World population

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World population

The world population is the total number of living human

Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
s on Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
at a given time. As of March 2009, the world's population

Population

File:Population density.pngIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings....
is estimated to be about 6.76 billion. According to population projections, this figure continues to grow

Population growth

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Encyclopedia

The world population is the total number of living human

Human

Earth

Population

Population growth

Population growth is the change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
; the 2008 rate of growth has almost halved since its peak of 2.2% per year, which was reached in 1963. World births have levelled off at about 137-million-per-year, since their peak at 163-million in the late 1990's, and are expected to remain constant. However, deaths are only around 56 million per year, and are expected to increase to 90 million by the year 2050. Since births outnumber deaths, the world's population is expected to reach

World population estimates

A list of data for historical and projected human population of planet Earth from various Source texts is recorded here for reference ....
about 9 billion by the year 2050.

Population figures

It is estimated that over 57 million

Million

One million , or one thousand 1000 , is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The name is derived from Italian, where mille was 1,000, and 1,000,000 became milione, "a large thousand"....
people lived in the combined eastern and western Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
(300–400 AD). The Black Death

Black Death

The Black Death, was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia pestis , but recently attributed by some factors to other diseases....
pandemic

Pandemic

A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide....
in the 14th century may have reduced the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400. During the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, production, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomics and cultural conditions in United Kingdom....
, the life expectancy

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is the average expected lifespan of an individual. Life expectancy is heavily dependent on the criteria used to select the group....
of children increased dramatically. 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. Europe’s population

Demographics of Europe

File:Population density Europe.pngFile:Demographics of europe.PNGEurope has a population of roughly 730 million, or about 11% of world population ....
doubled during the 18th century, from roughly 100 million to almost 200 million, and doubled again during the 19th century.

Below is a table

Table

selfref|For use of tables to display information in Wikipedia, see...
with historical and predicted population

Population

File:Population density.pngIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings....
figures shown in millions.
The availability of historical population figures varies by region.

World historical and predicted populations (in millions)
Region	1750	1800	1850	1900	1950	1999	2008	2050	2150
World	791	978	1,262	1,650	2,521	5,978	6,707	8,909	9,746
Africa	106	107	111	133	221	767	973	1,766	2,308
Asia	502	635	809	947	1,402	3,634	4,054	5,268	5,561
Europe	163	203	276	408	547	729	732	628	517
Latin America and the Caribbean *	16	24	38	74	167	511	577	809	912
Northern America *	2	7	26	82	172	307	337	392	398
Oceania	2	2	2	6	13	30	34	46	51

World historical and predicted populations by percentage distribution
Region	1750	1800	1850	1900	1950	1999	2008	2050	2150
World	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Africa	13.4	10.9	8.8	8.1	8.8	12.8	14.5	19.8	23.7
Asia	63.5	64.9	64.1	57.4	55.6	60.8	60.4	59.1	57.1
Europe	20.6	20.8	21.9	24.7	21.7	12.2	10.9	7.0	5.3
Latin America and the Caribbean *	2.0	2.5	3.0	4.5	6.6	8.5	8.6	9.1	9.4
Northern America *	0.3	0.7	2.1	5.0	6.8	5.1	5.0	4.4	4.1
Oceania	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5

