Total population of the word

  • W
  • Population
  • World Population

Current World Population

retrieving data…

Today

Population Growth today

This year

Population Growth this year

World Population: Past, Present, and Future

(move and expand the bar at the bottom of the chart to navigate through time)

The chart above illustrates how world population has changed throughout history. View the full tabulated data.

At the dawn of agriculture, about 8000 B.C., the population of the world was approximately 5 million. Over the 8,000-year period up to 1 A.D. it grew to 200 million (some estimate 300 million or even 600, suggesting how imprecise population estimates of early historical periods can be), with a growth rate of under 0.05% per year.

A tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history until around 1800 for world population to reach one billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in 30 years (1960), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987).

  • During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.
  • In 1970, there were roughly half as many people in the world as there are now.
  • Because of declining growth rates, it will now take over 200 years to double again.

Wonder how big was the world’s population when you were born?
Check out this simple wizard or this more elaborated one to find out.

Sources:

  • World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision — United Nations Population Division
  • The World at Six Billion, World Population, Year 0 to near stabilization [Pdf file] — United Nations Population Division

Growth Rate

Population in the world is, as of 2022, growing at a rate of around 0.84% per year (down from 1.05% in 2020, 1.08% in 2019, 1.10% in 2018, and 1.12% in 2017). The current population increase is estimated at 67 million people per year.

Annual growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at around 2%. The rate of increase has nearly halved since then, and will continue to decline in the coming years.

World population will therefore continue to grow in the 21st century, but at a much slower rate compared to the recent past. World population has doubled (100% increase) in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion). It is now estimated that it will take another nearly 40 years to increase by another 50% to become 9 billion by 2037.

The latest world population projections indicate that world population will reach 10 billion persons in the year 2057.

World Population (2020 and historical)

View the complete population historical table

Year
(July 1)
Population Yearly %
Change
Yearly
Change
Median
Age
Fertility
Rate
Density
(P/Km²)
2020 7,794,798,739 1.05 % 81,330,639 30.9 2.47 52
2019 7,713,468,100 1.08 % 82,377,060 29.8 2.51 52
2018 7,631,091,040 1.10 % 83,232,115 29.8 2.51 51
2017 7,547,858,925 1.12 % 83,836,876 29.8 2.51 51
2016 7,464,022,049 1.14 % 84,224,910 29.8 2.51 50
2015 7,379,797,139 1.19 % 84,594,707 30 2.52 50
2010 6,956,823,603 1.24 % 82,983,315 28 2.58 47
2005 6,541,907,027 1.26 % 79,682,641 27 2.65 44
2000 6,143,493,823 1.35 % 79,856,169 26 2.78 41
1995 5,744,212,979 1.52 % 83,396,384 25 3.01 39
1990 5,327,231,061 1.81 % 91,261,864 24 3.44 36
1985 4,870,921,740 1.79 % 82,583,645 23 3.59 33
1980 4,458,003,514 1.79 % 75,704,582 23 3.86 30
1975 4,079,480,606 1.97 % 75,808,712 22 4.47 27
1970 3,700,437,046 2.07 % 72,170,690 22 4.93 25
1965 3,339,583,597 1.93 % 60,926,770 22 5.02 22
1960 3,034,949,748 1.82 % 52,385,962 23 4.90 20
1955 2,773,019,936 1.80 % 47,317,757 23 4.97 19

World Population Forecast (2020-2050)

View population projections for all years (up to 2100)

Year
(July 1)
Population Yearly %
Change
Yearly
Change
Median
Age
Fertility
Rate
Density
(P/Km²)
2020 7,794,798,739 1.10 % 83,000,320 31 2.47 52
2025 8,184,437,460 0.98 % 77,927,744 32 2.54 55
2030 8,548,487,400 0.87 % 72,809,988 33 2.62 57
2035 8,887,524,213 0.78 % 67,807,363 34 2.70 60
2040 9,198,847,240 0.69 % 62,264,605 35 2.77 62
2045 9,481,803,274 0.61 % 56,591,207 35 2.85 64
2050 9,735,033,990 0.53 % 50,646,143 36 2.95 65

World Population Milestones

10 Billion (2058)

The United Nations projects world population to reach 10 billion in the year 2058.

9 Billion (2037)

World population is expected to reach 9 billion in the year 2037.

8 Billion (2022)

World population has reached 8 billion people on November 15, 2022 according to the United Nations.

7 Billion (2010)

According to the latest revision by the United Nations (released in 2022), world population reached 7 Billion in late 2010 (this was previously estimated as occurring on October 31, 2011). The US Census Bureau made a lower estimate, for which the 7 billion mark was only reached on March 12, 2012.

6 Billion (1998)

According to the latest revision by the United Nations (released in 2022), the 6 billion figure was reached towards the end of 1998 (this was previously estimated as occurring on October 12, 1999, celebrated as the Day of 6 Billion). According to the U.S. Census Bureau instead, the six billion milestone was reached on July 22, 1999, at about 3:49 AM GMT. Yet, according to the U.S. Census, the date and time of when 6 billion was reached will probably change because the already uncertain estimates are constantly being updated.

Previous Milestones

  • 5 Billion: 1987
  • 4 Billion: 1974
  • 3 Billion: 1960
  • 2 Billion: 1930
  • 1 Billion: 1804

Summary Table

1 — 1804 (1803 years): 0.2 to 1 bil.

1804 — 2022 (218 years): from 1 billion to 8 billion

Year

1

1000

1500

1650

1750

1804

1850

1900

1930

1950

1960

1974

1980

1987

1998

2010

2022

2029

2037

2046

2058

2100

Population

0.2

0.275

0.45

0.5

0.7

1

1.2

1.6

2

2.55

3

4

4.5

5

6

7

8

8.5

9

9.5

10

10.3

World Population by Region

# Region Population
(2020)
Yearly
Change
Net
Change
Density
(P/Km²)
Land Area
(Km²)
Migrants
(net)
Fert.
Rate
Med.
Age
Urban
Pop %
World
Share
1 Asia 4,641,054,775 0.86 % 39,683,577 150 31,033,131 -1,729,112 2.2 32 0 % 59.5 %
2 Africa 1,340,598,147 2.49 % 32,533,952 45 29,648,481 -463,024 4.4 20 0 % 17.2 %
3 Europe 747,636,026 0.06 % 453,275 34 22,134,900 1,361,011 1.6 43 0 % 9.6 %
4 Latin America and the Caribbean 653,962,331 0.9 % 5,841,374 32 20,139,378 -521,499 2 31 0 % 8.4 %
5 Northern America 368,869,647 0.62 % 2,268,683 20 18,651,660 1,196,400 1.8 39 0 % 4.7 %
6 Oceania 42,677,813 1.31 % 549,778 5 8,486,460 156,226 2.4 33 0 % 0.5 %

World Population Density (people/km2)

Population density map of the world showing not only countries but also many subdivisions (regions, states, provinces). See also: World Map


Courtesy of Junuxx at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

World Population by Religion

According to a recent study (based on the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion) by The Pew Forum, there are:

  • 2,173,180,000 Christians (31% of world population), of which 50% are Catholic, 37% Protestant, 12% Orthodox, and 1% other.
  • 1,598,510,000 Muslims (23%), of which 87-90% are Sunnis, 10-13% Shia.
  • 1,126,500,000 No Religion affiliation (16%): atheists, agnostics and people who
    do not identify with any particular religion. One-in-five people (20%) in the United States are religiously unaffiliated.
  • 1,033,080,000 Hindus (15%), the overwhelming majority (94%) of which live in India.
  •    487,540,000 Buddhists (7%), of which half live in China.
  •    405,120,000 Folk Religionists (6%): faiths that are closely associated with a particular
    group of people, ethnicity or tribe.
  •       58,110,000 Other Religions (1%): Baha’i faith, Taoism,
    Jainism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, Zoroastrianism and many others.
  •       13,850,000 Jews (0.2%), four-fifths of which live in two countries: United States (41%) and Israel (41%).

