More than half of the population of the world is hungry.
2. More than half of the population of the world are hungry.

Thank you.
I think both are acceptable. (1) Population is normally a collective noun and takes a singular verb (is). (2) Because the people within the population are being thought of separately, are is appropriate. My reasoning for this is that hunger is an individual matter. Here are some similar examples that I have found on the Internet.
6.5% of serbia's population are Catholic.
16% of UK population are aged 65 or over
What proportion of current U.S population are foreign-born?
About 3 percent of the population are Azerbaijanis, and Kurds and Russians

[Lucretia]

Rusty,
Percentage is a different thing in terms of accord.

[Bridget]

Rusty,
Percentage is a different thing in terms of accord.

Maybe Rusty is right: it could be an instance of notional concord.

But, if we replace population with "them: ? "more than half of them is hungry".

Then again, if we replace population with "it": "more than half of it is hungry".

[Rusty]

Maybe Rusty is right: it could be an instance of notional concord.

But, if we replace population with "them: ? "more than half of them is hungry".

Then again, if we replace population with "it": "more than half of it is hungry".

More than half of them are hungry.
More than half of the people are hungry.

More than half of the population is/are suffering from starvation.

[Bridget]

More than half of them are hungry.
More than half of the people are hungry.

More than half of the population is/are suffering from starvation.

As I said, Rusty, try it with the pronoun "it".

[Rusty]

As I said, Rusty, try it with the pronoun "it".
There are places where "it" would be fine.
The population of the city was stable during the 1990s, but now it is growing rapidly.
In the sentence with "hunger" I think of the individuals.

[Bridget]

<In the sentence with "hunger" I think of the individuals.>

Notional concord comes into play there, I think.

[Rusty]

<In the sentence with "hunger" I think of the individuals.>

Notional concord comes into play there, I think.
Yes, I agree.

[Lucretia]

Thanks to everybody.
You’ve convinced me, Rusty.

[eeshan]

The main concern over the use of is/are is over contextual usage.
For Eg.1) Half the city population are on the march towards city center.
2) Nearly half the student population is going hungry today, because of the mayor's decisin to close the college canteens as a precaution towards mad cow disease.

[Bridget]

The main concern over the use of is/are is over contextual usage.
For Eg.1) Half the city population are on the march towards city center.
2) Nearly half the student population is going hungry today, because of the mayor's decisin to close the college canteens as a precaution towards mad cow disease.

These are also good, aren't they?

Half the city population is on the march towards city center.

Nearly half the student population are going hungry today, because of the mayor's decision to close the college canteens as a precaution towards mad cow disease.