Estimated world population at various dates (in thousands)
Year	World	Africa Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....	Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....	Europe Europe Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....	Latin America Latin America Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken.... *	Northern America Northern America Northern America is the northernmost region of the Americas, and is part of the North American continent. It lies directly north of the region of Middle America ; the land border between the two regions coincides with the border between the United States and Mexico.... *	Oceania Oceania Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....	Notes
70,000 BC	< 1,000
10,000 BC	1,000
9000 BC	3,000
8000 BC	5,000
7000 BC	7,000
6000 BC	10,000
5000 BC	15,000
4000 BC	20,000
3000 BC	25,000
2000 BC	35,000
1000 BC	50,000
500 BC	100,000
1	200,000
1000	310,000
1750	791,000	106,000	502,000	163,000	16,000	2,000	2,000
1800	978,000	107,000	635,000	203,000	24,000	7,000	2,000
1850	1,262,000	111,000	809,000	276,000	38,000	26,000	2,000
1900	1,650,000	133,000	947,000	408,000	74,000	82,000	6,000
1950	2,518,629	221,214	1,398,488	547,403	167,097	171,616	12,812
1955	2,755,823	246,746	1,541,947	575,184	190,797	186,884	14,265
1960	2,981,659	277,398	1,674,336	601,401	209,303	204,152	15,888
1965	3,334,874	313,744	1,899,424	634,026	250,452	219,570	17,657
1970	3,692,492	357,283	2,143,118	655,855	284,856	231,937	19,443
1975	4,068,109	408,160	2,397,512	675,542	321,906	243,425	21,564
1980	4,434,682	469,618	2,632,335	692,431	361,401	256,068	22,828
1985	4,830,979	541,814	2,887,552	706,009	401,469	269,456	24,678
1990	5,263,593	622,443	3,167,807	721,582	441,525	283,549	26,687
1995	5,674,380	707,462	3,430,052	727,405	481,099	299,438	28,924
2000	6,070,581	795,671	3,679,737	727,986	520,229	315,915	31,043
2005	6,453,628	887,964	3,917,508	724,722	558,281	332,156	32,998
Jul. 1, 2008	6,706,993	972,752	4,053,868	731,683	577,147	337,168	34,375
Year	World	Africa Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....	Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....	Europe Europe Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....	Latin America Latin America Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken.... *	Northern America Northern America Northern America is the northernmost region of the Americas, and is part of the North American continent. It lies directly north of the region of Middle America ; the land border between the two regions coincides with the border between the United States and Mexico.... *	Oceania Oceania Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....	Notes

* Northern America
Northern America

Northern America is the northernmost region of the Americas, and is part of the North American continent. It lies directly north of the region of Middle America ; the land border between the two regions coincides with the border between the United States and Mexico....
comprises the northern countries and territories of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
: Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
, Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
, and St. Pierre and Miquelon. Latin America
Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
comprises Middle America
Middle America (Americas)

Middle America is a region in the mid-latitudes of the Americas. In southern North America, it usually comprises Mexico, the nations of Central America, and the Caribbean....
(Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, the nations of Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
, and the Caribbean
Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
) and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.

Rate of increase

Different regions have different rates of population growth
Population growth

Population growth is the change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
. According to the above table, the growth in population of the different regions from 2000 to 2005 was:
237.771 million in Asia
92.293 million in Africa
38.052 million in Latin America
16.241 million in Northern America
1.955 million in Oceania
-3.264 million in Europe
383.047 million in the whole world
In the 20th century, the world saw the biggest increase in its population in human history due to lessening of the mortality rate
Mortality rate

Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in some population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 in a population of 100,000 would mean 950 deaths per year in that entire population....
in many countries due to medical advances
History of medicine

All human societies have medicine beliefs that provide explanations for childbirth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, adverse astrology, or the will of the deity....
and massive increase in agricultural productivity attributed to the Green Revolution
Green Revolution

Green Revolution usually refers to the transformation of agriculture that began in 1945. One significant factor came at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to develop more varieties of wheat that could be used to feed the rapidly growing population of the country....
.

In 2000, the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
estimated that the world's population was growing at the rate of 1.14% (or about 75 million people) per year, down from a peak of 88 million per year in 1989. In the last few centuries, the number of people living on Earth has increased many times over. By the year 2000, there were 10 times as many people on Earth as there were 300 years ago. According to data from the CIA's 2005–2006 World Factbook
The World Factbook

The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the List of countries....
s, the world human population increased by 203,800 every day. The CIA Factbook increased this to 211,090 people every day in 2007, and again to 220,980 people every day in 2009.

Globally, the population growth rate
Population growth

Population growth is the change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
has been steadily declining from its peak of 2.19% in 1963, but growth remains high in Latin America
Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
, the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
and Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara....
.