World Population by Country

# Country (or dependency) Population
(2020)
Yearly
Change
Net
Change
Density
(P/Km²)
Land Area
(Km²)
Migrants
(net)
Fert.
Rate
Med.
Age
Urban
Pop %
World
Share
1 China 1,439,323,776 0.39 % 5,540,090 153 9,388,211 -348,399 1.69 38 60.8 % 18.5 %
2 India 1,380,004,385 0.99 % 13,586,631 464 2,973,190 -532,687 2.2402 28 35 % 17.7 %
3 United States 331,002,651 0.59 % 1,937,734 36 9,147,420 954,806 1.7764 38 82.8 % 4.2 %
4 Indonesia 273,523,615 1.07 % 2,898,047 151 1,811,570 -98,955 2.3195 30 56.4 % 3.5 %
5 Pakistan 220,892,340 2 % 4,327,022 287 770,880 -233,379 3.55 23 35.1 % 2.8 %
6 Brazil 212,559,417 0.72 % 1,509,890 25 8,358,140 21,200 1.74 33 87.6 % 2.7 %
7 Nigeria 206,139,589 2.58 % 5,175,990 226 910,770 -60,000 5.4168 18 52 % 2.6 %
8 Bangladesh 164,689,383 1.01 % 1,643,222 1,265 130,170 -369,501 2.052 28 39.4 % 2.1 %
9 Russia 145,934,462 0.04 % 62,206 9 16,376,870 182,456 1.8205 40 73.7 % 1.9 %
10 Mexico 128,932,753 1.06 % 1,357,224 66 1,943,950 -60,000 2.14 29 83.8 % 1.7 %
11 Japan 126,476,461 -0.3 % -383,840 347 364,555 71,560 1.3697 48 91.8 % 1.6 %
12 Ethiopia 114,963,588 2.57 % 2,884,858 115 1,000,000 30,000 4.3 19 21.3 % 1.5 %
13 Philippines 109,581,078 1.35 % 1,464,463 368 298,170 -67,152 2.58 26 47.5 % 1.4 %
14 Egypt 102,334,404 1.94 % 1,946,331 103 995,450 -38,033 3.33 25 43 % 1.3 %
15 Vietnam 97,338,579 0.91 % 876,473 314 310,070 -80,000 2.0556 32 37.7 % 1.2 %
16 DR Congo 89,561,403 3.19 % 2,770,836 40 2,267,050 23,861 5.9635 17 45.6 % 1.1 %
17 Turkey 84,339,067 1.09 % 909,452 110 769,630 283,922 2.08 32 75.7 % 1.1 %
18 Iran 83,992,949 1.3 % 1,079,043 52 1,628,550 -55,000 2.15 32 75.5 % 1.1 %
19 Germany 83,783,942 0.32 % 266,897 240 348,560 543,822 1.586 46 76.3 % 1.1 %
20 Thailand 69,799,978 0.25 % 174,396 137 510,890 19,444 1.5346 40 51.1 % 0.9 %
21 United Kingdom 67,886,011 0.53 % 355,839 281 241,930 260,650 1.75 40 83.2 % 0.9 %
22 France 65,273,511 0.22 % 143,783 119 547,557 36,527 1.8523 42 81.5 % 0.8 %
23 Italy 60,461,826 -0.15 % -88,249 206 294,140 148,943 1.33 47 69.5 % 0.8 %
24 Tanzania 59,734,218 2.98 % 1,728,755 67 885,800 -40,076 4.9237 18 37 % 0.8 %
25 South Africa 59,308,690 1.28 % 750,420 49 1,213,090 145,405 2.4139 28 66.7 % 0.8 %
26 Myanmar 54,409,800 0.67 % 364,380 83 653,290 -163,313 2.17 29 31.4 % 0.7 %
27 Kenya 53,771,296 2.28 % 1,197,323 94 569,140 -10,000 3.52 20 27.8 % 0.7 %
28 South Korea 51,269,185 0.09 % 43,877 527 97,230 11,731 1.11 44 81.8 % 0.7 %
29 Colombia 50,882,891 1.08 % 543,448 46 1,109,500 204,796 1.82 31 80.4 % 0.7 %
30 Spain 46,754,778 0.04 % 18,002 94 498,800 40,000 1.33 45 80.3 % 0.6 %
31 Uganda 45,741,007 3.32 % 1,471,413 229 199,810 168,694 5.01 17 25.7 % 0.6 %
32 Argentina 45,195,774 0.93 % 415,097 17 2,736,690 4,800 2.268 32 92.8 % 0.6 %
33 Algeria 43,851,044 1.85 % 797,990 18 2,381,740 -10,000 3.05 29 72.9 % 0.6 %
34 Sudan 43,849,260 2.42 % 1,036,022 25 1,765,048 -50,000 4.4345 20 35 % 0.6 %
35 Ukraine 43,733,762 -0.59 % -259,876 75 579,320 10,000 1.4435 41 69.4 % 0.6 %
36 Iraq 40,222,493 2.32 % 912,710 93 434,320 7,834 3.682 21 73.1 % 0.5 %
37 Afghanistan 38,928,346 2.33 % 886,592 60 652,860 -62,920 4.5552 18 25.4 % 0.5 %
38 Poland 37,846,611 -0.11 % -41,157 124 306,230 -29,395 1.4202 42 60.2 % 0.5 %
39 Canada 37,742,154 0.89 % 331,107 4 9,093,510 242,032 1.525 41 81.3 % 0.5 %
40 Morocco 36,910,560 1.2 % 438,791 83 446,300 -51,419 2.42 30 63.8 % 0.5 %
41 Saudi Arabia 34,813,871 1.59 % 545,343 16 2,149,690 134,979 2.34 32 84 % 0.4 %
42 Uzbekistan 33,469,203 1.48 % 487,487 79 425,400 -8,863 2.43 28 50.1 % 0.4 %
43 Peru 32,971,854 1.42 % 461,401 26 1,280,000 99,069 2.27 31 79.1 % 0.4 %
44 Angola 32,866,272 3.27 % 1,040,977 26 1,246,700 6,413 5.55 17 66.7 % 0.4 %
45 Malaysia 32,365,999 1.3 % 416,222 99 328,550 50,000 2.0105 30 78.4 % 0.4 %
46 Mozambique 31,255,435 2.93 % 889,399 40 786,380 -5,000 4.8858 18 38.3 % 0.4 %
47 Ghana 31,072,940 2.15 % 655,084 137 227,540 -10,000 3.8928 22 56.7 % 0.4 %
48 Yemen 29,825,964 2.28 % 664,042 56 527,970 -30,000 3.8372 20 38.4 % 0.4 %
49 Nepal 29,136,808 1.85 % 528,098 203 143,350 41,710 1.934 25 21.4 % 0.4 %
50 Venezuela 28,435,940 -0.28 % -79,889 32 882,050 -653,249 2.283 30 N.A. 0.4 %
51 Madagascar 27,691,018 2.68 % 721,711 48 581,795 -1,500 4.1085 20 38.5 % 0.4 %
52 Cameroon 26,545,863 2.59 % 669,483 56 472,710 -4,800 4.603 19 56.3 % 0.3 %
53 Côte d’Ivoire 26,378,274 2.57 % 661,730 83 318,000 -8,000 4.68 19 51.3 % 0.3 %
54 North Korea 25,778,816 0.44 % 112,655 214 120,410 -5,403 1.91 35 62.5 % 0.3 %
55 Australia 25,499,884 1.18 % 296,686 3 7,682,300 158,246 1.8316 38 85.9 % 0.3 %
56 Niger 24,206,644 3.84 % 895,929 19 1,266,700 4,000 6.95 15 16.5 % 0.3 %
57 Taiwan 23,816,775 0.18 % 42,899 673 35,410 30,001 1.15 42 78.9 % 0.3 %
58 Sri Lanka 21,413,249 0.42 % 89,516 341 62,710 -97,986 2.2102 34 18.4 % 0.3 %
59 Burkina Faso 20,903,273 2.86 % 581,895 76 273,600 -25,000 5.2315 18 30.6 % 0.3 %
60 Mali 20,250,833 3.02 % 592,802 17 1,220,190 -40,000 5.9215 16 44 % 0.3 %
61 Romania 19,237,691 -0.66 % -126,866 84 230,170 -73,999 1.6198 43 54.6 % 0.2 %
62 Malawi 19,129,952 2.69 % 501,205 203 94,280 -16,053 4.25 18 18.5 % 0.2 %
63 Chile 19,116,201 0.87 % 164,163 26 743,532 111,708 1.65 35 84.8 % 0.2 %
64 Kazakhstan 18,776,707 1.21 % 225,280 7 2,699,700 -18,000 2.7638 31 57.7 % 0.2 %
65 Zambia 18,383,955 2.93 % 522,925 25 743,390 -8,000 4.6555 18 45.3 % 0.2 %
66 Guatemala 17,915,568 1.9 % 334,096 167 107,160 -9,215 2.8989 23 51.8 % 0.2 %
67 Ecuador 17,643,054 1.55 % 269,392 71 248,360 36,400 2.44 28 63 % 0.2 %
68 Syria 17,500,658 2.52 % 430,523 95 183,630 -427,391 2.8398 26 60 % 0.2 %
69 Netherlands 17,134,872 0.22 % 37,742 508 33,720 16,000 1.66 43 92.5 % 0.2 %
70 Senegal 16,743,927 2.75 % 447,563 87 192,530 -20,000 4.65 19 49.4 % 0.2 %
71 Cambodia 16,718,965 1.41 % 232,423 95 176,520 -30,000 2.5238 26 24.2 % 0.2 %
72 Chad 16,425,864 3 % 478,988 13 1,259,200 2,000 5.7973 17 23.3 % 0.2 %
73 Somalia 15,893,222 2.92 % 450,317 25 627,340 -40,000 6.12 17 46.8 % 0.2 %
74 Zimbabwe 14,862,924 1.48 % 217,456 38 386,850 -116,858 3.6255 19 38.4 % 0.2 %
75 Guinea 13,132,795 2.83 % 361,549 53 245,720 -4,000 4.7384 18 38.6 % 0.2 %
76 Rwanda 12,952,218 2.58 % 325,268 525 24,670 -9,000 4.1 20 17.6 % 0.2 %
77 Benin 12,123,200 2.73 % 322,049 108 112,760 -2,000 4.8675 19 48.4 % 0.2 %
78 Burundi 11,890,784 3.12 % 360,204 463 25,680 2,001 5.45 17 13.8 % 0.2 %
79 Tunisia 11,818,619 1.06 % 123,900 76 155,360 -4,000 2.2 33 70.1 % 0.2 %
80 Bolivia 11,673,021 1.39 % 159,921 11 1,083,300 -9,504 2.75 26 69.3 % 0.1 %
81 Belgium 11,589,623 0.44 % 50,295 383 30,280 48,000 1.7148 42 98.3 % 0.1 %
82 Haiti 11,402,528 1.24 % 139,451 414 27,560 -35,000 2.96 24 56.9 % 0.1 %
83 Cuba 11,326,616 -0.06 % -6,867 106 106,440 -14,400 1.6166 42 78.3 % 0.1 %
84 South Sudan 11,193,725 1.19 % 131,612 18 610,952 -174,200 4.7359 19 24.6 % 0.1 %
85 Dominican Republic 10,847,910 1.01 % 108,952 225 48,320 -30,000 2.36 28 84.5 % 0.1 %
86 Czech Republic (Czechia) 10,708,981 0.18 % 19,772 139 77,240 22,011 1.6413 43 73.5 % 0.1 %
87 Greece 10,423,054 -0.48 % -50,401 81 128,900 -16,000 1.3024 46 84.9 % 0.1 %
88 Jordan 10,203,134 1 % 101,440 115 88,780 10,220 2.7723 24 91.5 % 0.1 %
89 Portugal 10,196,709 -0.29 % -29,478 111 91,590 -6,000 1.288 46 66.5 % 0.1 %
90 Azerbaijan 10,139,177 0.91 % 91,459 123 82,658 1,200 2.0835 32 56.2 % 0.1 %
91 Sweden 10,099,265 0.63 % 62,886 25 410,340 40,000 1.85 41 88.2 % 0.1 %
92 Honduras 9,904,607 1.63 % 158,490 89 111,890 -6,800 2.4872 24 57.3 % 0.1 %
93 United Arab Emirates 9,890,402 1.23 % 119,873 118 83,600 40,000 1.42 33 86.4 % 0.1 %
94 Hungary 9,660,351 -0.25 % -24,328 107 90,530 6,000 1.4911 43 71.7 % 0.1 %
95 Tajikistan 9,537,645 2.32 % 216,627 68 139,960 -20,000 3.6075 22 27.3 % 0.1 %
96 Belarus 9,449,323 -0.03 % -3,088 47 202,910 8,730 1.7099 40 79.2 % 0.1 %
97 Austria 9,006,398 0.57 % 51,296 109 82,409 65,000 1.5292 43 57.3 % 0.1 %
98 Papua New Guinea 8,947,024 1.95 % 170,915 20 452,860 -800 3.5883 22 13.1 % 0.1 %
99 Serbia 8,737,371 -0.4 % -34,864 100 87,460 4,000 1.4612 42 56.2 % 0.1 %
100 Israel 8,655,535 1.6 % 136,158 400 21,640 10,000 3.044 30 93.2 % 0.1 %
101 Switzerland 8,654,622 0.74 % 63,257 219 39,516 52,000 1.535 43 74.1 % 0.1 %
102 Togo 8,278,724 2.43 % 196,358 152 54,390 -2,000 4.3515 19 43.3 % 0.1 %
103 Sierra Leone 7,976,983 2.1 % 163,768 111 72,180 -4,200 4.319 19 43.3 % 0.1 %
104 Hong Kong 7,496,981 0.82 % 60,827 7,140 1,050 29,308 1.3262 45 N.A. 0.1 %
105 Laos 7,275,560 1.48 % 106,105 32 230,800 -14,704 2.7 24 35.7 % 0.1 %
106 Paraguay 7,132,538 1.25 % 87,902 18 397,300 -16,556 2.4455 26 61.6 % 0.1 %
107 Bulgaria 6,948,445 -0.74 % -51,674 64 108,560 -4,800 1.5584 45 75.6 % 0.1 %
108 Libya 6,871,292 1.38 % 93,840 4 1,759,540 -1,999 2.25 29 78.2 % 0.1 %
109 Lebanon 6,825,445 -0.44 % -30,268 667 10,230 -30,012 2.09 30 78.4 % 0.1 %
110 Nicaragua 6,624,554 1.21 % 79,052 55 120,340 -21,272 2.42 26 57.2 % 0.1 %
111 Kyrgyzstan 6,524,195 1.69 % 108,345 34 191,800 -4,000 3 26 35.6 % 0.1 %
112 El Salvador 6,486,205 0.51 % 32,652 313 20,720 -40,539 2.0529 28 73.4 % 0.1 %
113 Turkmenistan 6,031,200 1.5 % 89,111 13 469,930 -5,000 2.785 27 52.5 % 0.1 %
114 Singapore 5,850,342 0.79 % 46,005 8,358 700 27,028 1.209 42 N.A. 0.1 %
115 Denmark 5,792,202 0.35 % 20,326 137 42,430 15,200 1.7621 42 88.2 % 0.1 %
116 Finland 5,540,720 0.15 % 8,564 18 303,890 14,000 1.53 43 86.1 % 0.1 %
117 Congo 5,518,087 2.56 % 137,579 16 341,500 -4,000 4.45 19 69.9 % 0.1 %
118 Slovakia 5,459,642 0.05 % 2,629 114 48,088 1,485 1.502 41 53.7 % 0.1 %
119 Norway 5,421,241 0.79 % 42,384 15 365,268 28,000 1.68 40 83.4 % 0.1 %
120 Oman 5,106,626 2.65 % 131,640 16 309,500 87,400 2.93 31 87 % 0.1 %
121 State of Palestine 5,101,414 2.41 % 119,994 847 6,020 -10,563 3.6677 21 80 % 0.1 %
122 Costa Rica 5,094,118 0.92 % 46,557 100 51,060 4,200 1.7639 33 80 % 0.1 %
123 Liberia 5,057,681 2.44 % 120,307 53 96,320 -5,000 4.35 19 52.6 % 0.1 %
124 Ireland 4,937,786 1.13 % 55,291 72 68,890 23,604 1.8409 38 63 % 0.1 %
125 Central African Republic 4,829,767 1.78 % 84,582 8 622,980 -40,000 4.7541 18 43 % 0.1 %
126 New Zealand 4,822,233 0.82 % 39,170 18 263,310 14,881 1.9 38 86.9 % 0.1 %
127 Mauritania 4,649,658 2.74 % 123,962 5 1,030,700 5,000 4.585 20 56.9 % 0.1 %
128 Panama 4,314,767 1.61 % 68,328 58 74,340 11,200 2.4688 30 68 % 0.1 %
129 Kuwait 4,270,571 1.51 % 63,488 240 17,820 39,520 2.1 37 N.A. 0.1 %
130 Croatia 4,105,267 -0.61 % -25,037 73 55,960 -8,001 1.4461 44 57.7 % 0.1 %
131 Moldova 4,033,963 -0.23 % -9,300 123 32,850 -1,387 1.2552 38 42.7 % 0.1 %
132 Georgia 3,989,167 -0.19 % -7,598 57 69,490 -10,000 2.0615 38 58.1 % 0.1 %
133 Eritrea 3,546,421 1.41 % 49,304 35 101,000 -39,858 4.1 19 63.3 % 0 %
134 Uruguay 3,473,730 0.35 % 11,996 20 175,020 -3,000 1.98 36 96.1 % 0 %
135 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,280,819 -0.61 % -20,181 64 51,000 -21,585 1.27 43 52.3 % 0 %
136 Mongolia 3,278,290 1.65 % 53,123 2 1,553,560 -852 2.9023 28 67.2 % 0 %
137 Armenia 2,963,243 0.19 % 5,512 104 28,470 -4,998 1.7559 35 62.8 % 0 %
138 Jamaica 2,961,167 0.44 % 12,888 273 10,830 -11,332 1.991 31 55.4 % 0 %
139 Qatar 2,881,053 1.73 % 48,986 248 11,610 40,000 1.8805 32 96.2 % 0 %
140 Albania 2,877,797 -0.11 % -3,120 105 27,400 -14,000 1.62 36 63.5 % 0 %
141 Puerto Rico 2,860,853 -2.47 % -72,555 323 8,870 -97,986 1.22 44 N.A. 0 %
142 Lithuania 2,722,289 -1.35 % -37,338 43 62,674 -32,780 1.6698 45 71.3 % 0 %
143 Namibia 2,540,905 1.86 % 46,375 3 823,290 -4,806 3.4153 22 55.2 % 0 %
144 Gambia 2,416,668 2.94 % 68,962 239 10,120 -3,087 5.25 18 59.4 % 0 %
145 Botswana 2,351,627 2.08 % 47,930 4 566,730 3,000 2.8944 24 72.8 % 0 %
146 Gabon 2,225,734 2.45 % 53,155 9 257,670 3,260 4 23 87.1 % 0 %
147 Lesotho 2,142,249 0.8 % 16,981 71 30,360 -10,047 3.1641 24 31.5 % 0 %
148 North Macedonia 2,083,374 -0 % -85 83 25,220 -1,000 1.5 39 58.6 % 0 %
149 Slovenia 2,078,938 0.01 % 284 103 20,140 2,000 1.6 45 55.2 % 0 %
150 Guinea-Bissau 1,968,001 2.45 % 47,079 70 28,120 -1,399 4.51 19 44.9 % 0 %
151 Latvia 1,886,198 -1.08 % -20,545 30 62,200 -14,837 1.7167 44 68.6 % 0 %
152 Bahrain 1,701,575 3.68 % 60,403 2,239 760 47,800 1.9982 32 89.3 % 0 %
153 Equatorial Guinea 1,402,985 3.47 % 46,999 50 28,050 16,000 4.5543 22 73.3 % 0 %
154 Trinidad and Tobago 1,399,488 0.32 % 4,515 273 5,130 -800 1.7299 36 52.4 % 0 %
155 Estonia 1,326,535 0.07 % 887 31 42,390 3,911 1.5878 42 67.9 % 0 %
156 Timor-Leste 1,318,445 1.96 % 25,326 89 14,870 -5,385 4.1 21 32.8 % 0 %
157 Mauritius 1,271,768 0.17 % 2,100 626 2,030 0 1.3885 37 40.8 % 0 %
158 Cyprus 1,207,359 0.73 % 8,784 131 9,240 5,000 1.3375 37 66.8 % 0 %
159 Eswatini 1,160,164 1.05 % 12,034 67 17,200 -8,353 3.0257 21 30 % 0 %
160 Djibouti 988,000 1.48 % 14,440 43 23,180 900 2.7577 27 79 % 0 %
161 Fiji 896,445 0.73 % 6,492 49 18,270 -6,202 2.7874 28 59.1 % 0 %
162 Réunion 895,312 0.72 % 6,385 358 2,500 -1,256 2.2735 36 99.8 % 0 %
163 Comoros 869,601 2.2 % 18,715 467 1,861 -2,000 4.2365 20 29.4 % 0 %
164 Guyana 786,552 0.48 % 3,786 4 196,850 -6,000 2.4728 27 26.9 % 0 %
165 Bhutan 771,608 1.12 % 8,516 20 38,117 320 2 28 45.8 % 0 %
166 Solomon Islands 686,884 2.55 % 17,061 25 27,990 -1,600 4.435 20 23.2 % 0 %
167 Macao 649,335 1.39 % 8,890 21,645 30 5,000 1.2 39 N.A. 0 %
168 Montenegro 628,066 0.01 % 79 47 13,450 -480 1.7506 39 67.6 % 0 %
169 Luxembourg 625,978 1.66 % 10,249 242 2,590 9,741 1.45 40 88.2 % 0 %
170 Western Sahara 597,339 2.55 % 14,876 2 266,000 5,582 2.4149 28 86.8 % 0 %
171 Suriname 586,632 0.9 % 5,260 4 156,000 -1,000 2.4298 29 65.1 % 0 %
172 Cabo Verde 555,987 1.1 % 6,052 138 4,030 -1,342 2.2885 28 68 % 0 %
173 Micronesia 548,914 1 % 5,428 784 700 -2,957 2.858000189 27 68.2 % 0 %
174 Maldives 540,544 1.81 % 9,591 1,802 300 11,370 1.88 30 34.5 % 0 %
175 Malta 441,543 0.27 % 1,171 1,380 320 900 1.45 43 93.2 % 0 %
176 Brunei 437,479 0.97 % 4,194 83 5,270 0 1.8482 32 79.5 % 0 %
177 Guadeloupe 400,124 0.02 % 68 237 1,690 -1,440 2.17 44 N.A. 0 %
178 Belize 397,628 1.86 % 7,275 17 22,810 1,200 2.32 25 46.1 % 0 %
179 Bahamas 393,244 0.97 % 3,762 39 10,010 1,000 1.76 32 86.1 % 0 %
180 Martinique 375,265 -0.08 % -289 354 1,060 -960 1.88 47 91.6 % 0 %
181 Iceland 341,243 0.65 % 2,212 3 100,250 380 1.77 37 94.4 % 0 %
182 Vanuatu 307,145 2.42 % 7,263 25 12,190 120 3.8 21 24.4 % 0 %
183 French Guiana 298,682 2.7 % 7,850 4 82,200 1,200 3.36 25 87.3 % 0 %
184 Barbados 287,375 0.12 % 350 668 430 -79 1.62 40 31.2 % 0 %
185 New Caledonia 285,498 0.97 % 2,748 16 18,280 502 1.97 34 71.9 % 0 %
186 French Polynesia 280,908 0.58 % 1,621 77 3,660 -1,000 1.95 34 64.1 % 0 %
187 Mayotte 272,815 2.5 % 6,665 728 375 0 3.7289 20 45.8 % 0 %
188 Sao Tome & Principe 219,159 1.91 % 4,103 228 960 -1,680 4.35 19 74 % 0 %
189 Samoa 198,414 0.67 % 1,317 70 2,830 -2,803 3.9029 22 18 % 0 %
190 Saint Lucia 183,627 0.46 % 837 301 610 0 1.4442 34 18.6 % 0 %
191 Channel Islands 173,863 0.93 % 1,604 915 190 1,351 1.502 43 29.8 % 0 %
192 Guam 168,775 0.89 % 1,481 313 540 -506 2.3193 31 94.9 % 0 %
193 Curaçao 164,093 0.41 % 669 370 444 515 1.76 42 88.7 % 0 %
194 Kiribati 119,449 1.57 % 1,843 147 810 -800 3.5836 23 57 % 0 %
195 Grenada 112,523 0.46 % 520 331 340 -200 2.0732 32 35.5 % 0 %
196 St. Vincent & Grenadines 110,940 0.32 % 351 284 390 -200 1.9019 33 52.9 % 0 %
197 Aruba 106,766 0.43 % 452 593 180 201 1.9 41 43.6 % 0 %
198 Tonga 105,695 1.15 % 1,201 147 720 -800 3.5763 22 24.3 % 0 %
199 U.S. Virgin Islands 104,425 -0.15 % -153 298 350 -451 2.0458 43 96.3 % 0 %
200 Seychelles 98,347 0.62 % 608 214 460 -200 2.46 34 56.2 % 0 %
201 Antigua and Barbuda 97,929 0.84 % 811 223 440 0 2 34 26.2 % 0 %
202 Isle of Man 85,033 0.53 % 449 149 570 N.A. N.A. 53.4 % 0 %
203 Andorra 77,265 0.16 % 123 164 470 N.A. N.A. 87.8 % 0 %
204 Dominica 71,986 0.25 % 178 96 750 N.A. N.A. 74.1 % 0 %
205 Cayman Islands 65,722 1.19 % 774 274 240 N.A. N.A. 97.2 % 0 %
206 Bermuda 62,278 -0.36 % -228 1,246 50 N.A. N.A. 97.4 % 0 %
207 Marshall Islands 59,190 0.68 % 399 329 180 N.A. N.A. 70 % 0 %
208 Northern Mariana Islands 57,559 0.6 % 343 125 460 N.A. N.A. 88.3 % 0 %
209 Greenland 56,770 0.17 % 98 0 410,450 N.A. N.A. 87.3 % 0 %
210 American Samoa 55,191 -0.22 % -121 276 200 N.A. N.A. 88.1 % 0 %
211 Saint Kitts & Nevis 53,199 0.71 % 376 205 260 N.A. N.A. 32.9 % 0 %
212 Faeroe Islands 48,863 0.38 % 185 35 1,396 N.A. N.A. 43.3 % 0 %
213 Sint Maarten 42,876 1.15 % 488 1,261 34 N.A. N.A. 96.5 % 0 %
214 Monaco 39,242 0.71 % 278 26,337 1 N.A. N.A. N.A. 0 %
215 Turks and Caicos 38,717 1.38 % 526 41 950 N.A. N.A. 89.3 % 0 %
216 Saint Martin 38,666 1.75 % 664 730 53 N.A. N.A. 0 % 0 %
217 Liechtenstein 38,128 0.29 % 109 238 160 N.A. N.A. 14.6 % 0 %
218 San Marino 33,931 0.21 % 71 566 60 N.A. N.A. 97.1 % 0 %
219 Gibraltar 33,691 -0.03 % -10 3,369 10 N.A. N.A. N.A. 0 %
220 British Virgin Islands 30,231 0.67 % 201 202 150 N.A. N.A. 52.4 % 0 %
221 Caribbean Netherlands 26,223 0.94 % 244 80 328 N.A. N.A. 75 % 0 %
222 Palau 18,094 0.48 % 86 39 460 N.A. N.A. N.A. 0 %
223 Cook Islands 17,564 0.09 % 16 73 240 N.A. N.A. 75.3 % 0 %
224 Anguilla 15,003 0.9 % 134 167 90 N.A. N.A. N.A. 0 %
225 Tuvalu 11,792 1.25 % 146 393 30 N.A. N.A. 62.4 % 0 %
226 Wallis & Futuna 11,239 -1.69 % -193 80 140 N.A. N.A. 0 % 0 %
227 Nauru 10,824 0.63 % 68 541 20 N.A. N.A. N.A. 0 %
228 Saint Barthelemy 9,877 0.3 % 30 470 21 N.A. N.A. 0 % 0 %
229 Saint Helena 6,077 0.3 % 18 16 390 N.A. N.A. 27.2 % 0 %
230 Saint Pierre & Miquelon 5,794 -0.48 % -28 25 230 N.A. N.A. 99.8 % 0 %
231 Montserrat 4,992 0.06 % 3 50 100 N.A. N.A. 9.6 % 0 %
232 Falkland Islands 3,480 3.05 % 103 0 12,170 N.A. N.A. 66 % 0 %
233 Niue 1,626 0.68 % 11 6 260 N.A. N.A. 46.4 % 0 %
234 Tokelau 1,357 1.27 % 17 136 10 N.A. N.A. 0 % 0 %
235 Holy See 801 0.25 % 2 2,003 0 N.A. N.A. N.A. 0 %

How many people have ever lived on earth?

It was written during the 1970s that 75% of the people who had ever been born were alive at that moment. This was grossly false.

Assuming that we start counting from about 50,000 B.C., the time when modern Homo sapiens appeared on the earth (and not from 700,000 B.C. when the ancestors of Homo sapiens appeared, or several million years ago when hominids were present), taking into account that all population data are a rough estimate, and assuming a constant growth rate applied to each period up to modern times, it has been estimated that a total of approximately 106 billion people have been born since the dawn of the human species, making the population currently alive roughly 6% of all people who have ever lived on planet Earth.

Others have estimated the number of human beings who have ever lived to be anywhere from 45 billion to 125 billion, with most estimates falling into the range of 90 to 110 billion humans.

World Population clock: sources and methodology

The world population counter displayed on Worldometer takes into consideration data from two major sources: the United Nations and the U.S. Census Bureau.

  1. The United Nations Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs every two years calculates, updates, and publishes estimates of total population in its World Population Prospects series. These population estimates and projections provide the standard and consistent set of population figures that are used throughout the United Nations system.

