World Population: Past, Present, and Future(move and expand the bar at the bottom of the chart to navigate through time) Show
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).
Wonder how big was the world's
population when you were born? Sources:
Growth RatePopulation 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
World Population Forecast (2020-2050)View population projections for all years (up to 2100)
World Population Milestones10 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
Summary Table1 - 1804 (1803 years): 0.2 to 1 bil. 1804 - 2022 (218 years): from 1 billion to 8 billion
World Population by Region
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 ReligionAccording to a recent study (based on the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion) by The Pew Forum, there are:
World Population by Country
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 methodologyThe world population counter displayed on Worldometer takes into consideration data from two major sources: the United Nations and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Why Worldometer's Population Clock is the most accurateThe 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. |