In some countries there is negative population growth (i.e. net decrease in population over time), especially in Central
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is a term that applies to the geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the Europe. Throughout history and to a lesser extent today, parts of Eastern Europe has been distinguishable from Western Europe and other regions due to cultural, religious, economic, and historical reasons, even though there i...
(mainly due to low fertility rates) and Southern Africa
Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics, consisting of numerous territories....
(due to the high number of HIV
HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that can lead to AIDS , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections....
-related deaths). Within the next decade, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
and some countries in Western Europe
Western Europe

Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
are also expected to encounter negative population growth due to sub-replacement fertility
Sub-replacement fertility

Sub-replacement fertility is a total fertility rate that is not high enough to replace an area's population. In developed countries sub-replacement fertility is below approximately 2.1 children per woman's life time, but the threshold could be as high as 3.3 in some developing countries because of higher mortality rates....
rates.

The United Nations states that population growth is rapidly declining due to the demographic transition
Demographic transition

The Demographic transition model is a model used to represent the process of explaining the transformation of countries from high birth rates and high death rates to low birth rates and low death rates as part of the economic development of a country from a pre-industrial to an industrialized Economic system....
. The world population is expected to peak at 9.2 billion in 2050.

Milestones

World population estimates
World population estimates

A list of data for historical and projected human population of planet Earth from various Source texts is recorded here for reference ....
milestones .
Population
(in billions) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Year 1804 1927 1959 1974 1987 1999 2012 2025 2040
Time elapsed 123 32 14 years, 9 months 13 years, 3 months 12 years, 3 months 12 years, 4 months 13 15

There is currently no estimation on the exact day the world's population surpassed both the 1 and 2 billion marks. The day of 3 and 4 billion were not officially celebrated, but the International Database of the U.S. Census Bureau places them around July of 1959, and April of 1974. The United Nations did determine, and celebrate, the "Day of 5 billion" (July 11, 1987), and the "Day of 6 billion" (October 12, 1999). The U.S. Census bureau, International Programs division, currently estimated that the world reached 6 billion on April 21, 1999 (several months earlier than the official UN day). The "Day of 7 billion" has been targeted by the Census Bureau to be in February 2012.

The day of 350 million for the United States will occur in the year 2023. At this point in time the population growth rate of the USA will equal and then surpass that of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Years for Population to Double
Including some more estimates
World population estimates

A list of data for historical and projected human population of planet Earth from various Source texts is recorded here for reference ....
, the world population has been doubled or will double in the following years (with two different starting points). Note how, during the 2nd millennium
2nd millennium

ign="right"|-||- align="center"||}The 2nd millennium encompasses the High Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Early Modern Age, the age of Colonialism, industrialization, the rise of nation states and democracy, and culminates in the 20th century with the impact of science, widespread education, and universal medical and vaccinations in ma...
, each doubling has taken roughly half as long as the previous doubling. However, it is unlikely that there will be another doubling in the current century.

Starting at 250 million Starting at 375 million
Population
(in billions) 0.25 0.5 1 2 4 8 0.375 0.75 1.5 3 6
Year 950 1600 1804 1927 1974 2025 1420 1720 1875 1959 1999
Years elapsed 650 204 123 47 51 300 155 86 40

Distribution
Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
accounts for over 60% of the world population with almost 3800 million people. The People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
alone comprise 20% and 17% respectively. Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
follows with 840 million people, 12% of the world's population. Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
's 710 million people make up 11% of the world's population. North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
is home to 514 million (8%), South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
to 371 million (5.3%), and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
to 21 million.

The world's most populous nations

Countries ranking in the top 40 both in terms of total population (more than 29 million people) and population density
Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
(more than 310 people per square kilometer):
Country Population Density (Pop. per km²) Notes
India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
1,160,139,960 352.9 Second largest country
Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
155,688,660 1,055.0 Largest fast growing country
Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
127,170,110 336.5 Declining in population
South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
49,354,980 493.4 Steady in population

The 10 most densely populated countries
Rank Country Population Area (km²) Density (Pop per km²) Notes
1 Monaco
Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe . The territory lies on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea....
32,719 1.95 16,779
2 Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
4,620,657 707.1 6,535
3 Vatican City
Vatican City

Vatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a Landlocked country sovereignty city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the Capital of Italy....
824 0.44 1,873
4 Maldives
Maldives