    The World Population Prospect: the 2022 Revision provides the most recent data available (released in July of 2022). Estimates and projected world population and country specific populations are given from 1950 through 2100 and are released every two years. Worldometer, as it is common practice, utilizes the medium fertility estimates.

    Data underlying the population estimates are national and sub national census data and data on births, deaths, and migrants available from national sources and publications, as well as from questionnaires. For all countries, census and registration data are evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted for incompleteness by the Population Division as part of its preparations of the official United Nations population estimates and projections.

  2. The International Programs Center at the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division also develops estimates and projections based on analysis of available data (based on census, survey, and administrative information) on population, fertility, mortality, and migration for each country or area of the world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, world population reached 7 billion on March 12, 2012.

    For most countries adjustment of the data is necessary to correct for errors, omissions, and inconsistencies in the data. Finally, since most recent data for a single country is often at least two years old, the current world population figure is necessarily a projection of past data based on assumed trends. As new data become available, assumptions and data are reevaluated and past conclusions and current figures may be modified.

    For information about how these estimates and projections are made by the U.S. Census Bureau, see the Population Estimates and Projections Methodology.

Why Worldometer’s Population Clock is the most accurate

The above world population clock is based on the latest estimates released in July of 2022 by the United Nations. It will show the same number wherever you are in the world and whatever time you set on your PC.

Visitors around the world visiting a PC clock based counter, instead, will see different numbers depending on where they are located. This is the case with other world population clocks — such as the one hosted on a United Nations website, reaching 8 billion in 24 different instances (one per hour) on November 15, 2022, when each local time zone reached 12:10:08. Similarly, in 2011, the clocks on a UN website and on National Geographic — showed 7 billion whenever the visitor’s locally set PC clocks reached 4:21:10 AM on October 31, 2011.

Obviously, the UN data is based on estimates and can’t be 100% accurate, so in all honesty nobody can possibly say with any degree of certainty on which day world population reached 7 billion (or any other exact number), let alone at what time. But once an estimate is made (based on the best data and analysis available), the world population clock should be showing the same number at any given time anywhere around the world.

8,075,561,331

Current population

4,074,566,398

Current male population (50.5%)

4,000,994,932

Current female population (49.5%)

44,209,475

Births year to date

296,583

Births today

17,270,969

Deaths year to date

115,864

Deaths today

0

Net migration year to date

0

Net migration today

26,938,506

Population growth year to date

180,719

Population growth today

14-04-2023 17:41:20

Contents

  1. Top 5 death causes clock
  2. World population clock
  3. Top 20 countries
  4. Population in 2023
  5. Demographics in 2022
  6. Population density
  7. Global religions
  8. Global age structure
  9. Global life expectancy
  10. Global literacy
  11. World historical population
  12. Population projection

Top 5 death causes in the World

today This year
Coronary artery disease

Connecting . . .

15.51 %

Connecting . . .

Stroke

Connecting . . .

11.06 %

Connecting . . .

Lower respiratory tract infection

Connecting . . .

5.65 %

Connecting . . .

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Connecting . . .

5.62 %

Connecting . . .

Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers

Connecting . . .

3.00 %

Connecting . . .

Source: deathmeters.info

World population — is the total number of humans currently living in the World.
As of today, the total population of the world is around 8.08 billion people.
The first billion was reached around 1800 and in just 200 years we reached 7 billion.

According to Population Division of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs , these are the main milestones:

  • 1 billion — 1804
  • 2 billion — 1927 (in 123 years)
  • 3 billion — 1960 (in 33 years)
  • 4 billion — 1974 (in 14 years)
  • 5 billion — 1987 (in 13 years)
  • 6 billion — October 12, 1999 (in 12 years)
  • 7 billion — October 31, 2011 (in 12 years)

World population is expected to reach 8 billion people in 2023 according to our estimates.

Currently, the world population is increasing by more than 90 million per year.
The Global sex ratio is 1.018. It means that we have slightly more men then women.
The median age of the world’s population is estimated to be 31 years in 2020 (30.3 and 31.8 for male and female accordingly)
.

More than 70% of the world population live in 20 most populous countries of the world. There are just 2 countries in the world with a population more than 1 billion people: China and India. About 36 % of the World population live just in these two countries. Despite the fact that China is curently the most populous country in the world, India’s population growths much faster. And in 2023 India is expected to become the most populous country in the world.

More than half of the world’s population identify with a religious group. The biggest groups are: Christianity (32%) and Islam (24%).

Top 20 most populous countries (14-04-2023)

1 China 1,461,045,393 18.09%
2 India 1,430,834,954 17.72%
3 United States of America (USA) 338,267,913 4.19%
4 Indonesia 283,666,973 3.51%
5 Pakistan 234,214,437 2.90%
6 Nigeria 221,948,529 2.75%
7 Brazil 218,202,414 2.70%
8 Bangladesh 170,417,652 2.11%
9 Russian Federation 146,099,960 1.81%
10 Mexico 134,109,402 1.66%
11 Japan 126,177,445 1.56%
12 Ethiopia 123,239,007 1.53%
13 Philippines 114,606,638 1.42%
14 Egypt 108,813,493 1.35%
15 Vietnam 100,511,819 1.24%
16 Democratic Republic of the Congo 97,685,698 1.21%
17 Turkey 88,615,502 1.10%
18 Iran 86,975,836 1.08%
19 Germany 83,824,319 1.04%
20 Thailand 70,579,666 0.87%

This list includes 20 most populous countries in the World. Approximately 5.64 billion people live in these twenty countries, or around 70% of the world’s population.

See also: Full List of countries and dependent territories of the World by population

World population 2023

The population of the world is projected to increase by 100,752,643 people in 2023 and reach 8,147,701,961 in the end of the year. The natural increase is expected to be positive, as the number of births will exceed the number of deaths by 100,254,836.

Population change rates in 2023

According to our estimations, daily change rates of world population in 2023 will be the following:

  • 447,586 live births average per day (18,649.42 in an hour)
  • 172,915 deaths average per day (7,204.80 in an hour)

The population of World will be increasing by 276,035 persons daily in 2023.

Demographics of the World 2022

As of 1 January 2023, the population of the world was estimated to be 8,046,949,318.
This is an increase of 1.24 % (98,830,797 people) compared to population of 7,948,118,521 the year before.
In 2022 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 98,415,064.

Below are the key figures for the world population in 2022:

  • 160,747,971 live births
  • 62,332,907 deaths
  • 4,060,130,059 males as of 31 December 2022
  • 3,986,819,259 females as of 31 December 2022
  • 4,345,352,632 people live in urban areas (54 % of total world population)
    external link
  • 3,701,596,686 people live in rural areas (46 % of total world population)
    external link

Growth Rate 1952 — 2023

World population density

The world population density is 59.1 people per square kilometer (153.1 per mi2) as of April 2023.
This number is calculated using 8,046,949,318 people as the world population and 136,120,354 km2 (52,556,368 mi2)as Earth’s total area.
This is the sum of land and water areas within international boundaries and coastlines of all the countries in the world.

Since the Earth’s total area is about 510 million square kilometers, the world population density can be calculated in several ways:

  • 15.8 people/km2 (40.9/mi2) — the Earth’s total area (including land and water) is 510,072,000 km2 (196,939,921 mi2).
  • 53.5 people/km2 (138.5/mi2) — the Earth’s land area.
    This includes all continental and island land area as well as Antarctica. The area in that case is 150,461,685 km2 (58,093,588 mi2).
  • 59.1 people/km2 (153.1/mi2) —
    sum of land and water areas within international boundaries and coastlines of all the countries in the world. The area in that case is 136,120,354 km2 (52,556,368 mi2).

See also:

List of countries by surface area and density by United Nations Statistics Division
external link

Map and list of the world by density of population at worldstat.info
external link

Religion of the World

Religion Number of followers Percentage of
total population
Christianity 2,549,761,536 31.7 %
Islam 2,013,192,037 25.0 %
Religiously Unaffiliated 1,221,465,803 15.2 %
Hinduism 1,198,451,609 14.9 %
Buddhism 529,055,084 6.6 %
Folk or traditional religions 451,759,687 5.6 %
Other 68,003,229 0.8 %
Judaism 15,260,333 0.2 %

Source: Pew Research Center. The Global Religious Landscape

external link.

Number of followers estimated by Countrymeters
external link ( January 1 2023).

Global age structure

As of the beginning of 2023 according to our estimates the world had the following population age distribution:

— percentage of population under 15
— percentage of population between 15 and 64 years old
— percentage of population 65+

In absolute figures (estimate):

  • 2,084,569,466 young people under 15 years old (
    1,077,744,528 males / 1,006,828,378 females)
  • 5,081,333,771 persons between 15 and 64 years old (
    2,569,398,787 males / 2,511,954,917 females)
  • 590,141,646 persons above 64 years old (
    261,787,349 males / 328,342,163 females)

We prepared a simplified model of the population distribution pyramid which is broken down into 3 main age groups.
The groups are the same as we used above: population under 15, between 15 and 64 and population which is over 65 year old.

65+
15-64
0-14
male female

As we can see the World population pyramid has an expanding type. This type of pyramid is common for developing countries with declining fertility rate but still high birth and death rates.

World life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth is one of the most important demographic indicator.
It shows the number of years a newborn infant would live assuming that birth and death rates will remain at the same level during the whole lifetime.

According to Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations,
life expectancy at birth for the world as a whole increased from 65 years in 1990-1995 to 70 years in 2010-2015.
Although wide disparities persist such that the average length of life in Africa in 2010-2015, for example,
is 12 years shorter than the global average and 21 years shorter than in Northern America — see figure below.

external link

Figure: Life expectancy at birth by major areas

Global life expectancy chart

Global literacy

According to our estimates 4,894,412,455 persons or 86.3% of adult population (aged 15 years and above) in the world
are able to read and write.
Accordingly about 777,070,761 adults are illiterate.

Literacy rate for adult male population is 89.96% (2,546,850,112 persons). 284,336,024 are illiterate.
Literacy rate for adult female population is 82.65% (2,347,562,343 persons). 492,734,737 are illiterate.

Youth literacy rates are 92.81% and 90.13% for males and females accordingly.
The overall youth literacy rate is 91.51%. Youth literacy rate definition covers the population between the ages of 15 to 24 years.

Source: The estimation data for section «World
population literacy» is based on the latest data published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (retrieved March 13, 2016)

external link.

World historical population (1951 — 2023)

The data is given as of 1st of January of an year.

World population history

Year Population Growth Rate
1951 2,560,406,604 N/A %
1952 2,607,553,997 1.84 %
1953 2,654,405,334 1.80 %
1954 2,701,399,657 1.77 %
1955 2,749,108,690 1.77 %
1956 2,797,843,787 1.77 %
1957 2,848,060,613 1.79 %
1958 2,899,688,319 1.81 %
1959 2,952,829,301 1.83 %
1960 3,008,337,351 1.88 %
1961 3,064,572,222 1.87 %
1962 3,122,342,316 1.89 %
1963 3,181,956,882 1.91 %
1964 3,243,686,348 1.94 %
1965 3,308,102,778 1.99 %
1966 3,375,113,774 2.03 %
1967 3,444,745,982 2.06 %
1968 3,516,519,814 2.08 %
1969 3,590,108,316 2.09 %
1970 3,664,557,571 2.07 %
1971 3,739,627,183 2.05 %
1972 3,815,162,572 2.02 %
1973 3,891,308,177 2.00 %
1974 3,967,410,338 1.96 %
1975 4,043,288,795 1.91 %
1976 4,118,650,244 1.86 %
1977 4,193,794,699 1.82 %
1978 4,268,758,390 1.79 %
1979 4,344,292,968 1.77 %
1980 4,420,957,100 1.76 %
1981 4,499,346,118 1.77 %
1982 4,579,073,550 1.77 %
1983 4,660,399,347 1.78 %
1984 4,743,637,344 1.79 %
1985 4,829,473,423 1.81 %
1986 4,917,794,826 1.83 %
1987 5,008,635,951 1.85 %
1988 5,100,973,495 1.84 %
1989 5,193,588,212 1.82 %
1990 5,284,512,394 1.75 %
1991 5,372,958,607 1.67 %
1992 5,458,709,589 1.60 %
1993 5,542,505,600 1.54 %
1994 5,624,649,220 1.48 %
1995 5,705,987,737 1.45 %
1996 5,786,776,201 1.42 %
1997 5,867,328,462 1.39 %
1998 5,947,157,474 1.36 %
1999 6,026,548,295 1.33 %
2000 6,105,725,477 1.31 %
2001 6,185,028,231 1.30 %
2002 6,264,168,230 1.28 %
2003 6,343,448,736 1.27 %
2004 6,423,033,915 1.25 %
2005 6,503,507,778 1.25 %
2006 6,584,702,481 1.25 %
2007 6,666,737,393 1.25 %
2008 6,749,422,837 1.24 %
2009 6,832,961,603 1.24 %
2010 6,916,843,009 1.23 %
2011 7,001,071,861 1.22 %
2012 7,085,473,969 1.21 %
2013 7,170,293,122 1.20 %
2014 7,255,029,148 1.18 %
2015 7,339,619,737 1.17 %
2016 7,423,834,158 1.15 %
2017 7,507,990,494 1.13 %
2018 7,591,515,998 1.11 %
2019 7,674,314,922 1.09 %
2020 7,756,041,003 1.06 %
2021 7,851,163,856 1.23 %
2022 7,948,118,521 1.23 %
2023 8,046,949,318 1.24 %

The data is given as of 1st of January of an year.

Population projection (2020-2100)

Year Population Growth Rate
2020 7,797,322,395 -3.10 %
2025 8,187,482,626 5.00 %
2030 8,553,090,972 4.47 %
2035 8,894,594,868 3.99 %
2040 9,212,224,932 3.57 %
2045 9,506,070,389 3.19 %
2050 9,773,651,653 2.81 %
2055 10,012,946,343 2.45 %
2060 10,224,315,824 2.11 %
2065 10,411,449,013 1.83 %
2070 10,577,408,925 1.59 %
2075 10,723,432,838 1.38 %
2080 10,850,084,849 1.18 %
2085 10,958,838,946 1.00 %
2090 11,051,228,331 0.84 %
2095 11,127,099,242 0.69 %
2100 11,185,333,718 0.52 %

The data is given as of 1st of July of an year (medium fertility variant).

Source : United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Population Division external link

World population growth from 10,000 BCE to 2021

World population growth from 10,000 BCE to 2021[1]

High, medium, and low projections of the future human world population[2]

In demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently living. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded eight billion in mid-November 2022. It took over 200,000 years of human prehistory and history for the human population to reach one billion and only 219 years more to reach 8 billion.[3]

The human population experienced continuous growth following the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the end of the Black Death in 1350, when it was nearly 370,000,000.[4] The highest global population growth rates, with increases of over 1.8% per year, occurred between 1955 and 1975, peaking at 2.1% between 1965 and 1970.[5] The growth rate declined to 1.1% between 2015 and 2020 and is projected to decline further in the 21st century.[6] The global population is still increasing, but there is significant uncertainty about its long-term trajectory due to changing fertility and mortality rates.[7] The UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs projects between 9 and 10 billion people by 2050 and gives an 80% confidence interval of 10–12 billion by the end of the 21st century,[2] with a growth rate by then of zero. Other demographers predict that the human population will begin to decline in the second half of the 21st century.[8]

The total number of births globally is currently (2015–2020) 140 million/year, which is projected to peak during the period 2040–2045 at 141 million/year and then decline slowly to 126 million/year by 2100.[9] The total number of deaths is currently 57 million/year and is projected to grow steadily to 121 million/year by 2100.[10]

The median age of human beings as of 2020 is 31 years.[11]

History

Visual comparison of the world population in past and present

Estimates of world population by their nature are an aspect of modernity, possible only since the Age of Discovery. Early estimates for the population of the world[12] date to the 17th century: William Petty, in 1682, estimated the world population at 320 million (current estimates ranging close to twice this number); by the late 18th century, estimates ranged close to one billion (consistent with current estimates).[13] More refined estimates, broken down by continents, were published in the first half of the 19th century, at 600 million to 1 billion in the early 1800s and 800 million to 1 billion in the 1840s.[14]

It is difficult for estimates to be better than rough approximations, as even current population estimates are fraught with uncertainties from 3% to 5%.[15]

Ancient and post-classical history

Estimates of the population of the world at the time agriculture emerged in around 10,000 BC have ranged between 1 million and 15 million.[16][17] Even earlier, genetic evidence suggests humans may have gone through a population bottleneck of between 1,000 and 10,000 people about 70,000 BC, according to the now largely discredited Toba catastrophe theory. By contrast, it is estimated that around 50–60 million people lived in the combined eastern and western Roman Empire in the 4th century AD.[18]

The Plague of Justinian caused Europe’s population to drop by around 50% between the 6th and 8th centuries AD.[19] The population of Europe was more than 70 million in 1340.[20] From 1340 to 1400, the world’s population fell from an estimated 443 million to 350–375 million,[21] with the Indian subcontinent suffering the most tremendous loss and Europe suffering the Black Death pandemic;[22] it took 200 years for European population figures to recover.[23] The population of China decreased from 123 million in 1200 to 65 million in 1393,[24] presumably from a combination of Mongol invasions, famine, and plague.[25]

Starting in AD 2, the Han dynasty of ancient China kept consistent family registers to properly assess the poll taxes and labor service duties of each household.[26] In that year, the population of Western Han was recorded as 57,671,400 individuals in 12,366,470 households, decreasing to 47,566,772 individuals in 9,348,227 households by AD 146, towards the end of the Han dynasty.[26] From 200 to 400, the world population fell from an estimated 257 million to 206 million, with China suffering the greatest loss.[22] At the founding of the Ming dynasty in 1368, China’s population was reported to be close to 60 million; toward the end of the dynasty in 1644, it may have approached 150 million.[27] England’s population reached an estimated 5.6 million in 1650, up from an estimated 2.6 million in 1500.[28] New crops that were brought to Asia and Europe from the Americas by Portuguese and Spanish colonists in the 16th century are believed to have contributed to population growth.[29][30][31] Since their introduction to Africa by Portuguese traders in the 16th century,[32] maize and cassava have similarly replaced traditional African crops as the most important staple food crops grown on the continent.[33]

The pre-Columbian population of the Americas is uncertain; historian David Henige called it «the most unanswerable question in the world.»[34] By the end of the 20th century, scholarly consensus favored an estimate of roughly 55 million people, but numbers from various sources have ranged from 10 million to 100 million.[35] Encounters between European explorers and populations in the rest of the world often introduced local epidemics of extraordinary virulence.[36] According to the most extreme scholarly claims, as many as 90% of the Native American population of the New World died of Old World diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza.[37] Over the centuries, the Europeans had developed high degrees of immunity to these diseases, while the indigenous peoples had no such immunity.[38]

Modern history

Map showing urban areas with at least one million inhabitants in 2006. Only 3% of the world’s population lived in urban areas in 1800; this proportion had risen to 47% by 2000, and reached 50.5% by 2010.[39] By 2050, the proportion may reach 70%.[40]