The Maldives , or Maldive Islands, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a Atolls of the Maldivess stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands between Minicoy Island and the Chagos Archipelago, and about seven hundred kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of Indian Ocean....
385,375 298 1,293
5 Malta
Malta

Malta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed country European microstates microstate in the European Union....
404,032 316 1,279
6 Bahrain
Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain, in , , literally Kingdom of the Two Seas).Bahrain is an Arabic island country in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa regime....
723,967 665 1,089
7 Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
155,688,660 147,570 1,055
8 Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories are composed of two discontiguous regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined....
4,223,760 6,020 702
9 Nauru
Nauru

Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island nation in the Micronesian Pacific Ocean....
13,918 21 663
10 Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
(commonly, "Taiwan") 22,955,395 36,190 634

The 16 countries with the largest total population:
Rank Country / Territory Population Date % of world population Source
1
(excluding Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
and Macau
Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region, , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong....
) 1,329,330,000 March 3, 2009 %
2 1,145,174,000 March 3, 2009 %
3 305,924,270 March 2, 2009 %
4 229,631,355 March 3, 2009 %
5 190,765,170 March 3, 2009 %
6 165,772,000 March 3, 2009 %
7 155,688,660 March 2, 2009 %
8 148,235,170 % UN estimate
9 141,849,333 March 3, 2009 %
10 127,170,110 March 2, 2009 %
11 111,077,375 March 2, 2009 %
12 93,843,460 March 2, 2009 %
13 86,709,095 March 2, 2009 %
14 82,060,000 December 2008 %
15 79,221,000 July 2008 %
16 75,973,137 March 3, 2009 %

(includes Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
) 499,673,300 January 1, 2009 %
Approximately 4.51 billion people live in these 16 countries, representing roughly two-thirds (66.7%) of the world's population as of February 2009. If added together, all nations in the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, with approximately 499.7 million people—about 7.4% of world's population as of January 2009—would be third in the list above.
Ethnicity
The world is made up of thousands of ethnic group
Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.Ethnic identity is further marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common culture, linguistic, religion, human behaviour or Race traits, real or presumed, as indic...
s. The single largest ethnic group on the planet by far is Han Chinese
Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and, by most modern definitions, the largest single ethnic group in the Earth.Han Chinese constitute about 92 percent of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98 percent of the population of the Republic of China , 75 percent of the population of Singapore, and about 19 percent...
, which represents 19.73% of the global population. For comparison 6.06% of the planet's population is of full or partial Spanish ancestry
Spanish people

Spanish people or Spaniards are a nation or ethnic group native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. They are often considered an amalgam of different ethnic groups, rather than an ethnic group by itself....
, and on a wider scale 14.2% of earth's population is of Sub-Saharan descent (those identifying as 'Black').

Demographics of youth
According to the 2006 CIA World Factbook
The World Factbook

The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the List of countries....
, around 27% of the world's population is below 15 years of age.

Before adding mortality rates, the 1990s saw the greatest number of raw births worldwide, especially in the years after 1995, despite the fact that the birth rate was not as high as in the 1960s. In fact, because of the 163 million-per-year raw births after 1995, the time it took to reach the next 10⁹ reached its fastest pace (only 12 years), as world population reached 6000 million people in 1999, when at the beginning of the decade, the reaching was designated for the year 2000, by most demographers. These people aged 9 through 18 make up these births today, and are either from the late Generation Y group, or are in the Generation Z
Generation Z

Generation Z is the generation of people living in Western culture or First World cultures that follows Generation Y. According to Phil Ruthven of IBISWorld, who provides market research analysis, Generation Z - typically the offspring of Generation X - are as of 2008 in grade school or younger....
group.

1985–1990 marked the period with the fastest yearly population change in world history. Even though the early 1960s had a greater growth rate than in the mid and late 1980s, the population change hovered around 83 million people in the five-year period, with an all-time growth change of nearly 88 million in 1990. The reason is that the world's population was greater in the mid- and late-1980s (around 5 billion) than in the early 1960s (around 3 billion), which meant that the growth rate in the 1980s was no factor on the dramatic population change. People aged 19 to 24 make up these births today, and are a part of Generation Y
Generation Y

Generation Y is a generational cohort which consists of those people born after the Generation X cohort. Its name is controversial and is synonymous with several alternative names including The Net Generation, Millennials, Echo Boomers, and iGeneration....
.

Forecast

U.S. Census Bureau estimates
Year Population
(in billions)
2010 6.9
2020 7.7
2030 8.4
2040 9.0
2050 9.5
In the long run, the future population growth of the world is difficult to predict. Birth rates
List of countries and territories by fertility rate

This page consists of two tables. Table 1 is sourced from the . It is a list of list of countries by fertility rate: the expected number of children born per woman in her child-bearing years, based on 2008 age-specific fertility rate data....
are declining slightly on average, but vary greatly between developed countries (where birth rates are often at or below replacement levels), developing countries, and different ethnicities. Death rates can change unexpectedly due to disease
Infectious disease

An infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, Mycosis, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions....
, wars
List of wars

This is a listing of lists of wars, sorted by country, date, region, and type of conflict.This list is incomplete and, quite possibly, will never be completed....
and catastrophes, or advances in medicine
History of medicine

All human societies have medicine beliefs that provide explanations for childbirth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, adverse astrology, or the will of the deity....
. The UN itself has issued multiple projections of future world population, based on different assumptions. Over the last 10 years, the UN had consistently revised these projections downward, until the 2006 revision issued March 14, 2007 revised the 2050 mid-range estimate upwards by 273 million.

The United States Census Bureau issued a revised forecast for world population that increased its projection for the year 2050 to above 9.4 billion people (which was the UN's 1996 projection for 2050), up from 9.1 billion people. A new US Census Bureau revision from June 18, 2008 has increased its projections further, to beyond 9.5 billion in 2050.

Other projections are that the world's population will eventually crest, though it is uncertain when or how. In some scenarios, it will crest as early as around 2050 at under 9 billion, or 10 to 11 billion, due to gradually decreasing birth rates.

In other scenarios, disasters triggered by the growing population's demand for scarce resources will eventually lead to a sudden population crash, or even a Malthusian catastrophe
Malthusian catastrophe

A Malthusian catastrophe was originally foreseen to be a forced return to subsistence-level conditions once population growth had outpaced agriculture production, costs, and pricing....
(also see overpopulation
Overpopulation

Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the world population and its environment , the Earth....
and food security
Food security

Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation....
).

UN estimates (in thousands).
Year World Africa Asia Europe Latin America US and Canada Oceania
2010 6,830,283 984,225 (14.4%) 4,148,948 (60.7%) 719,714 (10.5%) 594,436 (8.7%) 348,139 (5.1%) 34,821 (0.5%)
2015 7,197,247 1,084,540 (15.1%) 4,370,522 (60.7%) 713,402 (9.9%) 628,260 (8.7%) 363,953 (5.1%) 36,569 (0.5%)
2020 7,540,237 1,187,584 (15.7%) 4,570,131 (60.6%) 705,410 (9.4%) 659,248 (8.7%) 379,589 (5.0%) 38,275 (0.5%)
2025 7,851,455 1,292,085 (16.5%) 4,742,232 (60.4%) 696,036 (8.9%) 686,857 (8.7%) 394,312 (5.0%) 39,933 (0.5%)
2030 8,130,149 1,398,004 (17.2%) 4,886,647 (60.1%) 685,440 (8.4%) 711,058 (8.7%) 407,532 (5.0%) 41,468 (0.5%)
2035 8,378,184 1,504,179 (18.0%) 5,006,700 (59.8%) 673,638 (8.0%) 731,591 (8.7%) 419,273 (5.0%) 42,803 (0.5%)
2040 8,593,591 1,608,329 (18.7%) 5,103,021 (59.4%) 660,645 (8.0%) 747,953 (8.7%) 429,706 (5.0%) 43,938 (0.5%)
2045 8,774,394 1,708,407 (19.5%) 5,175,311 (59.0%) 646,630 (7.4%) 759,955 (8.7%) 439,163 (5.0%) 44,929 (0.5%)
2050 8,918,724 1,803,298 (20.2%) 5,217,202 (58.5%) 653,323 (7.3%) 767,685 (8.6%) 447,931 (5.0%) 45,815 (0.5%)