During the European Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically.[41] The percentage of the children born in London who died before the age of five decreased from 74.5% in 1730–1749 to 31.8% in 1810–1829.[42][43] Between 1700 and 1900, Europe’s population increased from about 100 million to over 400 million.[44] Altogether, the areas populated by people of European descent comprised 36% of the world’s population in 1900.[45]

Population growth in the Western world became more rapid after the introduction of vaccination and other improvements in medicine and sanitation.[46] Improved material conditions led to the population of Britain increasing from 10 million to 40 million in the 19th century.[47] The population of the United Kingdom reached 60 million in 2006.[48] The United States saw its population grow from around 5.3 million in 1800 to 106 million in 1920, exceeding 307 million in 2010.[49]

The first half of the 20th century in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union was marked by a succession of major wars, famines and other disasters which caused large-scale population losses (approximately 60 million excess deaths).[50][51] After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s population declined significantly – from 150 million in 1991 to 143 million in 2012[52] – but by 2013 this decline appeared to have halted.[53]

Many countries in the developing world have experienced extremely rapid population growth since the early 20th century, due to economic development and improvements in public health. China’s population rose from approximately 430 million in 1850 to 580 million in 1953,[54] and now stands at over 1.3 billion. The population of the Indian subcontinent, which was about 125 million in 1750, increased to 389 million in 1941;[55] today, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are collectively home to about 1.63 billion people.[56] Java, an island in Indonesia, had about 5 million inhabitants in 1815; it had a population of over 139 million in 2020.[57] In just one hundred years, the population of Brazil decupled (x10), from about 17 million in 1900, or about 1% of the world population in that year, to about 176 million in 2000, or almost 3% of the global population in the very early 21st century. Mexico’s population grew from 13.6 million in 1900 to about 112 million in 2010.[58][59] Between the 1920s and 2000s, Kenya’s population grew from 2.9 million to 37 million.[60]

Milestones by the billions

World population milestones in billions[61] (Worldometers estimates)

Population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Year 1804 1930 1960 1974 1987 1999 2011 2022 2037 2057
Years elapsed 200,000+ 126 30 14 13 12 12 11 15 20

The UN estimated that the world population reached one billion for the first time in 1804. It was another 123 years before it reached two billion in 1927, but it took only 33 years to reach three billion in 1960.[62] Thereafter, it took 14 years for the global population to reach four billion in 1974, 13 years to reach five billion in 1987, 12 years to reach six billion in 1999 and, according to the United States Census Bureau, 13 years to reach seven billion in March 2012.[63] The United Nations, however, estimated that the world population reached seven billion in October 2011.[64][65][66]

According to the UN, the global population reached eight billion in November 2022,[67] but because the growth rate is slowing, it will take another 15 years to reach around 9 billion by 2037 and 20 years to reach 10 billion by 2057.[68] Alternative scenarios for 2050 range from a low of 7.4 billion to a high of more than 10.6 billion.[69] Projected figures vary depending on underlying statistical assumptions and the variables used in projection calculations, especially the fertility and mortality variables. Long-range predictions to 2150 range from a population decline to 3.2 billion in the «low scenario», to «high scenarios» of 24.8 billion.[69] One extreme scenario predicted a massive increase to 256 billion by 2150, assuming the global fertility rate remained at its 1995 level of 3.04 children per woman; however, by 2010 the global fertility rate had declined to 2.52.[70][71]

There is no estimation for the exact day or month the world’s population surpassed one or two billion. The points at which it reached three and four billion were not officially noted, but the International Database of the United States Census Bureau placed them in July 1959 and April 1974 respectively. The United Nations did determine, and commemorate, the «Day of 5 Billion» on 11 July 1987, and the «Day of 6 Billion» on 12 October 1999. The Population Division of the United Nations declared the «Day of Seven Billion» to be 31 October 2011.[72] The United Nations marked the birth of the eight billionth person on 15 November 2022.[73][67]

Global demographics

  •   >80

  •   77.5–80

  •   75–77.5

  •   72.5–75

  •   70–72.5

  •   67.5–70

  •   65–67.5

  •   60–65

  •   55–60

  •   50–55

2015 map showing average life expectancy by country in years. In 2015, the World Health Organization estimated the average global life expectancy as 71.4 years.[74]

As of 2012, the global sex ratio is approximately 1.01 males to 1 female.[75] Approximately 26.3% of the global population is aged under 15, while 65.9% is aged 15–64 and 7.9% is aged 65 or over.[75] The median age of the world’s population is estimated to be 31 years in 2020,[11] and is expected to rise to 37.9 years by 2050.[76]

According to the World Health Organization, the global average life expectancy is 73.3 years as of 2020, with women living an average of 75.9 years and men approximately 70.8 years.[77] In 2010, the global fertility rate was estimated at 2.44 children per woman.[78] In June 2012, British researchers calculated the total weight of Earth’s human population as approximately 287 million tonnes (630 billion pounds), with the average person weighing around 62 kilograms (137 lb).[79]

The IMF estimated nominal 2021 gross world product at US$94.94 trillion, giving an annual global per capita figure of around US$12,290.[80] Around 9.3% of the world population live in extreme poverty, subsisting on less than US$1.9 per day;[81] around 8.9% are malnourished.[82] 87% of the world’s over-15s are considered literate.[83] As of April 2022, there were about 5 billion global Internet users, constituting 63% of the world population.[84]

The Han Chinese are the world’s largest single ethnic group, constituting over 19% of the global population in 2011.[85] The world’s most-spoken languages are English (1.132B), Mandarin Chinese (1.117B), Hindi (615M), Spanish (534M) and French (280M). More than three billion people speak an Indo-European language, which is the largest language family by number of speakers. Standard Arabic is a language with no native speakers, but the total number of speakers is estimated at 274 million people.[86]

The largest religious categories in the world as of 2020 are estimated as follows: Christianity (31%), Islam (25%), Unaffiliated (16%) and Hinduism (15%).[87]

Population by region

Six of the Earth’s seven continents are permanently inhabited on a large scale.
Asia is the most populous continent, with its 4.64 billion inhabitants accounting for 60% of the world population. The world’s two most populated countries, China and India, together constitute about 36% of the world’s population.
Africa is the second most populated continent, with around 1.34 billion people, or 17% of the world’s population.
Europe’s 747 million people make up 10% of the world’s population as of 2020,
while the Latin American and Caribbean regions are home to around 653 million (8%). Northern America, primarily consisting of the United States and Canada, has a population of around 368 million (5%),
and Oceania, the least populated region, has about 42 million inhabitants (0.5%).[88] Antarctica only has a very small, fluctuating population of about 1200 people based mainly in polar science stations.[89]

Population by region (2020 estimates)

Region Density
(inhabitants/km2)
Population
(millions)
Most populous country Most populous city (metropolitan area)
Asia 104.1 4,641 1,411,778,000 –  China[note 1] 13,515,000 – Japan Tokyo Metropolis
(37,400,000 – Japan Greater Tokyo Area)
Africa 44.4 1,340 0,211,401,000 –  Nigeria 09,500,000 – Egypt Cairo
(20,076,000 – Egypt Greater Cairo)
Europe 73.4 747 0,146,171,000 –  Russia, approx. 110 million in Europe 13,200,000 – Russia Moscow
(20,004,000 – Russia Moscow metropolitan area)
Latin America 24.1 653 0,214,103,000 –  Brazil 12,252,000 – Brazil São Paulo City
(21,650,000 – Brazil São Paulo Metro Area)
Northern America[note 2] 14.9 368 0,332,909,000 –  United States 08,804,000 – United States New York City
(23,582,649 – United States New York metropolitan area[90])
Oceania 5 42 0,025,917,000 –  Australia 05,367,000 – Australia Sydney
Antarctica ~0 0.004[89] N/A[note 3] 00,001,258 – Antarctica McMurdo Station

Largest populations by country

Cartogram showing the distribution of the world population, each square represents half a million people.

A map of world population in 2019

1901 to 2021 population graph of the five countries with the highest current populations

10 most populous countries

Rank Country / Dependency Population Percentage
of the world
Date Source (official or from the United Nations)
1  China 1,412,600,000 17.6% 31 Dec 2021 National annual estimate[91]
2  India 1,373,761,000 17.1% 1 Mar 2022 Annual national estimate[92]
3  United States 333,894,776 4.16% 14 Apr 2023 National population clock[93]
4  Indonesia 275,773,800 3.44% 1 Jul 2022 National annual estimate[94]
5  Pakistan 229,488,994 2.86% 1 Jul 2022 UN projection[95]
6  Nigeria 216,746,934 2.70% 1 Jul 2022 UN projection[95]
7  Brazil 216,016,267 2.69% 14 Apr 2023 National population clock[96]
8  Bangladesh 168,220,000 2.10% 1 Jul 2020 Annual Population Estimate[97]
9  Russia 147,190,000 1.83% 1 Oct 2021 2021 preliminary census results[98]
10  Mexico 128,271,248 1.60% 31 Mar 2022 National quarterly estimate[99]

Approximately 4.5 billion people live in these ten countries, representing around 56% of the world’s population as of July 2022.

The UN estimates that by 2023 India will have overtaken China in having the largest population.[100][101]

World population (millions, UN estimates)[102]

# Most populous countries 2000 2015 2030[A]
1 China China[B] 1,270 1,376 1,416
2 India India 1,053 1,311 1,528
3 United States United States 283 322 356
4 Indonesia Indonesia 212 258 295
5 Pakistan Pakistan 136 208 245
6 Brazil Brazil 176 206 228
7 Nigeria Nigeria 123 182 263
8 Bangladesh Bangladesh 131 161 186
9 Russia Russia 146 146 149
10 Mexico Mexico 103 127 148
World total 6,127 7,349 8,501
Notes:

  1. ^ 2030 = Medium variant.
  2. ^ China excludes Hong Kong and Macau.

Most densely populated countries

The tables below list the world’s most densely populated countries, both in absolute terms and in comparison to their total populations, as of November 2022. All areas and populations are from The World Factbook, unless otherwise noted.

Population density (people per km2) map of the world in 2020. Red areas denote regions of highest population density

10 most densely populated countries (with population above 5 million)[103]

Rank Country Population Area
(km2)
Density
(pop/km2)
1  Singapore 5,921,231 719 8,235
2  Bangladesh 165,650,475 148,460 1,116
3

 Palestine[104]

5,223,000 6,025 867
4  Taiwan 23,580,712 35,980 655
5  South Korea 51,844,834 99,720 520
6  Lebanon 5,296,814 10,400 509
7  Rwanda 13,173,730 26,338 500
8  Burundi 12,696,478 27,830 456
9  India 1,389,637,446 3,287,263 423
10  Netherlands 17,400,824 41,543 419
Countries ranking highly in both total population (more than 20 million people) and population density (more than 250 people per square kilometer)[103]

Rank Country Population Area
(km2)
Density
(pop/km2)
Population
trend[citation needed]
1  India 1,389,637,446 3,287,263 423 Growing
2  Pakistan 242,923,845 796,095 305 Rapidly growing
3  Bangladesh 165,650,475 148,460 1,116 Growing
4  Japan 124,214,766 377,915 329 Declining[105]
5  Philippines 114,597,229 300,000 382 Growing
6  Vietnam 103,808,319 331,210 313 Growing
7  United Kingdom 67,791,400 243,610 278 Growing
8  South Korea 51,844,834 99,720 520 Steady
9  Taiwan 23,580,712 35,980 655 Steady
10  Sri Lanka 23,187,516 65,610 353 Growing

Fluctuation

Estimates of population evolution in different continents between 1950 and 2050, according to the United Nations. The vertical axis is logarithmic and is in millions of people.

Population size fluctuates at differing rates in differing regions. Nonetheless, population growth has been the long-standing trend on all inhabited continents, as well as in most individual states. During the 20th century, the global population saw its greatest increase in known history, rising from about 1.6 billion in 1900 to over 6 billion in 2000[106] as the whole world entered the early phases of what has come to be called the «demographic transition». Some of the key factors contributing to this increase included the lessening of the mortality rate in many countries by improved sanitation and medical advances, and a massive increase in agricultural productivity attributed to the Green Revolution.[107][108] By 2000, there were approximately ten times as many people on Earth as there had been in 1700.

However, this rapid growth did not last. During the period 2000–2005, the United Nations estimates that the world’s population was growing at an annual rate of 1.3% (equivalent to around 80 million people), down from a peak of 2.1% during the period 1965–1970.[6] Globally, although the population growth rate has been steadily declining from its peak in 1968,[109] growth still remains high in Sub-Saharan Africa.[110]

In fact, during the 2010s, Japan and some countries in Europe began to reduce in population, due to sub-replacement fertility rates.[105]

In 2019, the United Nations reported that the rate of population growth continues to decline due to the ongoing global demographic transition. If this trend continues, the rate of growth may diminish to zero by 2100, concurrent with a world population plateau of 10.9 billion.[6][68] However, this is only one of many estimates published by the UN; in 2009, UN population projections for 2050 ranged between around 8 billion and 10.5 billion.[111] An alternative scenario is given by the statistician Jorgen Randers, who argues that traditional projections insufficiently take into account the downward impact of global urbanization on fertility. Randers’ «most likely scenario» reveals a peak in the world population in the early 2040s at about 8.1 billion people, followed by decline.[112] Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington professor of statistics and of sociology, states that «there’s a 70 percent probability the world population will not stabilize this century. Population, which had sort of fallen off the world’s agenda, remains a very important issue.»[113]

  • Estimated world population figures, 10,000 BC–AD 2000

    Estimated world population figures, 10,000 BC–AD 2000

  • Estimated world population figures, 10,000 BC–AD 2000 (in log y scale)

    Estimated world population figures, 10,000 BC–AD 2000 (in log y scale)

  • World population figures, 1950–2017

    World population figures, 1950–2017

Annual population growth

Global annual population growth[114]

Year Population Yearly growth Density
(pop/km2)
Urban population
% Number Number %
1951 2,584,034,261 1.88% 47,603,112 17 775,067,697 30%
1952 2,630,861,562 1.81% 46,827,301 18 799,282,533 30%
1953 2,677,608,960 1.78% 46,747,398 18 824,289,989 31%
1954 2,724,846,741 1.76% 47,237,781 18 850,179,106 31%
1955 2,773,019,936 1.77% 48,173,195 19 877,008,842 32%
1956 2,822,443,282 1.78% 49,423,346 19 904,685,164 32%
1957 2,873,306,090 1.80% 50,862,808 19 933,113,168 32%
1958 2,925,686,705 1.82% 52,380,615 20 962,537,113 33%
1959 2,979,576,185 1.84% 53,889,480 20 992,820,546 33%
1960 3,034,949,748 1.86% 55,373,563 20 1,023,845,517 34%
1961 3,091,843,507 1.87% 56,893,759 21 1,055,435,648 34%
1962 3,150,420,795 1.89% 58,577,288 21 1,088,376,703 35%
1963 3,211,001,009 1.92% 60,580,214 22 1,122,561,940 35%
1964 3,273,978,338 1.96% 62,977,329 22 1,157,813,355 35%
1965 3,339,583,597 2.00% 65,605,259 22 1,188,469,224 36%
1966 3,407,922,630 2.05% 68,339,033 23 1,219,993,032 36%
1967 3,478,769,962 2.08% 70,847,332 23 1,252,566,565 36%
1968 3,551,599,127 2.09% 72,829,165 24 1,285,933,432 36%
1969 3,625,680,627 2.09% 74,081,500 24 1,319,833,474 36%
1970 3,700,437,046 2.06% 74,756,419 25 1,354,215,496 37%
1971 3,775,759,617 2.04% 75,322,571 25 1,388,834,099 37%
1972 3,851,650,245 2.01% 75,890,628 26 1,424,734,781 37%
1973 3,927,780,238 1.98% 76,129,993 26 1,462,178,370 37%
1974 4,003,794,172 1.94% 76,013,934 27 1,501,134,655 37%
1975 4,079,480,606 1.89% 75,686,434 27 1,538,624,994 38%
1976 4,154,666,864 1.84% 75,186,258 28 1,577,376,141 38%
1977 4,229,506,060 1.80% 74,839,196 28 1,616,419,308 38%
1978 4,304,533,501 1.77% 75,027,441 29 1,659,306,117 39%
1979 4,380,506,100 1.76% 75,972,599 29 1,706,021,638 39%
1980 4,458,003,514 1.77% 77,497,414 30 1,754,201,029 39%
1981 4,536,996,762 1.77% 78,993,248 30 1,804,215,203 40%
1982 4,617,386,542 1.77% 80,389,780 31 1,854,134,229 40%
1983 4,699,569,304 1.78% 82,182,762 32 1,903,822,436 41%
1984 4,784,011,621 1.80% 84,442,317 32 1,955,106,433 41%
1985 4,870,921,740 1.82% 86,910,119 33 2,007,939,063 41%
1986 4,960,567,912 1.84% 89,646,172 33 2,062,604,394 42%
1987 5,052,522,147 1.85% 91,954,235 34 2,118,882,551 42%
1988 5,145,426,008 1.84% 92,903,861 35 2,176,126,537 42%
1989 5,237,441,558 1.79% 92,015,550 35 2,233,140,502 43%
1990 5,327,231,061 1.71% 89,789,503 36 2,290,228,096 43%
1991 5,414,289,444 1.63% 87,058,383 36 2,347,462,336 43%
1992 5,498,919,809 1.56% 84,630,365 37 2,404,337,297 44%
1993 5,581,597,546 1.50% 82,677,737 37 2,461,223,528 44%
1994 5,663,150,427 1.46% 81,552,881 38 2,518,254,111 44%
1995 5,744,212,979 1.43% 81,062,552 39 2,575,505,235 45%
1996 5,824,891,951 1.40% 80,678,972 39 2,632,941,583 45%
1997 5,905,045,788 1.38% 80,153,837 40 2,690,813,541 46%
1998 5,984,793,942 1.35% 79,748,154 40 2,749,213,598 46%
1999 6,064,239,055 1.33% 79,445,113 41 2,808,231,655 46%
2000 6,143,494,000 1.31% 79,255,000 41 2,868,308,000 46%
2001 6,222,627,000 1.29% 79,133,000 42 2,933,079,000 47%
2002 6,301,773,000 1.27% 79,147,000 42 3,001,808,000 47%
2003 6,381,185,000 1.26% 79,412,000 43 3,071,744,000 48%
2004 6,461,159,000 1.25% 79,974,000 43 3,143,045,000 48%
2005 6,541,907,000 1.25% 80,748,000 44 3,215,906,000 49%
2006 6,623,518,000 1.25% 81,611,000 44 3,289,446,000 50%
2007 6,705,947,000 1.24% 82,429,000 45 3,363,610,000 50%
2008 6,789,089,000 1.24% 83,142,000 46 3,439,719,000 50%
2009 6,872,767,000 1.23% 83,678,000 47 3,516,830,000 51%
2010 6,956,824,000 1.22% 84,057,000 47 3,594,868,000 51%
2011 7,041,194,000 1.21% 84,371,000 47 3,671,424,000 52%
2012 7,125,828,000 1.20% 84,634,000 48 3,747,843,000 52%
2013 7,210,582,000 1.19% 84,754,000 48 3,824,990,000 53%
2014 7,295,291,000 1.17% 84,709,000 49 3,902,832,000 53%
2015 7,379,797,000 1.16% 84,506,000 50 3,981,498,000 54%
2016 7,464,022,000 1.14% 84,225,000 50 4,060,653,000 54%
2017 7,547,859,000 1.12% 83,837,000 51 4,140,189,000 55%
2018 7,631,091,000 1.10% 83,232,000 51 4,219,817,000 55%
2019 7,713,468,000 1.08% 82,377,000 52 4,299,439,000 56%
2020 7,795,000,000 1.05% 81,331,000 52 4,378,900,000 56%

Population growth by region

The table below shows historical and predicted regional population figures in millions.[115][116][117] The availability of historical population figures varies by region.