Predictions based on population growth
In 1798 Thomas Malthus
Thomas Malthus

The The Reverend. Thomas Robert Malthus Royal Society was an England political economy and demography.His main contribution was to draw attention to the potential dangers of population growth:...
incorrectly predicted that population growth would outrun food supply by the mid 19th century. In 1968, Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich

Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an United States entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera . He became a household name after publication of his 1968 book The Population Bomb, in which he predicted that "In the 1970s and 1980s ....
reprised this argument in The Population Bomb

The Population Bomb

The Population Bomb is a book written by Paul R. Ehrlich. A best-selling work, it predicted disaster for humanity due to overpopulation and the "population explosion"....
, predicting famine
Famine

A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any faunal species, which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased death....
in the 1970s and 1980s. The dire predictions of Ehrlich and other neo-Malthusian
Neo-malthusianism

Neo-malthusianism is a set of doctrines derived from Thomas Malthus's theory that limited resources keep populations in check and reduce economic growth....
s were vigorously challenged by a number of economist
Economist

An economist is an expert in the social science of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy....
s, notably Julian Lincoln Simon
Julian Lincoln Simon

Julian Lincoln Simon was a professor of business administration at the University of Maryland, College Park and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute....
. Agricultural research already under way, such as the green revolution
Green Revolution

Green Revolution usually refers to the transformation of agriculture that began in 1945. One significant factor came at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to develop more varieties of wheat that could be used to feed the rapidly growing population of the country....
, led to dramatic improvements in crop yields. Food production has kept pace with population growth, but Malthusians point out the green revolution relies heavily on petroleum
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
-based fertilizer
Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
s, and that many crops have become so genetically uniform that a crop failure would be very widespread. Food prices in the early 21st century are rising sharply on a global scale, and causing serious malnutrition to spread widely.

From 1950 to 1984, as the Green Revolution
Green Revolution

Green Revolution usually refers to the transformation of agriculture that began in 1945. One significant factor came at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to develop more varieties of wheat that could be used to feed the rapidly growing population of the country....
transformed agriculture
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
around the world; grain production increased by 250%. The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. With relation to chemical terminology, aromatic hydrocarbons or arenes, alkanes, alkenes and alkyne-based compounds composed entirely of carbon or hydrogen are referred to as "pure" hydrocarbons, whereas other hydrocarbons with bonded com...
-fueled irrigation
Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
. The peaking of world hydrocarbon production (Peak oil
Peak oil

Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum Extraction of petroleum is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline....
) may test Malthus and Ehrlich critics. As of May 2008, the price of grain
GRAIN

GRAIN is an international non-governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world's food crops are being drastically eliminated....
has been pushed up by increased farming for use in biofuel
Biofuel

Biofuel is defined as solid, liquid or gaseous fuel derived from relatively recently dead biological material and is distinguished from fossil fuels, which are petroleum#formation....
s, world oil prices at over $140 per barrel, global population growth
Population growth

Population growth is the change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
, climate change
Climate change

Climate change is any long-term significant change in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region over an appropriately significant period of time....
, loss of agricultural land to residential and industrial development, and growing consumer demand in China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
. Food riot
2007–2008 world food price crisis

The years 2007?2008 saw dramatic increases in world food prices, creating a International crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations....
s have recently occurred in many countries across the world.

The world population has grown by about four billion since the beginning of the Green Revolution and most believe that, without the Revolution, there would be greater famine
Famine

A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any faunal species, which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased death....
and malnutrition
Malnutrition

Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or inadequate diet and nutrition.According to the World Health Organization, hunger and malnutrition are the single gravest threats to the world's public health and malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all cases....
than the UN presently documents (approximately 850 million people suffering from chronic malnutrition in 2005).

Child poverty
Child poverty

Child poverty concerns poverty of people under the age of 18.Causes * Government Political corruption.* Lack of social integration.* Crime....
has been linked to people having children before they have the means to care for them.

Number of humans who have ever lived
In the 1970s it was popular to believe that 75% of all the people who had ever lived were alive in the 1970s, which would have put the total number of people who ever lived as of the 1970s as less than the current number of people alive today. This view was eventually debunked as a myth. A more recent estimate of the total number of people who have ever lived was prepared by Carl Haub of the Population Reference Bureau
Population Reference Bureau

The Population Reference Bureau , a nonprofit organization, informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and seeks to help them use that information....
in 1995 and subsequently updated in 2002; the updated figure was approximately 106 billion. Haub characterized this figure as an estimate which required "selecting population sizes for different points from antiquity to the present and applying assumed birth rates to each period". Given an estimated global population of 6.2 billion in 2002, it could be inferred that about 6% of all people who had ever existed were alive in 2002.

Other estimates of the total number of people who have ever lived range approximately from 45 billion to 125 billion, with the more robust of these falling in the 90–110 billion range.. It is difficult to estimate for the following reasons:

The set of specific characteristics which define a human being and distinguish early Homo sapiens from earlier or related species continues to be a subject of intense research and debate. It is thus not possible to know when to begin the count, nor which hominids to include. See in this regard also Sorites paradox
Sorites paradox

The Sorites paradox is a paradox that arises from vagueness Predicate s. The paradox of the heap is an example of this paradox which arises when one considers a heap of sand, from which grains are individually removed....
.
Even if the scientific community reached wide consensus regarding which characteristics distinguished human beings, it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint the time of their first appearance to even the nearest millennium because the fossil record is simply too sparse. Only a few thousand fossils of early humans have been found, most no bigger than a tooth or a knucklebone. These bone fragments are used to extrapolate the population distribution of millions of early human beings spread across the continents.
Robust statistical data only exist for the last two or three centuries. Until the late 18th century, few nations, kingdoms, or empires
Global empire

A global empire involves the extension of a state sovereignty over territories all around the world. For example, because of the Spanish Empire's territories around the globe, it was often said in the 16th century that "The empire on which the sun never sets." This phrase could have been applied before with the Portuguese Empire but it was...
had ever performed an accurate census. In many early attempts, the focus was on counting merely a subset of the people for purposes of taxation or military service . All claims of population sizes preceding the 18th century are estimates, and thus the margin of error for the total number of humans who have ever lived should be in the billions, or even tens of billions of people.

Further resources

There is a map that is rescaled in order to display every country according to its population size. It is available at the University of Sheffield Worldmapper.
Population patterns and trends can be explored on the GeoHive interactive world atlas.

See also

Birth control
Birth control

Birth control, sometimes synonymous with contraception, is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth....
Classical demography
Classical demography

Classical demography refers to the study of human demography in the Classical antiquity. It often focuses on the absolute number of people who were alive in civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea between the Bronze Age and the Fall of the Roman Empire, but in recent decades historians have been more interested in trying to analyse demogra...
Depopulation
Depopulation

Depopulation is a term used to describe any great reduction in a human population. It can be used to refer to longterm demographic trends, as in urban decay or rural depopulation, but it is also commonly employed to describe large reductions in population due to violence, disease, or other catastrophes....
Doomsday argument
Doomsday argument

The Doomsday argument is a probabilistic argument that claims to predict the future lifetime of the human species given only an estimate of the total number of humans born so far....
End of civilization
Family planning
Family planning

Family planning is people Planning when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sex education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted disease, pre-conception counseling and pregnancy#management , and infertility....
Food security
Food security

Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation....
Green Revolution
Green Revolution

Green Revolution usually refers to the transformation of agriculture that began in 1945. One significant factor came at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to develop more varieties of wheat that could be used to feed the rapidly growing population of the country....
Life expectancy
Life expectancy

Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is the average expected lifespan of an individual. Life expectancy is heavily dependent on the criteria used to select the group....
List of religious populations
List of religious populations

Religious demographics and Religions by country....
List of countries by past and future population
List of countries by past and future population