World historical and predicted populations (in millions)[118][119][120]

Region 1500 1600 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 1999 2008 2010 2012 2050 2150
World 585 660 710 791 978 1,262 1,650 2,521 6,008 6,707 6,896 7,052 9,725 9,746
Africa 86 114 106 106 107 111 133 221 783 973 1,022 1,052 2,478 2,308
Asia 282 350 411 502 635 809 947 1,402 3,700 4,054 4,164 4,250 5,267 5,561
Europe 168 170 178 190 203 276 408 547 675 732 738 740 734 517
Latin America[Note 1] 40 20 10 16 24 38 74 167 508 577 590 603 784 912
Northern America[Note 1] 6 3 2 2 7 26 82 172 312 337 345 351 433 398
Oceania 3 3 3 2 2 2 6 13 30 34 37 38 57 51
World historical and predicted populations by percentage distribution[118][119]

Region 1500 1600 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 1999 2008 2010 2012 2050 2150
Africa 14.7 17.3 14.9 13.4 10.9 8.8 8.1 8.8 13.0 14.5 14.8 15.2 25.5 23.7
Asia 48.2 53.0 57.9 63.5 64.9 64.1 57.4 55.6 61.6 60.4 60.4 60.3 54.2 57.1
Europe 28.7 25.8 25.1 20.6 20.8 21.9 24.7 21.7 11.2 10.9 10.7 10.5 7.6 5.3
Latin America[Note 1] 6.8 3.0 1.4 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.5 6.6 8.5 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.1 9.4
Northern America[Note 1] 1.0 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.7 2.1 5.0 6.8 5.2 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.5 4.1
Oceania 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5

Past population

The following table gives estimates, in millions, of population in the past. The data for 1750 to 1900 are from the UN report «The World at Six Billion»[121] whereas the data from 1950 to 2015 are from a UN data sheet.[102]

Year World Africa Asia Europe Latin America
& Carib.[Note 1]
North America
[Note 1]
Oceania Notes
70,000 BC < 0.015 0 0 [122]
10,000 BC 4 [123]
8000 BC 5
6500 BC 5
5000 BC 5
4000 BC 7
3000 BC 14
2000 BC 27
1000 BC 50 7 33 9 [citation needed]
500 BC 100 14 66 16
AD 1 200 23 141 28
1000 400 70 269 50 8 1 2
1500 458 86 243 84 39 3 3
1600 580 114 339 111 10 3 3
1700 682 106 436 125 10 2 3
1750 791 106 502 163 16 2 2
1800 1,000 107 656 203 24 7 3
1850 1,262 111 809 276 38 26 2
1900 1,650 133 947 408 74 82 6
1950 2,525 229 1,394 549 169 172 12.7 [124]
1955 2,758 254 1,534 577 193 187 14.2
1960 3,018 285 1,687 606 221 204 15.8
1965 3,322 322 1,875 635 254 219 17.5
1970 3,682 366 2,120 657 288 231 19.7
1975 4,061 416 2,378 677 326 242 21.5
1980 4,440 478 2,626 694 365 254 23.0
1985 4,853 550 2,897 708 406 267 24.9
1990 5,310 632 3,202 721 447 281 27.0
1995 5,735 720 3,475 728 487 296 29.1
2000 6,127 814 3,714 726 527 314 31.1
2005 6,520 920 3,945 729 564 329 33.4
2010 6,930 1,044 4,170 735 600 344 36.4
2015 7,349 1,186 4,393 738 634 358 39.3

Using the above figures, the change in population from 2010 to 2015 was:

  • World: +420 million
  • Africa: +142 million
  • Asia: +223 million
  • Europe: +3 million
  • Latin America and Caribbean: +35 million
  • Northern America: +14 million
  • Oceania: +2.9 million
  1. ^ a b c d e f North America is here defined to include the northernmost countries and territories of North America: Canada, the United States, Greenland, Bermuda, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Latin America & Carib. comprises Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

Projections

Long-term global population growth is difficult to predict. The United Nations and the US Census Bureau both give different estimates – according to the UN, the world population reached seven billion in late 2011,[115] while the USCB asserted that this occurred in March 2012.[125] Since 1951 the UN has issued multiple projections of future world population, based on different assumptions. From 2000 to 2005, the UN consistently revised these projections downward, until the 2006 revision, issued on 14 March 2007, revised the 2050 mid-range estimate upwards by 273 million.[citation needed]

Complicating the UN’s and others’ attempts to project future populations is the fact that average global birth rates, as well as mortality rates, are declining rapidly, as the nations of the world progress through the stages of the demographic transition, but both vary greatly between developed countries (where birth rates and mortality rates are often low) and developing countries (where birth and mortality rates typically remain high). Different ethnicities also display varying birth rates.[citation needed] Both of these can change rapidly due to disease epidemics, wars and other mass catastrophes, or advances in medicine and public health.

The UN’s first report in 1951 showed that during the period 1950–55 the crude birth rate was 36.9/1,000 population and the crude death rate was 19.1/1,000.  By the period 2015–20 both numbers had dropped significantly to 18.5/1,000 for the crude birth rate and 7.5/1,000 for the crude death rate.  UN projections for 2100 show a further decline in the crude birth rate to 11.6/1,000 and an increase in the crude death rate to 11.2/1,000.[126],[127]

The total number of births globally is currently (2015–20) 140 million/year, is projected to peak during the period 2040–45 at 141 million/year and thereafter decline slowly to 126 million/year by 2100.[9] The total number of deaths is currently 57 million/year and is projected to grow steadily to 121 million/year by 2100.[10]

2012 United Nations projections show a continued increase in population in the near future with a steady decline in population growth rate; the global population is expected to reach between 8.3 and 10.9 billion by 2050.[128][129] 2003 UN Population Division population projections for the year 2150 range between 3.2 and 24.8 billion.[70] One of many independent mathematical models supports the lower estimate,[130] while a 2014 estimate forecasts between 9.3 and 12.6 billion in 2100, and continued growth thereafter.[131][132] The 2019 Revision of the UN estimates gives the «medium variant» population as; nearly 8.6 billion in 2030, about 9.7 billion in 2050 and about 10.9 billion in 2100.[133] In December 2019, the German Foundation for World Population projected that the global population will reach 8 billion by 2023 as it increases by 156 every minute.[134] In a modeled future projection by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation the global population was projected to peak in 2064 at 9.73 billion people and decline to 8.79 billion in 2100.[135] Some analysts have questioned the sustainability of further world population growth, highlighting the growing pressures on the environment,[136][137] global food supplies, and energy resources.[138][139][140]

UN (medium variant – 2019 revision) and US Census Bureau (June 2015) estimates[141][142]

Year UN est.
(millions)
Difference USCB est.
(millions)
Difference
2005 6,542 6,473
2010 6,957 415 6,866 393
2015 7,380 423 7,256 390
2020 7,795 415 7,643 380
2025 8,184 390 8,007 363
2030 8,549 364 8,341 334
2035 8,888 339 8,646 306
2040 9,199 311 8,926 280
2045 9,482 283 9,180 254
2050 9,735 253 9,408 228
UN 2019 estimates and medium variant projections (in millions)[141]

Year World Asia Africa Europe Latin America/Caribbean Northern America Oceania
2000 6,144 3,741 (60.9%) 811 (13.2%) 726 (11.8%) 522 (8.5%) 312 (5.1%) 31 (0.5%)
2005 6,542 3,978 (60.8%) 916 (14.0%) 729 (11.2%) 558 (8.5%) 327 (5.0%) 34 (0.5%)
2010 6,957 4,210 (60.5%) 1,039 (14.9%) 736 (10.6%) 591 (8.5%) 343 (4.9%) 37 (0.5%)
2015 7,380 4,434 (60.1%) 1,182 (16.0%) 743 (10.1%) 624 (8.5%) 357 (4.8%) 40 (0.5%)
2020 7,795 4,641 (59.5%) 1,341 (17.2%) 748 (9.6%) 654 (8.4%) 369 (4.7%) 43 (0.6%)
2025 8,184 4,823 (58.9%) 1,509 (18.4%) 746 (9.1%) 682 (8.3%) 380 (4.6%) 45 (0.6%)
2030 8,549 4,974 (58.2%) 1,688 (19.8%) 741 (8.7%) 706 (8.3%) 391 (4.6%) 48 (0.6%)
2035 8,888 5,096 (57.3%) 1,878 (21.1%) 735 (8.3%) 726 (8.2%) 401 (4.5%) 50 (0.6%)
2040 9,199 5,189 (56.4%) 2,077 (22.6%) 728 (7.9%) 742 (8.1%) 410 (4.5%) 53 (0.6%)
2045 9,482 5,253 (55.4%) 2,282 (24.1%) 720 (7.6%) 754 (8.0%) 418 (4.4%) 55 (0.6%)
2050 9,735 5,290 (54.3%) 2,489 (25.6%) 711 (7.3%) 762 (7.8%) 425 (4.4%) 57 (0.6%)
2055 9,958 5,302 (53.2%) 2,698 (27.1%) 700 (7.0%) 767 (7.7%) 432 (4.3%) 60 (0.6%)
2060 10,152 5,289 (52.1%) 2,905 (28.6%) 689 (6.8%) 768 (7.6%) 439 (4.3%) 62 (0.6%)
2065 10,318 5,256 (51.0%) 3,109 (30.1%) 677 (6.6%) 765 (7.4%) 447 (4.3%) 64 (0.6%)
2070 10,459 5,207 (49.8%) 3,308 (31.6%) 667 (6.4%) 759 (7.3%) 454 (4.3%) 66 (0.6%)
2075 10,577 5,143 (48.6%) 3,499 (33.1%) 657 (6.2%) 750 (7.1%) 461 (4.4%) 67 (0.6%)
2080 10,674 5,068 (47.5%) 3,681 (34.5%) 650 (6.1%) 739 (6.9%) 468 (4.4%) 69 (0.7%)
2085 10,750 4,987 (46.4%) 3,851 (35.8%) 643 (6.0%) 726 (6.8%) 474 (4.4%) 71 (0.7%)
2090 10,810 4,901 (45.3%) 4,008 (37.1%) 638 (5.9%) 711 (6.6%) 479 (4.4%) 72 (0.7%)
2095 10,852 4,812 (44.3%) 4,152 (38.3%) 634 (5.8%) 696 (6.4%) 485 (4.5%) 74 (0.7%)
2100 10,875 4,719 (43.4%) 4,280 (39.4%) 630 (5.8%) 680 (6.3%) 491 (4.5%) 75 (0.7%)

Mathematical approximations

In 1975, Sebastian von Hoerner proposed a formula for population growth which represented hyperbolic growth with an infinite population in 2025.[143] The hyperbolic growth of the world population observed until the 1970s was later correlated to a non-linear second-order positive feedback between demographic growth and technological development. This feedback can be described as follows: technological advance → increase in the carrying capacity of land for people → demographic growth → more people → more potential inventors → acceleration of technological advance → accelerating growth of the carrying capacity → faster population growth → accelerating growth of the number of potential inventors → faster technological advance → hence, the faster growth of the Earth’s carrying capacity for people, and so on.[144] The transition from hyperbolic growth to slower rates of growth is related to the demographic transition.

According to the Russian demographer Sergey Kapitsa,[145] the world population grew between 67,000 BC and 1965 according to the following formula:

{displaystyle N={frac {C}{tau }}operatorname {arccot} {frac {T_{0}-T}{tau }},}

where

N is current population,
T is the current year,
C = (1.86 ± 0.01)·1011,
T0 = 2007 ± 1,
tau = 42 ± 1.

Years for world population to double

According to linear interpolation and extrapolation of UNDESA population estimates, the world population has doubled, or will double, in the years listed in the tables below (with two different starting points). During the 2nd millennium, each doubling took roughly half as long as the previous doubling, fitting the hyperbolic growth model mentioned above. However, after 2024, it is unlikely that there will be another doubling of the global population in the 21st century.[146]

Historic chart showing the periods of time the world population has taken to double, from 1700 to 2000

Starting at 500 million

Population
(in billions)
0.5 1 2 4 8 16
Year 1500 1804 1927 1974 2022 n/a
Years elapsed 304 123 47 48
Starting at 375 million

Population
(in billions)
0.375 0.75 1.5 3 6 12
Year 1171 1715 1881 1960 1999 c. 2100[147]
Years elapsed 544 166 79 39 c. 100+

Number of humans who have ever lived

The total number of humans who have ever lived is estimated to be approximately 100 billion. Such estimates can only be rough approximations, as even modern population estimates are subject to uncertainty of around 3% to 5%.[15] Kapitsa (1996) cites estimates ranging between 80 and 150 billion.[148] The PRB puts the figure at 117 billion as of 2020, estimating that the current world population is 6.7% of all the humans who have ever lived.[149] Haub (1995) prepared another figure, updated in 2002 and 2011; the 2011 figure was approximately 107 billion.[150][151][152] Haub characterized this figure as an estimate that required «selecting population sizes for different points from antiquity to the present and applying assumed birth rates to each period».[151]

Robust population data only exist for the last two or three centuries. Until the late 18th century, few governments had ever performed an accurate census. In many early attempts, such as in Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire, the focus was on counting merely a subset of the population for purposes of taxation or military service.[153] Thus, there is a significant margin of error when estimating ancient global populations.

Pre-modern infant mortality rates are another critical factor for such an estimate; these rates are very difficult to estimate for ancient times due to a lack of accurate records. Haub (1995) estimates that around 40% of those who have ever lived did not survive beyond their first birthday. Haub also stated that «life expectancy at birth probably averaged only about ten years for most of human history»,[151] which is not to be mistaken for the life expectancy after reaching adulthood. The latter equally depended on period, location and social standing, but calculations identify averages from roughly 30 years upward.

See also

  • Demographics of the world
  • Anthropocene
  • Birth control
  • Coastal population growth
  • Demographic transition
  • Population decline
  • Doomsday argument
  • Family planning
  • Food security
  • Human overpopulation
  • Megacity
  • Natalism
  • One-child policy
  • Population growth
  • Population dynamics
  • Two-child policy

Lists:

  • List of population concern organizations
  • List of countries and dependencies by population
  • List of sovereign states and dependencies by total fertility rate
  • List of countries by population growth rate
  • List of countries by past and projected future population
  • List of countries by population in 1900
  • List of countries and dependencies by population density
  • List of largest cities
  • List of religious populations
  • Lists of organisms by population – for non-human global populations

Historical:

  • Historical censuses
  • Historical demography

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Excluding its Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau.
  2. ^ Excludes Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, which are included here under Latin America.
  3. ^ The Antarctic Treaty System limits the nature of national claims in Antarctica. Of the territorial claims in Antarctica, the Ross Dependency has the largest population.

References

  1. ^ «World population estimates and UN projection». Our World in Data. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b «World Population Prospects 2022 , Graphs / Profiles». United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2022.
  3. ^ Kight, Stef W.; Lysik, Tory (14 November 2022). «The human race at 8 billion». Axios. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  4. ^ Jean-Noël Biraben (1980), «An Essay Concerning Mankind’s Evolution». Population, Selected Papers. Vol. 4. pp. 1–13. Original paper in French:(b) Jean-Noël Biraben (1979).»Essai sur l’évolution du nombre des hommes». Population. Vol. 34 (no. 1). pp. 13–25.
  5. ^ «World Population Prospects». United Nations. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b c «World Population Prospects, Standard Projections, Archive, 2019 Revision». United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2019.
  7. ^ Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Roser, Max (9 May 2013). «World Population Growth». Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  8. ^ Cave, Damien; Bubola, Emma; Sang-Hun, Choe (22 May 2021). «Long Slide Looms for World Population, With Sweeping Ramifications». The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b «World Population Prospects 2019, Births file». United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2019.
  10. ^ a b «World Population Prospects 2019, Deaths file». United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2019.
  11. ^ a b «World», The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 19 October 2021, retrieved 1 November 2021
  12. ^ the compound «world population» becomes common from c. the 1930s, adapted from early 20th-century «world’s population»; pre-20th century authors use «population of the world».
  13. ^ «The population of the world, which Sir W. P. in 1682, stated at only 320 millions, has been estimated by some writers at about 730 million, by others, at upwards of 900 million; Mr. Wallace, of Edinburgh, conjectured it might amount to 1 billion, and this number has since generally been adopted who have noticed the subject;» The Monthly Magazine 4 (July–December 1797), p. 167.
  14. ^ 600 million: Simon Gray, The Happiness of States (1818), p. 356 Archived 6 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
    800 million: Gordon Hall, Samuel Newell, The Conversion of the World (1818), p. 10 Archived 6 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
    800 to 1000 million: John Redman Coxe, Considerations Respecting the Recognition of Friends in Another World (1845), p. 21 (footnote with references).
  15. ^ a b «[E]ven recent demographic data is accurate only from 3 to 5%, although in demography traditionally more digits are indicated than those having a meaning. This is partially due to the ethical difficulty in rounding off numbers that supposedly represent real people, officially counted during a census». Sergei P. Kapitza, «The phenomenological theory of world population growth», Physics-Uspekhi 39(1) 57–71 (1996).
  16. ^ Luc-Normand Tellier (2009). Urban world history: an economic and geographical perspective. p. 26. ISBN 978-2-7605-1588-8.
  17. ^ Ralph Thomlinson, 1975, Demographic Problems: Controversy over population control, 2nd Ed., Dickenson Publishing Company, Ecino, CA, ISBN 0-8221-0166-1.
  18. ^ Dr. Kenneth W. Harl (1998). «Population estimates of the Roman Empire». Tulane.edu. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  19. ^ «Plague, Plague Information, Black Death Facts, News, Photos». National Geographic. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
  20. ^ «History of Europe – Demographic and agricultural growth». Encyclopædia Britannica. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  21. ^ «Historical Estimates of World Population». Census.gov. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  22. ^ a b Biraben, Jean-Noël (1979). «Essai sur l’évolution du nombre des hommes». Population. 34 (1): 13–25. doi:10.2307/1531855. JSTOR 1531855. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  23. ^ Jay, Peter (17 July 2000). «A Distant Mirror». TIME Europe. 156 (3). Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  24. ^ Horst R. Thieme (2003). Mathematics in population biology. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-691-09291-1.
  25. ^ Graziella Caselli; Gillaume Wunsch & Jacques Vallin (2005). Demography: Analysis and Synthesis, Four Volume Set: A Treatise in Population. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-12-765660-1.
  26. ^ a b Nishijima, Sadao (1986), «The economic and social history of Former Han», in Twitchett, Denis; Loewe, Michael, Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch’in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp 595–96.
  27. ^ «Qing China’s Internal Crisis: Land Shortage, Famine, Rural Poverty». Columbia University: Asia for Educators. 2009. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  28. ^ «History of Europe – Demographics». Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  29. ^ «China’s Population: Readings and Maps». Columbia University: East Asian Curriculum Project. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  30. ^ «The Columbian Exchange». University of North Carolina. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  31. ^ Collingham, Lizzie (2006). Vindaloo: the Portuguese and the chilli pepper. Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 47–73. ISBN 978-0-19-988381-3.
  32. ^ «Super-Sized Cassava Plants May Help Fight Hunger in Africa». Ohio State University. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  33. ^ Brabazon, James (2000). Albert Schweitzer: a biography. Syracuse University Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-8156-0675-8.
  34. ^ «U.S. News & World Report: How many people were here before Columbus? Pick a number». 18 August 1997. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  35. ^ Snow, D. R (16 June 1995). «Microchronology and Demographic Evidence Relating to the Size of Pre-Columbian North American Indian Populations». Science. 268 (5217): 1601–1604. Bibcode:1995Sci…268.1601S. doi:10.1126/science.268.5217.1601. PMID 17754613. S2CID 8512954.
  36. ^ Arthur C. Aufderheide; Conrado Rodríguez-Martín & Odin Langsjoen (1998). The Cambridge encyclopedia of human paleopathology. Cambridge University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-521-55203-5.
  37. ^ «The Story Of… Smallpox – and other Deadly Eurasian Germs». Public Broadcasting Service. 2005. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  38. ^ Austin Alchon, Suzanne (2003). A pest in the land: new world epidemics in a global perspective. University of New Mexico Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8263-2871-7. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  39. ^ «World Demographics Profile 2012». Index Mundi. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  40. ^ «By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will be urban. Is that a good thing?». Fast Co. Design. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  41. ^ Population crises and cycles in history – A review by Claire Russell and W.M.S. Russell, Vicnet.net.au, archived from the original on 5 April 2011, retrieved 26 March 2015
  42. ^ Buer, Mabel C. (1926). Health, Wealth and Population in the Early Days of the Industrial Revolution. London: George Routledge & Sons. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-415-38218-2.
  43. ^ «The Foundling Hospital». BBC History. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  44. ^ «Modernization – Population Change». Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  45. ^ Graziella Caselli; Gillaume Wunsch & Jacques Vallin (2005). Demography: Analysis and Synthesis, Four Volume Set: A Treatise in Population. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-12-765660-1.
  46. ^ «Victorian Medicine – From Fluke to Theory». BBC History. 1 February 2002. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  47. ^ «A portrait of Britain in 2031». The Independent. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  48. ^ «UK population breaks through 60m». BBC News. 24 August 2006. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  49. ^ «US population through history». About.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  50. ^ Jay Winter, Emmanuel Sivan (2000). War and Remembrance in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0521794367. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  51. ^ Mark Harrison (2002). Accounting for War: Soviet Production, Employment, and the Defence Burden, 1940–1945. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-521-89424-1.
  52. ^ «Vladimir Putin vows to reverse Russian population decline». The Daily Telegraph. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  53. ^ «Russia’s Population Decline Said To Have ‘Stopped’«. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  54. ^ Schran, Peter (1978). «China’s demographic evolution 1850–1953 reconsidered». The China Quarterly. 75 (75): 639–646. doi:10.1017/S0305741000042594. JSTOR 652987. S2CID 154294204.
  55. ^ «Reintegrating India with the World Economy» (PDF). Peterson Institute for International Economics. 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  56. ^ «The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency». cia.gov. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  57. ^ «Java (island, Indonesia)». Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  58. ^ Jorge Durand (March 2004). «From Traitors to Heroes: 100 Years of Mexican Migration Policies». University of Guadalajara. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  59. ^ «Population and Housing Census: Mexico 2010» (PDF). University of Minnesota. 3 March 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  60. ^ Heinsohn, Gunnar (7 January 2008). «Kenya’s Violence: Exploding population». The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  61. ^ Nations, United. «World population to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022». United Nations. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  62. ^ «The World at Six Billion: Introduction» (PDF). United Nations. 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  63. ^ «U.S. Census Bureau – World POPClock Projection». July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2018. The number on this page is automatically updated daily.
  64. ^ «Population seven billion: UN sets out challenges». BBC News. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  65. ^ Coleman, Jasmine (31 October 2011). «World’s ‘seven billionth baby’ is born». The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  66. ^ «7 billion people is a ‘serious challenge». United Press International. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  67. ^ a b «World set to reach 8 billion people on 15 November 2022». United Nations Population Fund. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  68. ^ a b «World Population Prospects 2019, Total Population – Both Sexes file, Medium Variant tab». United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2019.
  69. ^ a b *«Ch. 5: Population Size and Composition» (PDF). World Population Prospects, the 2000 Revision. Vol. III. United Nations Population Division. p. 171. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
    • «Executive Summary» (PDF). World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision Volume III: Analytical Report. 2002. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
    • «World Population to 2300» (PDF). New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Population Division. 2004. pp. 3, 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
    • «World Population: 1950–2050». United States Census Bureau. June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
    • «2009 World Population Data Sheet» (PDF). Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.

  70. ^ a b «Key Findings» (PDF). Long-Range Population Projections. Proceedings of the United Nations Technical Working Group on Long-Range Population Projections. New York: United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2003. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  71. ^ «Total fertility estimates, 1950–2010». UN Population Division. April 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  72. ^ «World Population Prospects, the 2008 Revision – Frequently Asked Questions». Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. 10 November 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  73. ^ «World population to reach 8 billion this year, as growth rate slows» Archived 16 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine, UN News, 11 July 2022.
  74. ^ «World Health Statistics 2016: Monitoring health for the SDGs Annex B: tables of health statistics by country, WHO region and globally» (PDF). World Health Organization. 2016. p. 110. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  75. ^ a b «World Demographics Profile 2011». Index Mundi. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  76. ^ Janneh, Abdoulie (April 2012). «General debate on national experience in population matters: adolescents and youth» (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  77. ^ «WHO, 2020 Life Expectancy». World Health Organization. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  78. ^ «Children per woman». Our World in Data. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  79. ^ «Global weight gain more damaging than rising numbers». BBC. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  80. ^ «World Economic Outlook (October 2021)». Imf.org. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  81. ^ «Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) | Data». World Bank. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  82. ^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The State of Food Insecurity in the World Archived 11 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine. WorldHunger.org. 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  83. ^ «Literacy Rate, Adult Total (% of people ages 15 and above)». The World Bank. September 2021.
  84. ^ «Global digital population as of April 2022». Statista. April 2022.
  85. ^ «World’s Most Typical Person: Han Chinese Man» Archived 6 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Wall Street Journal. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  86. ^ Ghosh, Iman (15 February 2020). «Ranked: The 100 Most Spoken Languages Around the World». Visual Capitalist. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  87. ^ «Religious Composition by Country, 2010–2050». Pew Research Center. 2 April 2015.
  88. ^ «Regions in the world by population (2020)». Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  89. ^ a b «Antarctica». The World Factbook. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  90. ^ «USA: Combined Metropolitan Areas». CityPopulation.de. August 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  91. ^ «人口总量保持增长,增长速度持续放缓» [The total population keeps growing, and the growth rate continues to slow down]. National Bureau of Statistics of China (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  92. ^ «Report Population Projection 2019» (PDF). Nhm.gov.in. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  93. ^ «Population Clock». Census.gov. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  94. ^ «Mid Year Population (Thousand People)». Badan Pusat Statistik – Indonesia. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  95. ^ a b «World Population Prospects 2019». United Nations.
  96. ^ «IBGE | Projeção da população». Ibge.gov.br. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  97. ^ «Monthly Statidtical Bulletin – Bangladesh» (PDF). 2022-05-12-10-42-55414488d843db66462b5410cb439c22.pdf. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. February 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  98. ^ Times, The Moscow (30 May 2022). «Russia Reports 147M Population in 2021». Moscow Times. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  99. ^ «Mexico Population | Moody’s Analytics». Economy.com. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  100. ^ «World Population Day: India will overtake China in 2023, says the UN». bbc.com. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  101. ^ «Spotlight on family planning as India surpasses China as world’s most populous country». france24.com. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  102. ^ a b «World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision». UN Population Division. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2016.. Linked to at Download Files, where it states that the figures are for 1 July of the given year.
  103. ^ a b «Countries – The World Factbook». cia.gov. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  104. ^ «UNData app». United Nations. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  105. ^ a b Demetriou, Danielle (17 April 2013). «Japan’s population suffers biggest fall in history». The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  106. ^ «World Population Clock (under World Pop Milestone section)». Worldometer. 2022.
  107. ^ «The limits of a Green Revolution?». BBC News. 29 March 2007. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  108. ^ «The Real Green Revolution». Energybulletin.net. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  109. ^ Roser, Max (18 June 2019). «Two centuries of rapid global population growth will come to an end». Our World in Data.
  110. ^ Ron Nielsen (2006). The Little Green Handbook. New York: Picador. ISBN 978-0-312-42581-4.
  111. ^ «UN population estimates and projections, database query, August 2009». United Nations. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  112. ^ Randers, Jorgen (2012). 2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing. p. 62.
  113. ^ World population to keep growing this century, hit 11 billion by 2100 Archived 4 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. UWToday. 18 September 2014
  114. ^ «World Population by Year». Worldometers.info. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  115. ^ a b «World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision» (PDF). Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. June 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  116. ^ «The World at Six Billion». United Nations. 12 October 1999. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  117. ^ «Population Growth over Human History». University of Michigan. 4 January 2006. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  118. ^ a b Figures include the former Soviet countries in Europe. Caselli, Graziella; Gillaume Wunsch; Jacques Vallin (20 December 2005). Demography: Analysis and Synthesis, Four Volume Set: A Treatise in Population. Academic Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-12-765660-1.
  119. ^ a b «UN report – 2004 data» (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  120. ^ «World Population Prospects The 2015 Revision». Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2014.
  121. ^ «The World at Six Billion». UN Population Division. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016., Table 2
  122. ^ Fewer than 15,000 individuals, according to the Toba catastrophe theory, though this theory has been criticized by some scientists. See: «Toba super-volcano catastrophe idea «dismissed»«. BBC News. 30 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  123. ^ An approximation based on figures from different sources as listed at the US Census Bureau’s Historical Estimates of World Population Archived 2 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine; see also *Kremer, Michael (1993). «Population Growth and Technological Change: One Million B.C. to 1990». The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 108 (3): 681–716. doi:10.2307/2118405. JSTOR 2118405.
  124. ^ An approximation based on figures from different sources as listed at the US Census Bureau’s Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950–2050 Archived 21 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  125. ^ «Notes on the World POPClock and World Vital Events». US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  126. ^ «World Population Prospects 2019, Crude Birth Rate file». United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2019.
  127. ^ «World Population Prospects 2019, Crude Death Rate file». United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2019.
  128. ^ «World Population Prospects, the 2012 Revision – «Low variant» and «High variant» values». UN. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  129. ^ «World population projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050 – UN report». UN News Centre. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  130. ^ «A model predicts that the world’s populations will stop growing in 2050». ScienceDaily.com. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  131. ^ Carrington, Damien (18 September 2014). «World population to hit 12bn in 2100 – with 70% chance of continuous rise». The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  132. ^ Gerland, P.; Raftery, A. E.; Ev Ikova, H.; Li, N.; Gu, D.; Spoorenberg, T.; Alkema, L.; Fosdick, B. K.; Chunn, J.; Lalic, N.; Bay, G.; Buettner, T.; Heilig, G. K.; Wilmoth, J. (14 September 2014). «World population stabilization unlikely this century». Science. AAAS. 346 (6206): 234–7. Bibcode:2014Sci…346..234G. doi:10.1126/science.1257469. ISSN 1095-9203. PMC 4230924. PMID 25301627.
  133. ^ «World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights» (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  134. ^ Silk, John (21 December 2019). «World’s population to hit 7.75 billion in 2019». Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  135. ^ «World population in 2100 could be 2 billion below UN forecasts, study suggests». The Guardian. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  136. ^ Stokstad, Erik (5 May 2019). «Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature». Science. AAAS. Retrieved 19 July 2020. Driving these threats are the growing human population, which has doubled since 1970 to 7.6 billion, and consumption. (Per capita of use of materials is up 15% over the past 5 decades.)
  137. ^ Crist, Eileen; Ripple, William J.; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Rees, William E.; Wolf, Christopher (2022). «Scientists’ warning on population» (PDF). Science of the Total Environment. 845: 157166. Bibcode:2022ScTEn.845o7166C. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157166. PMID 35803428. S2CID 250387801.
  138. ^ Peter P. Rogers; Kazi F. Jalal & John A. Boyd (2008). An Introduction To Sustainable Development. p. 53. ISBN 978-1849770477.
  139. ^ «Overpopulation’s Real Victim Will Be the Environment». Time. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  140. ^ Zehner, Ozzie (2012). Green Illusions. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 187–331. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  141. ^ a b «World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision» (XLS). Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  142. ^ «World Population – Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950–2050». Census.gov. July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  143. ^ Sebastien von Hoerner (1975). «Population Explosion and Interstellar Expansion». Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 28 (28): 691–712. Bibcode:1975JBIS…28..691V.
  144. ^ Introduction to Social Macrodynamics. Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Andrey Korotayev et al. For a rigorous mathematical analysis of this issue, see «A Compact Mathematical Model of the World System Economic and Demographic Growth, 1 CE – 1973 CE». Archived 17 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
  145. ^ Kapitsa, Sergei P. (1996). «The phenomenological theory of world population growth». Physics-Uspekhi. 39 (1): 57–71. Bibcode:1996PhyU…39…57K. doi:10.1070/pu1996v039n01abeh000127. S2CID 250877833. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  146. ^ Lutz, Wolfgang; Sanderson, Warren; Scherbov, Sergei (19 June 1997). «Doubling of world population unlikely» (PDF). Nature. 387 (6635): 803–805. Bibcode:1997Natur.387..803L. doi:10.1038/42935. PMID 9194559. S2CID 4306159.
  147. ^ «No way to stop human population growth?». www.science.org.
  148. ^ Sergei P. Kapitza, «The phenomenological theory of world population growth», Physics-Uspekhi 39(1) 57–71 (1996), citing K. M. Weiss, Human Biology 56637 (1984) and N. Keyfitz, Applied Mathematical Demography (New York: Wiley, 1977).
  149. ^ «How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?». PRB. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  150. ^ Curtin, Ciara (1 March 2007). «Fact or Fiction?: Living People Outnumber the Dead». Scientific American. Scientific American, Inc. (published September 2007). 297 (3): 126. Bibcode:2007SciAm.297c.126C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0907-126. PMID 17784634. Retrieved 4 August 2008. Note: text of paper publication slightly different from text of on-line publication.
  151. ^ a b c Haub, Carl (November–December 2002). «How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?» (PDF). Population Today. Population Reference Bureau. 30 (8): 3–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  152. ^ Haub, Carl (October 2011). «How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?». Population Reference Bureau. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  153. ^ Kuhrt, A. (1995). The Ancient Near East, c. 3000–330 BCE. Vol. 2. London: Routledge. p. 695.

Sources

  • Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from World Factbook. CIA.

Further reading

  • Cohen, Joel E. (1995). How Many People Can the Earth Support?. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-31495-3.
  • «World Population Prospects, the 2012 Revision». United Nations Population Division. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  • «World Population Prospects, the 2010 Revision». United Nations Population Division. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  • «World Population History Graph» World population graph 10000 BC – AD 1950.
  • «Symptoms of The Global Demographic Decline». Demographia.ru. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  • «World». The World Factbook. US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  • «The World in Balance» (transcript). Two-part PBS Nova episode on world population. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  • «The Environmental Politics of Population and Overpopulation». University of California, Berkeley. 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  • «Global population: Faces of the future». The Economist. 22 June 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  • «Creating new life – and other ways to feed the world». BBC News. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  • World Population Growth (Oct 2016), Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser, OurWorldInData.org
  • «Human population numbers as a function of food supply». Russel Hopfenberg (Duke University, Durham, NC), David Pimentel (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY).

External links

Organizations

  • The Day of 6 Billion and 7 Billion – Official homepages maintained by UNFPA
  • Population Reference Bureau – News and issues related to population
  • Berlin Institute for Population and Development

Statistics and maps

  • HiveGroup.com – World population statistics presented in a treemap interface
  • Win.tue.nl – World countries mapped by population size

Population clocks

  • U.S. and World Population Clock (US Census Bureau)
  • World Population Clock – Worldometer
  • Population
  • Economy
  • Trade
  • Health
  • Education
  • Development
  • Labor Force
  • Environment
  • Crime
  • Immigration
  • Other
  • Population
  • Growth Rate
  • Density
  • Urban
  • Rural
  • Life Expectancy
  • Birth Rate
  • Death Rate
  • Infant Mortality Rate
  • Fertility Rate

Chart and table of World population from 1950 to 2023. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

  • The current population of World in 2023 is 8,045,311,447, a 0.88% increase from 2022.
  • The population of World in 2022 was 7,975,105,156, a 0.83% increase from 2021.
  • The population of World in 2021 was 7,909,295,151, a 0.87% increase from 2020.
  • The population of World in 2020 was 7,840,952,880, a 0.98% increase from 2019.