This article shows the population evolution of nearly all the political entities in the world through a one century timespan, ranging from 1950 to 2050, thus providing a broad vision or the big picture of demographic change across the globe....
List of countries by population
List of countries by population

This is a list of Country ordered according to population. The list includes list of sovereign states and inhabited dependent territories.Areas that form integral parts of sovereign states, such as the countries of the United Kingdom, are counted as part of the sovereign states concerned....
List of countries by population density
List of countries by population density

This is a list of countries and dependencies ranked by human population density and measured by inhabitants/km?. The list includes sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories that are recognized by the United Nations....
List of countries by population growth rate
List of countries by population growth rate

This article includes two versions of the list of countries, and self-governing dependent territories by population growth rate. A population's approximate doubling time is found by dividing 70 by its annual percentage population growth....
List of countries by fertility rate
Literacy
Literacy

The traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write, or the ability to use language to Reading , Writing, Listening, and Speech communication....
(correlated with population growth)
List of famines
List of famines

This is an incomplete list of known major famines, ordered by date....
Medieval demography
Medieval demography

Medieval demography is the study of human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. It is an estimate of the number of people who were alive during the Medieval period, population trends and movements....
Megacity
Megacity

A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people. Some definitions also set a minimum level for population density ....
Natalism
Natalism

Natalism or pro-birth is a belief that promotes human reproduction. The term is taken from the Latin adjective form for "birth," natalis....
One child policy
Overpopulation
Overpopulation

Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the world population and its environment , the Earth....
Pandemic
Pandemic

A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide....
Per capita
Per capita

Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning per head with per meaning "through" or "by" and capita meaning "heads." Both words together equate to the phrase "for each head."...
Population control
Population control

Population control is the practice of limiting population increase, usually by reducing the birth rate. The practice has sometimes been voluntary, as a response to poverty, carrying capacity, or out of religious ideology, but in some times and places it has been socially mandated....
Population growth
Population growth

Population growth is the change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
Population Reference Bureau
Population Reference Bureau

The Population Reference Bureau , a nonprofit organization, informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and seeks to help them use that information....
Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth
Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth

Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth are existential risks that could threaten humankind as a whole, have adverse consequences for the course of human civilization, or even cause the end of planet Earth....
Societal collapse
Societal collapse

Societal collapse is the large scale breakdown or long term decline of the culture, civil institutions or other major characteristics of a society or a civilization, temporarily or permanently....
The Day of Six Billion
The Day of Six Billion

The United Nations Population Fund designated October 12, 1999 as the approximate day on which world population reached six billion. It was officially designated "The Day of Six Billion"....
World's largest cities
World's largest cities

The question of determining the world's largest cities does not allow a single, simple answer. It depends on which definitions of "city" and "size" are used, and how those definitions are applied....
World population estimates
World population estimates

A list of data for historical and projected human population of planet Earth from various Source texts is recorded here for reference ....
2007–2008 world food price crisis
2007–2008 world food price crisis

The years 2007?2008 saw dramatic increases in world food prices, creating a International crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations....

External links

(United Nations Population Division).

27 June, 2007 - United Nations Population Fund
United Nations: 11 July
official homepage
. URL accessed on April 7, 2005.

Transcript of two-part PBS' Nova on World Population

BBC (1999). . URL accessed on March 7, 2005.
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the Federal government of the United States. It is the successor of the Office of Strategic Services formed during World War II to coordinate espionage activities between the branches of the US military services....
(2004). [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html CIA The World Factbook 2004]. URL accessed on February 13, 2005.
United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
(2001). . URL accessed on February 13, 2005.
United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
(2004). . URL accessed on February 13, 2005.
PopulationData.net (2005). .
GeoHive .
Population Reference Bureau .
World Population Clock (2005). .
Population Counter. .
Information on population, population growth, population problems, population statistics, and population figures.
Berlin Institute for Population and Development
Berlin Institute for Population and Development

The Berlin Institute for Population and Development de: Berlin-Institut f?r Bev?lkerung und Entwicklung is an independent scientific research institute that aims to improve the way in which international Demography change is perceived and dealt with in the context of sustainable development....
http://www.berlin-institut.org/index.php?id=48