Similar Countries Ranked by Population
Country Name 2023 Population

World — Historical Population Data

Year Population Growth Rate
2023 8,045,311,447 0.88%
2022 7,975,105,156 0.83%
2021 7,909,295,151 0.87%
2020 7,840,952,880 0.98%
2019 7,764,951,032 1.06%
2018 7,683,789,828 1.10%
2017 7,599,822,404 1.15%
2016 7,513,474,238 1.17%
2015 7,426,597,537 1.19%
2014 7,339,013,419 1.22%
2013 7,250,593,370 1.24%
2012 7,161,697,921 1.25%
2011 7,073,125,425 1.25%
2010 6,985,603,105 1.27%
2009 6,898,305,908 1.27%
2008 6,811,597,272 1.27%
2007 6,725,948,544 1.27%
2006 6,641,416,218 1.27%
2005 6,558,176,119 1.27%
2004 6,475,751,478 1.28%
2003 6,393,898,365 1.29%
2002 6,312,407,360 1.31%
2001 6,230,746,982 1.33%
2000 6,148,898,975 1.34%
1999 6,067,758,458 1.34%
1998 5,987,312,480 1.37%
1997 5,906,481,261 1.40%
1996 5,825,145,298 1.43%
1995 5,743,219,454 1.46%
1994 5,660,727,993 1.49%
1993 5,577,433,523 1.54%
1992 5,492,686,093 1.60%
1991 5,406,245,867 1.69%
1990 5,316,175,862 1.77%
1989 5,223,704,308 1.78%
1988 5,132,293,974 1.81%
1987 5,040,984,495 1.84%
1986 4,950,063,339 1.82%
1985 4,861,730,613 1.80%
1984 4,775,836,074 1.79%
1983 4,691,884,238 1.82%
1982 4,607,984,871 1.84%
1981 4,524,627,658 1.81%
1980 4,444,007,706 1.80%
1979 4,365,582,871 1.77%
1978 4,289,657,708 1.75%
1977 4,215,772,490 1.77%
1976 4,142,505,882 1.80%
1975 4,069,437,231 1.85%
1974 3,995,517,077 1.92%
1973 3,920,251,504 1.96%
1972 3,844,800,885 1.98%
1971 3,770,163,092 2.02%
1970 3,695,390,336 2.06%
1969 3,620,655,275 2.08%
1968 3,546,810,808 2.05%
1967 3,475,448,166 2.03%
1966 3,406,417,036 2.08%
1965 3,337,111,983 2.14%
1964 3,267,212,338 2.24%
1963 3,195,779,247 2.21%
1962 3,126,686,743 1.90%
1961 3,068,370,609 1.63%
1960 3,019,233,434 1.65%
1959 2,970,292,188 1.86%
1958 2,916,108,097 2.04%
1957 2,857,866,857 2.03%
1956 2,801,002,631 2.00%
1955 2,746,072,141 2.01%
1954 2,691,979,339 1.96%
1953 2,640,278,797 1.93%
1952 2,590,270,899 1.85%
1951 2,543,130,380 1.75%
1950 2,499,322,157 0.00%


When and why did the world population grow? And how does rapid population growth come to an end? These are the big questions that are central to this research article.

The world population increased from 1 billion in 1800 to around 8 billion today.

The world population growth rate declined from around 2% per year 50 years ago to under 1.0% per year.

Other relevant research:

Future population growth – This article focuses on the future of population growth. We explain how we know that population growth is coming to an end, and present projections of the drivers of population growth.

Life expectancy – Improving health leads to falling mortality and is, therefore, the factor that increases the size of the population. Life expectancy, which measures the age of death, has doubled in every region in the world as we show here.

Child & infant mortality – Mortality at a young age has a particularly big impact on demographic change.

Fertility rates – Rapid population growth has been a temporary phenomenon in many countries. It comes to an end when the average number of births per woman – the fertility rate – declines. In the article we show the data and explain why fertility rates declined.

Age Structure – What is the age profile of populations around the world? How did it change and what will the age structure of populations look like in the future?

Interactive charts on World Population Growth

How is the global population distributed across the world?

One way to understand the distribution of people across the world is to reform the world map, not based on the area but according to population.

This is shown here in a population cartogram: a geographical presentation of the world where the size of the countries is not drawn according to the distribution of land, but according to the distribution of people. The cartogram shows where in the world the global population was at home in 2018.

The cartogram is made up of squares, each of which represents half a million people of a country’s population. The 11.5 million Belgians are represented by 23 squares; the 49.5 million Colombians are represented by 99 squares; the 1.415 billion people in China are represented by 2830 squares, and the entire world population of 7.633 billion people in 2018 is represented by the total sum of 15,266 squares.

As the size of the population rather than the size of the territory is shown in this map you can see some big differences when you compare it to the standard geographical map we’re most familiar with. Small countries with a high population density increase in size in this cartogram relative to the world maps we are used to – look at Bangladesh, Taiwan, or the Netherlands. Large countries with a small population shrink in size (look for Canada, Mongolia, Australia, or Russia).

You can find more details on this cartogram in our explainer: ‘The map we need if we want to think about how global living conditions are changing‘.

[click on the cartogram to enlarge it. And here you can download the population cartogram in high resolution (6985×2650).]

Population cartogram world

Which countries are most densely populated?

Geographical maps often shape our understanding of the world. But this tells us nothing about where in the world people live. To understand this, we need to look at population density.

Population density is a measure of how densely populated an area is. It is calculated by dividing the total population of an area by its total land area.

The map shows the number of people per square kilometer (km2) across the world.

Globally the average population density is 62 people per km² in 2023, but there are very large differences across countries.

Many of the world’s small islands or isolated states have large populations for their size. The five most densely populated are Macao, Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Gibraltar. Singapore has 8,480 people per km² – more than 200 times as dense as the United States and 2,000 times as Australia.

Of the larger countries1, Bangladesh is the most densely populated, with 1,330 people per km². This is almost three times as dense as its neighbor, India. It’s followed by Rwanda (571), South Korea (531), Lebanon (523), and the Netherlands (523).

You can see the world’s least densely populated countries if you hover your mouse over the brackets from 0 to 10 on the legend. Greenland is the least dense, with around 0.1 people per km², followed by Mongolia, Namibia, Australia, and Iceland.

If we want to understand how people are distributed across the world, another useful tool is the population cartogram: a geographical presentation of the world where the size of the countries is not drawn according to the distribution of land, but according to the distribution of people.

Here we show how the world looks in this way. When we see a standard map, we focus on the largest countries by area. But these are not always where the greatest number of people live. It’s this context we need if we want to understand how the lives of people around the world are changing.

Population growth

  • How has world population growth changed over time?
  • Population growth by world region
  • Population growth by country
  • The distribution of the world population over the last 5000 years
  • Population growth rate by country and region

How has world population growth changed over time?

World population from 10,000 BCE to today

The chart shows the increasing number of people living on our planet over the last 12,000 years. A mind-boggling change: the world population today is around 2,000 times the size of what it was 12,000 ago when the world population was around 4 million – less than half of the current population of London.

What is striking about this chart is of course that almost all of this growth happened just very recently. Historical demographers estimate that around the year 1800 the world population was only around 1 billion people. This implies that on average the population grew very slowly over this long time from 10,000 BCE to 1700 (by 0.04% annually). After 1800 this changed fundamentally: the world population was around 1 billion in the year 1800 and is now, at around 8 billion, 8 times larger.

Around 108 billion people have ever lived on our planet. This means that today’s population size makes up 6.5% of the total number of people ever born.2

For the long period from the appearance of modern Homo sapiens up to the starting point of this chart in 10,000 BCE it is estimated that the total world population was often well under one million.3 In this period our species was often seriously threatened by extinction.4

The interactive visualization is here. And you can also download the annual world population data produced by Our World in Data.

A number of researchers have published estimates for the total world population over the long run, we have brought these estimates together and you can explore these various sources here.

Annual world population since 10 thousand bce
Explore the interactive version of this chart

How has the world population growth rate changed?

In terms of recent developments, the data from the UN Population Division provides consistent and comparable estimates (and projections) within and across countries and time, over the last century. This data starts from estimates for 1950 and is updated periodically to reflect changes in fertility, mortality, and international migration.

In the section above we looked at the absolute change in the global population over time. But what about the rate of population growth?

The global population growth rate peaked long ago. The chart shows that global population growth reached a peak in 1962 and 1963 with an annual growth rate of 2.2%; but since then, world population growth has halved.

For the last half-century we have lived in a world in which the population growth rate has been declining. The UN projects that this decline will continue in the coming decades.

A common question we’re asked is: is the global population growing exponentially? The answer is no. For population growth to be exponential, the growth rate would have be the same over time (e.g. 2% growth every year). In absolute terms, this would result in an exponential increase in the number of people. That’s because we’d be multiplying an ever-larger number of people by the same 2%. 2% of the population this year would be larger than 2% last year, and so on; this means the population would grow exponentially.

But, as we see in this chart, since the 1960s the growth rate has been falling. This means the world population is not growing exponentially – for decades now, growth has been more similar to a linear trend.

Updated world population growth rate annual 1950 2100

The absolute annual change of the population

The previous section looked at the growth rate. This visualization here shows the annual global population increase from 1950 to today and the projection until the end of this century.

The absolute increase of the population per year has peaked in the late 1980s at over 90 million additional people each year. But it stayed high until recently. From now on the UN expects the annual increase to decline by around 1 million every year.

Population growth over the long run

There are other ways of visually representing the change in rate of world population growth. Two examples of this are shown in the charts below.

How long did it take for the world population to double?

The visualization shows how strongly the growth rate of the world population changed over time. In the past the population grew slowly: it took nearly seven centuries for the population to double from 0.25 billion (in the early 9th century) to 0.5 billion in the middle of the 16th century. As the growth rate slowly climbed, the population doubling time fell but remained in the order of centuries into the first half of the 20th century. Things sped up considerably in the middle of the 20th century.

The fastest doubling of the world population happened between 1950 and 1987: a doubling from 2.5 to 5 billion people in just 37 years — the population doubled within a little more than one generation. This period was marked by a peak population growth of 2.1% in 1962.

Since then, population growth has been slowing, and along with it the doubling time. In this visualisation we have used the UN projections to show how the doubling time is projected to change until the end of this century. By 2100, it will once again have taken approximately 100 years for the population to double to a predicted 10.8 billion.

World population doubling time 1

How long did it take for the world population to increase by one billion?

This visualization provides an additional perspective on population growth: the number of years it took to add one billion to the global population. This is based on the 2022 revision of world population estimates from the UN Population Division.

This visualization shows again how the population growth rate has changed dramatically over time. It wasn’t until 1805 that the world reached its first billion; it then took another 120 years to reach two billion. By the third billion, this period had reduced to 35 years, reduced further to 14 years to reach four. The period of fastest growth occurred from 1974 to 2011, taking only 12 to 13 years to increase by one billion for the 5th, 6th, and 7th.

The world has now surpassed this peak rate of growth, and the period between each billion is expected to continue to rise. It’s estimated to take approximately 14 years to reach nine billion in 2024, and a further 21 years to reach 10 billion in 2058. The latest UN medium projection expects that the world will not reach 11 billion people this century: it projects the population to peak at 10.4 billion in 2086 before falling again.

Time taken to increase population by one billion

Population growth by world region

Two hundred years ago the world population was just over one billion. Since then the number of people on the planet grew more than 8-fold to around 8 billion today. How is the world population distributed across regions and how did it change over this period of rapid global growth?

In this visualization, we see historical population estimates by region from 1800 through to today. These estimates are published by the History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE) and the United Nations Population Division from 1950 onwards.

Most people always lived in Asia: today it represents 60% of the global population; in 1800 it was 69%. If you want to see the relative distribution across the world regions in more detail you can check the ‘Relative’ box.

The distribution of the world population is expected to change significantly over the 21st century. We discuss projections of population by region here.

Population growth by country

What are the most populous countries in the world?

Over the last century, the world has seen rapid population growth. But how are populations distributed across the world? Which countries have the most people?

In the map, we see the estimated population of each country today. To see how this has changed since 1800, you can use the ‘play’ button and timeline in the bottom-left of the chart. By clicking on any country, you can also see how its population has evolved over this period.

Here we see that the top five most populous countries are:

(1) China (1.43 billion)

(2) India (1.41 billion)

(3) United States (337 million)

(4) Indonesia (274 million)

(5) Pakistan (231 million)

For several centuries, China has been the world’s most populous country. But not for long: it’s expected that India will overtake China within the next decade. You can learn more about future population growth by country here.

The distribution of the world population over the last 5000 years

This series of maps shows the distribution of the world population over time. The first map – in the top-left corner – shows the world population in 3000 BC.

Population centers have stayed remarkably stable over this long period.

Global population distribution over 5000 years

Population growth rate by country and region

Global population growth peaked in the early 1960s. But how has population growth varied across the world?

There are two metrics we can use to look at population growth rates:

(1) ‘Natural population growth’: this is the change in population as determined by births and deaths only. Migration flows are not counted.

(2) Population growth rate: this is the change in population as determined by births, deaths, and migration flows.

Both of these measures of population growth across the world are shown in the two charts. You can use the slider underneath each map to look at this change since 1950. Clicking on any country will show a line chart of its change over time, with UN projections through to 2100.

We see that there are some countries today where the natural population growth (not including migration) is slightly negative: the number of deaths exceeds the number of births. When we move the time slider underneath the map to past years, we see that this is a new phenomenon. Up until the 1970s, there were no countries with negative natural population growth.

Worldwide, population growth is slowing—you can press the play arrow at the bottom of the chart to see the change over time.

Overall, growth rates in most countries have been going down since the 1960s. Yet substantial differences exist across countries and regions.

Whilst Western Europe’s growth rates are currently close to zero, sub-Saharan Africa’s rates remain higher than 3% — that is, still higher than the peak growth rates recorded for the world at the beginning of the 1960s. Moreover, in many cases, there has been a divergence in growth rates. For instance, while India and Nigeria had similar growth rates in 1960 (around 2%), they took very different paths in the following years and thus currently have populations that grow at very different rates (about 0.7% for India compared to 2.4% for Nigeria).

Two centuries of rapid global population growth will come to an end

One of the big lessons from the demographic history of countries is that periods of rapid population growth are temporary. For many countries, the demographic transition has already ended, and as the global fertility rate has now halved we know that the world as a whole is approaching the end of rapid population growth.

This visualization presents an overview of the global demographic transition, based on estimates from the 2022 data release from the UN Population Division.

As we explore at the beginning of the entry on population growth, the global population grew only very slowly up to 1700 – only 0.04% per year. In the many millennia up to that point in history very high mortality of children counteracted high fertility. The world was in the first stage of the demographic transition.

Once health improved and mortality declined things changed quickly. Particularly over the course of the 20th century: Over the last 100 years global population more than quadrupled. As we see in the chart, the rise of the global population got steeper and steeper and you have just lived through the steepest increase of that curve. This also means that your existence is a tiny part of the reason why that curve is so steep.

The 7-fold increase of the world population over the course of two centuries amplified humanity’s impact on the natural environment. To provide space, food, and resources for a large world population in a way that is sustainable into the distant future is without question one of the large, serious challenges for our generation. We should not make the mistake of underestimating the task ahead of us. Yes, I expect new generations to contribute, but for now, it is upon us to provide for them. Population growth is still fast: every year, 134 million are born, and 58 million die.5 The difference is the number of people that we add to the world population in a year: 76 million.

Where do we go from here?

In pink, you see the annual population growth rate (that is, the percentage change in population per year) of the global population. It peaked around half a century ago. Peak population growth was reached in 1963 with an annual growth of 2.3%. 

Since then the increase of the world population has slowed and today grows by 0.9% per year. This slowdown of population growth was not only predictable but predicted. Just as expected by demographers, the world as a whole is experiencing the closing of a massive demographic transition.

This chart also shows how the United Nations envision the end of the global demographic transition. As population growth continues to decline, the curve representing the world population is getting less and less steep. 

Towards the end of the century, the UN expects the global population to reach its peak at around 10.4 billion. After this point, the UN demographers project global population growth to become negative, so that the world population starts to fall slowly.

It is hard to know the population dynamics beyond 2100. It will depend on the fertility rate and – as we discuss in our entry on fertility rates – fertility first falls with development, and then rises with development. The question will be whether it will rise above an average of 2 children per woman.

The world enters the last phase of the demographic transition and this means we will not repeat the past. The global population has quadrupled over the course of the 20th century, but it will not double anymore over the course of this century.

The world population will reach a size that, compared to humanity’s history, will be extraordinary; if the UN projections are accurate (they have a good track record), the world population will have increased more than 10-fold over the span of 250 years.

We are on the way to a new balance. The big global demographic transition that the world entered more than two centuries ago is then coming to an end. This new equilibrium is different from the one in the past when it was the very high mortality that kept population growth in check. In the new balance, it will be low fertility that keeps population changes small.

2019 revision – world population growth 1700 2100

The past and future of the global age structure

In 1950 there were 2.5 billion people on the planet. Now, there are more than 8 billion. By the end of the century, the UN expects a global population of around 10.4 billion. This visualization of the population pyramid makes it possible to understand this enormous global transformation.

Population pyramids visualize the demographic structure of a population. The width represents the size of the population of a given age; women on the right and men on the left. The bottom layer represents the number of newborns and above it, you find the numbers of older cohorts. Represented in this way the population structure of societies with high mortality rates resembled a pyramid – this is how this famous type of visualization got its name.

In the darkest blue, you see the pyramid that represents the structure of the world population in 1950. Two factors are responsible for the pyramid shape in 1950: An increasing number of births broadened the base layer of the population pyramid and a continuously-high risk of death throughout life is evident by the pyramid narrowing towards the top. There were many newborns relative to the number of people at older ages.

The narrowing of the pyramid just above the base is testimony to the fact that more than 1 in 5 children born in 1950 died before they reached the age of five.6

Through shades of blue and green the same visualization shows the population structure over the last decades up to 2018. You see that in each subsequent decade the population pyramid was larger than before – in each decade more people of all ages were added to the world population.

If you look at the green pyramid for 2018 you see that the narrowing above the base is much less strong than back in 1950; the child mortality rate fell from 1-in-5 in 1950 to fewer than 1-in-20 today.

In comparing 1950 and 2018 we see that the number of children born has increased – 97 million in 1950 to 143 million today – and that the mortality of children decreased at the same time. If you now compare the base of the pyramid in 2018 with the projection for 2100 you see that the coming decades will not resemble the past: According to the projections there will be fewer children born at the end of this century than today. The base of the future population structure is narrower.

We are at a turning point in global population history. Between 1950 and today, it was a widening of the entire pyramid – an increase in the number of children – that was responsible for the increase of the world population. From now on is not a widening of the base, but a ‘fill up’ of the population above the base: the number of children will barely increase and then start to decline, but the number of people of working age and old age will increase very substantially. As global health is improving and mortality is falling, the people alive today are expected to live longer than any generation before us.

At a country level “peak child” is often followed by a time in which the country benefits from a “demographic dividend” when the proportion of the dependent young generation falls and the share of the population of working age increases.8

This is now happening on a global scale. For every child younger than 15 there were 1.7 people of working age (15 to 64) in 1950; today there are 2.6; and by the end of the century, there will be 3.6.9

Richer countries have benefited from this transition in the last decades and are now facing the demographic problem of an increasingly larger share of retired people who are not part of the labor market. In the coming decades, it will be the poorer countries that can benefit from this demographic dividend.

The change from 1950 to today and the projections to 2100 show a world population that is becoming healthier. When the top of the pyramid becomes wider and looks less like a pyramid and instead becomes more box-shaped, the population lives through younger ages with a very low risk of death and dies at an old age. The demographic structure of a healthy population at the final stage of the demographic transition is the box shape that we see for the entire world in 2100.

The Demography of the World Population from 1950 to 21007
Population pyramid 1950 to 2100

How many people die and how many are born each year?

The world population has grown rapidly, particularly over the past century: in 1900, there were fewer than 2 billion people on the planet. The world population is around 8045311488 in 2023.

Two metrics determine the change in the world population: the number of babies born and the number of people dying.

How many babies are born each year?

The first chart shows the annual number of births since 1950 and includes the projection made by the UN until the end of the century. You can switch this chart to any other country or world region.

There were 133.99 million births in 2022, compared to 92.08 million births in 1950.

The second chart shows the annual number of births by world region from 1950 to 2021.

How many people die each year?

The first chart here shows the annual number of deaths since 1950 and includes the projection made by the UN until the end of the century. Again, it is possible to switch this chart to any other country or world region.

There were 67.1 million deaths in 2022.

The world population, therefore, increased by 65.81 million in 2022 (that is a net increase of 0.84%).

The second chart shows the annual number of deaths by world region from 1950 to 2021.

As the number of deaths approaches the number of births, global population growth will end.

How do we expect this to change in the coming decades? What does this mean for population growth?

Population projections show that the yearly number of births will remain at around 130 to 140 million per year over the coming decades. It is expected to decline slowly in the second half of the century. As the world population ages, the annual number of deaths is expected to continue to increase in the coming decades until it reaches a similar annual number as global births towards the end of the century.

As the number of births is expected to fall slowly and the number of deaths to rise, the global population growth rate will continue to fall. This is when the world population will stop increasing in the future.

Why is rapid population growth a temporary phenomenon?

The demographic transition

Population growth is determined by births and deaths and every country has seen very substantial changes in both: In our overview on how health has changed over the long run you find the data on the dramatic decline of child mortality that has been achieved in all parts of the world. And in our coverage of fertility you find the data and research on how modern socio-economic changes – most importantly structural changes to the economy and a rise of the status and opportunities for women – contributed to a very substantial reduction of the number of children that women have.

But declining mortality rates and declining fertility rates alone would not explain why the population increases. If they happened at the same time the growth rate of the population would not change in this transition. What is crucial here is the timing at which mortality and fertility changes.

The model that explains why rapid population growth happens is called the ‘demographic transition’. It is shown in the schematic figure. It is a beautifully simple model that describes the observed pattern in countries around the world and is one of the great insights of demography.10

The demographic transition is a sequence of five stages:

  • Stage 1: high mortality and high birth rates. In the long time before rapid population growth the birth rate in a population is high, but since the death rate is also high we observe no or only very small population growth. This describes the reality through most of our history. Societies around the world remained in stage 1 for many millennia as the long-run perspective on extremely slow population growth highlighted. At this stage the population pyramid is broad at the base but since the mortality rate is high across all ages – and the risk of death is particularly high for children – the pyramid gets much narrower towards the top.
  • Stage 2: mortality falls but birth rates still high. In the second phase the health of the population slowly starts to improve and the death rate starts to fall. Since the health of the population has already improved, but fertility still remains as high as before, this is the stage of the transition at which the size of the population starts to grow rapidly. Historically it is the exceptional time at which the extended family with many (surviving) children is common.
  • Stage 3: mortality low and birth rates fall. Later the birth rate starts to fall and consequentially the rate at which the population grows begins to decline as well. Why the fertility rate falls is a question that we answer here. But to summarize the main points: When the mortality of children is not as high as it once was parents adapt to the healthier environment and choose to have fewer children; the economy is undergoing structural changes that makes children less economically valuable; and women are empowered socially and within partnerships and have fewer children than before.
  • Stage 4: mortality low and birth rates low. Rapid population growth comes to an end in stage 4 as the birth rate falls to a similar level as the already low mortality rate. The population pyramid is now box shaped; as the mortality rate at young ages is now very low the younger cohorts are now very similar in size and only at an old age the cohorts get smaller very rapidly.
  • Stage 5: mortality low and some evidence of rising fertility. The demographic transition describes changes over the course of socio-economic modernization. What happens at a very high level of development is not a question we can answer with certainty since only few societies have reached this stage. But we do have some good evidence – which we review here – that at very high levels of development fertility is rising again. Not to the very high levels of pre-modern times, but to a fertility rate that gets close to 2 children per woman. What level exactly the fertility rate will reach is crucial for the question of what happens to population growth in the long run. If the fertility rate stays below 2 children per woman then we will see a decline of the population size in the long run. If indeed the fertility rate will rise above 2 children per woman we will see a slow long-run increase of the population size.
Demographic transition schematic

Empirical evidence for the demographic transition

Rapid population growth is a temporary phenomenon

If fertility fell in lockstep with mortality we would not have seen an increase in the population at all. The demographic transition works through the asynchronous timing of the two fundamental demographic changes: The decline in the death rate is followed by the decline in birth rates.

This decline in the death rate followed by a decline in the birth rate is something we observe with great regularity and independent of the culture or religion of the population.

The chart presents the empirical evidence for the demographic transition for five very different countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In all countries, we observed the pattern of the demographic transition, first a decline in mortality that starts the population boom and then a decline in fertility which brings the population boom to an end. The population boom is a temporary event.

In the past, the size of the population was stagnant because of high mortality. Now country after country are moving into a world in which the population is stagnant because of low fertility.

Demographic transition in 5 countries, 1820-201011
Ourworldindata demographic transition 5 countriesi

England and Wales’s demographic transition

Perhaps the longest available view of the demographic transition comes from data for England and Wales. In 1981, Anthony Wrigley and Roger Schofield12 published a major research project analyzing English parish registers—a unique source that allowed them to trace demographic changes for the three centuries prior to state records. According to the researchers, “England is exceptionally fortunate in having several thousand parish registers that begin before 1600”; collectively, with their early start and breadth of coverage, these registers form an excellent resource. As far as we know, there is no comparable data for any other country up until the mid-eighteenth century (see the following section for Sweden, where recordkeeping began in 1749).

The chart shows the birth and death rates in England and Wales over the span of nearly 500 years. It stitches together Wrigley and Schofield’s data for the years 1541-1861 with two other sources up to 2015 (click on the chart’s ‘sources’ tab for details). As we can see, a growing gap opens up between the birth and death rate after 1750, creating a population explosion. Around the 1870’s, we begin to see the third stage of the demographic transition. As the birth rate starts to follow the death rate’s decline, that gap between the two starts to shrink, slowing down the population growth rate.

Sweden’s demographic transition

Zooming in on one of these countries, we take a look at Sweden’s demographic transition. The country’s long history of population recordkeeping—starting in 1749 with their original statistical office, ‘the Tabellverket’ (Office of Tables)—makes it a particularly interesting case study of the mechanisms driving population change.

Statistics Sweden, the successor of the Tabellverket, publishes data on both deaths and births since recordkeeping began more than 250 years ago. These records suggest that around the year 1800, the Swedish death rate started falling, mainly due to improvements in health and living standards, especially for children.13

Yet while death rates were falling, birth rates remained at a constant pre-modern level until the 1860s. During this period and up until the first half of the 20th century, there was a sustained gap between the frequency of deaths and the frequency of births. It was because of this gap that the Swedish population increased. The following visualization supports these observations.

Changes to birth and death rate over time around the world

The visualization presents the birth and death rate for all countries of the world over the last 5 decades. You can see the change over by moving the slider underneath back and forth or by pressing the “play” button. Countries per continent can also be highlighted by hovering and clicking on them in the legend on the right side of the chart.

By visualising this change we see how in country after country the death rate fell and the birth rate followed – countries moved to left-hand-side first and then fell to the bottom left corner.

Today, different countries straddle different stages of the model. Most developed countries have reached stage four and have low birth and death rates, while developing countries continue to make their way through the stages.

How development affects population growth

There are two important relationships that help explain how the level of development of a country affects its population growth rates:

  1. Fertility rate is the parameter which matters most for population changes – it is the strongest determinant;
  2. As a country gets richer (or ‘more developed’), fertility rates tend to fall.

Combining these two relationships, we would expect that as a country develops, population growth rates decline.

Generally, this is true. In the visualization, we see how the population growth rate has changed for ‘more developed’, ‘less developed’ and ‘least developed’ countries (based on UN categorization), and how they are projected to change through 2100.

Here we see that population growth rates are lowest in the most developed regions – starting at just over 1% in the 1950s and falling to just barely negative growth today. ‘Less developed’ regions peaked later, at a higher growth rate (2.8%) and have declined more slowly. ‘Least developed’ regions did not peak in growth rate until the early 1990s.

Over the last two decades we have seen declining population growth rates in countries at all stages of development.

Population momentum

If the number of children is not growing, why is the population still increasing?

In 1965 the average woman on the planet had 5 children. 50 years later this statistic – called the total fertility rate – has fallen to less than half. The first panel in this chart shows this fundamental change.

The total fertility rate at which a population replaces itself from one generation to the next is called the replacement fertility rate. If no children died before they grew up to have children themselves the replacement fertility rate would be 2. Because some children die, the global replacement fertility rate is currently 2.3 and therefore only slightly lower than the actual global fertility rate (2.46). Why then is global population growth not coming to an end yet?

The number of births per woman in the reproductive age bracket is only one of two drivers that matter here. The second one is the number of women in the reproductive age bracket.

If there were few women in the reproductive age bracket the number of births will be low even when the fertility rate is high. At times when an increasing share of women enter the reproductive age bracket the population can keep growing even if the fertility rate is falling. This is what demographers refer to as ‘population momentum’ and it explains why the number of children in the world will not decline as rapidly as the fertility rate.

The second chart in this panel shows that the population growth over the last decades resulted in increasingly larger cohorts of women in the reproductive age bracket. As a result, the number of births will stay high even as the number of births per woman is falling. This is what the bottom panel in the chart shows. According to the UN projections, the two drivers will cancel each other out so that the number of births will stay close to the current level for many decades.

The number of births is projected to change little over the course of this century. In the middle of the 21st century the number of births is projected to reach a peak at 143 million and then to decline slowly to 131 million births by 2100. The coming decades will be very different from the last. While the annual number of births increased by 43 million since 1950 we are now close to what the late Hans Rosling called “the age of peak child” – the moment in global demographic history at which the number of children in the world stops increasing.

Population momentum is one important driver for high population growth. But it of course also matters that all of us today live much longer than our ancestors just a few generations ago. Life expectancy is now twice as long in all world regions.

In all of this it is important to keep in mind that these are projections and how the future will actually play out will depend on what we are doing today.

Population momentum is driven by the increasingly large cohorts of women in the reproductive age bracket. It’s only when both the fertility rate and the number of women level off that population momentum stops. And this is when global population growth will come to an end. Hans Rosling explained it better than anyone, with the help of toilet rolls.

Population momentum 1

How does migration affect country populations?

At the global level, population changes are determined by the balance of only two variables: the number of people born each year, and the number who die.

At regional or country levels there is a third variable to consider: migration into (immigration) or migration out of (emigration) the region/country. How large of an impact does migration have on population changes across the world?

In this chart we see the annual population growth rate under two scenarios:

  • population growth rate with migration – this includes the balance of births, deaths plus migration;
  • a hypothetical population growth rate if there was zero migration (i.e. it is based only on the balance of births and deaths).

The example shown here is the United States but you can explore this data for any country or region using the “change country” button on the interactive chart.

In the United States we see that since the early 1950s, migration into the USA has exceeded emigration out of the country. This means net migration has been positive, and resulted in a higher population growth rate than would have occurred in the scenario with zero migration. In 2021, for example, the actual population growth rate was 0.3%. With zero migration, this would have been 0.13%.

This is also true for most countries across Europe. In fact, population growth would have been negative (i.e. the population would have been in decline) in Europe since the early 1990s without migration. In 2021, the European population decreased by 0.18%; with no migration, it would have decreased by 0.37%.

Data quality

  • The track record of the UN projections
  • How much do population estimates differ?
  • How are population revisions created?
  • What is the quality of birth and death registration?

The track record of the UN projections

How much do population estimates differ?

It’s expected that sources will differ in their projections for future populations: although the UN projections to date have been remarkably accurate, they are based on a number of assumptions regarding the change in fertility, mortality and migration over time.

But historic and current population estimates between sources are also not identical. The UN Population Division publishes the most-widely adopted figures, but there are a few other key data sources including the US Census Bureau and Population Reference Bureau (PRB).

How do these sources compare? In the chart we see the comparison between the UN (shown in red) and US Census Bureau (in blue) estimates globally and by region. Global estimates have varied by around 0.5-1.5%.

The largest variation comes from estimates of Asia, Africa and Latin America – where census data and underlying data sources will be less complete and lower quality. This means some interpretation and judgement is necessary from expert demographers within each organization. It’s in this process of expert interpretation that most of the difference will arise.

A comparison of 2015 estimates between the UN, US Census Bureau and PBS are shown in this table.14,15,16

Here we see that the UN and PBS estimates are very similar at around 7.34 to 7.35 billion. US Census Bureau estimates are around 1-2% lower at 7.25 billion.

With known gaps in census data and underlying sources, it’s recommended that population estimates are given to only 3 to 4 significant figures. Quoting them to more gives a false sense of precision. Across the sources, we can say that there were 7.25 to 7.4 billion people in the world in 2015.

Global and regional population estimates us census bureau vs un

Source World population (2015)
United Nations Population Division (2017 Revision) 7,383,009,000
US Census Bureau (2017) 7,247,892,788
Population Reference Bureau (2015) 7,336,435,000

How are population revisions created?

The most discussed estimates of world population from the last century are those from the UN Population Division. These estimates are revised periodically and aim to be consistent and comparable within and across countries and time.

The methodology used by the UN to produce their estimates and projections is explained extensively in the World Population Prospects’ Methodology Report.

In short, estimates of the population in the past (i.e. 1950-2015) are produced by starting with a base population for 1 July 1950 and computing subsequent populations based on the components that drive population change (fertility, mortality, and international migration). The estimates of these components are taken directly from national statistical sources or—where only partial or poor-quality data exists—are estimated by the Population Division staff. Population counts from periodic censuses are used as benchmarks. This calculation is called the “cohort-component” method because it estimates the change in population by age and sex (cohort) on the basis of the three aforementioned demographic components: fertility, mortality, and international migration.

One of the main implications of using the cohort-component method is that it sometimes leads to marked inconsistencies with official country statistics. The process of ‘revising’ the estimates involves incorporating new information about the demography of each country.

What is the quality of birth and death registration?

The standard methodology used for producing population estimates relies on the so-called cohort model. Providing high-quality estimates requires reliable and up-to-date census data.

Crucial to population estimates are birth and mortality rates: this census data, therefore, relies on birth registration and death reporting.

The two maps show the completeness of birth and death reporting across the world. Many countries, particularly those in the least developed regions of the world, have limited census data.

For countries with no data in one or two decades before each revision, the UN relies on other methodologies. One is to derive estimates by extrapolating trends from countries in the same region with a socio-economic profile considered close to the country in question.

Data sources

  • Estimates of ancient population
  • Estimates of population in recent history and projections
  • Compilations of census data and other sources

Estimates of ancient population

As discussed in the previous section, there are a number of studies providing historic population data. The most commonly cited source is McEvedy and Jones (1978).

McEvedy and Jones (1978)

  • Data Source: McEvedy, Colin and Richard Jones (1978), “Atlas of World Population History,” Facts on File, New York, pp. 342-351; relying on archeological and anthropological evidence, as well as historical documents such as Roman and Chinese censuses
  • Description of available measures: Population
  • Time span: 400BCE-2,000CE
  • Geographical coverage: Global by country and regions

This above source is an input used in producing the HYDE project data, as well as other datasets. Further references to this source are available in Goldewijk, K. K., Beusen, A., & Janssen, P. (2010). Long-term dynamic modelling of global population and built-up area in a spatially explicit way: HYDE 3.1. The Holocene.

History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE)

  • Data Source: History Database of the Global Environment project, using estimates from McEvedy and Jones (1978), Livi-Bacci (2007)17, Maddison (2001)18, and Denevan (1992)19
  • Description of available measures: Geographic distribution of the world population
  • Time span: 10,000BCE-2,000CE
  • Geographical coverage: Global at a 5 arc-minute spatial resolution
  • Link: https://www.pbl.nl/en/image/links/hyde
  • The data from the HYDE project is in turn the basis for the population series published by the ‘Clio-Infra’ project

    Clio-Infra

    • Data Source: HYDE project and UN Population Division
    • Description of available measures: Population
    • Time span: 1,500-2,000CE
    • Geographical coverage: Global by country
    • Link: www.clio-infra.eu/

    Estimates of population in recent history and projections

    UN Population Database

    • Data Source: UN Population Division based on ‘cohort-component’ framework by demographic trends (see Data Quality section)
    • Description of available measures:
      ◦ Population, by Five-Year Age Group and Sex
      ◦ Population Sex Ratio (males per 100 females)
      ◦ Median Age
      ◦ Population Growth Per Year
      ◦ Crude Birth Rate
      ◦ Crude Death Rate
      ◦ Net Reproduction Rate
      ◦ Total Fertility Rate
      ◦ Life Expectancy at Birth by Sex
      ◦ Net Migration Rate
      ◦ Sex ratio at birth
      ◦ Births
      ◦ Births by Age-group of Mother
      ◦ Age-specific Fertility Rates
      ◦ Women Aged 15-49
      ◦ Deaths by Sex
      ◦ Infant Mortality
      ◦ Mortality Under Age 5
      ◦ Dependency Ratios
      ◦ Population by Age: 0-4, 0-14, 5-14, 15-24, 15-59, 15-64, 60+, 65+, 80+
    • Time span: 1950-2015
    • Geographical coverage: Global by country
    • Link: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/

    Gridded Population of the World (GPW)

    • Data Source: Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), published by the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SDAC) based on census data
    • Description of available measures: Population
    • Time span: 1990-2010
    • Geographical coverage: Global at a 2.5 arc-minute spatial resolution
    • Link: http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/gpw-v3
    • Notes: Within the CIESIN, the Anthropogenic Biomes map the distribution of the world population at different points in time: 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000. These maps focus on the varying impact of humans on the environment.

    LandScan

    • Data Publisher: University of Iowa (originally developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the Department of Defense, U.S.)
    • Data Source: Annual mid-year national population estimates from the Geographic Studies Branch, US Bureau of Census
    • Description of available measures: Population and ‘ambient population’ (a measure of person-hours accounting for varying presence throughout the day in commercial areas)
    • Time span: 1998-2012, but authors warn of inter-temporal comparability issues
    • Geographical coverage: Global at 30 arc-second grid spatial resolution (highest population resolution available)
    • Link: http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/gpw-v3

    World Development Indicators

    • Data Publisher: World Bank
    • Data Source: UN Population Division
    • Description of available measures: Population growth (annual %)
    • Time span: 1981-2015
    • Geographical coverage: Global by country
    • Link: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/

    Compilations of census data and other sources

    The Minnesota Population Center publishes various high-quality datasets based on census data beginning in 1790. At the time of writing, this source was online at www.pop.umn.edu/index.php. It focuses on North America and Europe.

    The Data & Information Services Center (DISC) Archive at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides access to census data and population datasets (mostly for the Americas). At the time of writing, this source was online at http://www.disc.wisc.edu.

    The International Database published by the U.S. Census Bureau provides data for the time 1950-2100. At the time of writing, this source was online at https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php.

    The Atlas of the Biosphere publishes data on Population Density. At the time of writing, this source was online at www.sage.wisc.edu/atlas/maps.

    Like this post? Please share to your friends:
  • Total number of english word
  • Total names in excel
  • Total lines in word
  • Total in excel sheet
  • Total excel converter что это