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 less than 30 years (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987).
The chart above illustrates how world population has changed in history.
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 less than 30 years (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987).
1 - 1804 (1803 years): 0.2 to 1 bil. |
1804 - 2011 (207 years): from 1 billion to 7 billion |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Year | 1 |
1000 |
1500 |
1650 |
1750 |
1804 |
1850 |
1900 |
1927 |
1950 |
1960 |
1974 |
1980 |
1987 |
1999 |
2011 |
2020 |
2024 |
2030 |
2038 |
2050 |
2056 |
2100 |
Pop, (billions) | 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 |
7.7 |
8 |
8.4 |
9 |
9.5 |
10 |
11.2 |
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Population in the world is currently (as of 2015-2016) growing at a rate of around 1.13% per year. The average population change is currently estimated at around 80 million per year.
Annual growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at 2% and above. The rate of increase has therefore almost halved since its peak of 2.19 percent, which was reached in 1963.
The annual growth rate is currently declining and is projected to continue to decline in the coming years. Currently, it is estimated that it will become less than 1% by 2020 and less than 0.5% by 2050.
This means that world population will continue to grow in the 21st century, but at a 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 a further 39 years to increase by another 50%, to become 9 billion by 2038.
The latest United Nations projections indicate that world population will reach 10 billion persons in the year 2056 (six years earlier than previously estimated).
In the year 2022, India's population is expected to surpass China's, to become the largest country in the world.
Nigeria's population is expected to surpass the U.S. population in 2049 to become the third-most populous country in the world after China (in 2100, Nigeria's population is projected at 750 million, while China will be stable at over 1 billion).
.
Courtesy of Junuxx at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons
According to a recent study (based on the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion) by The Pew Forum, there are:
Rank |
Country |
Population (2014) |
Share of World Pop |
1 Year Change |
Area (Km²) |
Density (P/Km²) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
1,393,783,836 | 19.24% | 0.59% | 9,596,947 | 145 | |
2 |
1,267,401,849 | 17.50% | 1.22% | 3,287,265 | 386 | |
3 |
322,583,006 | 4.45% | 0.79% | 9,629,056 | 34 | |
4 |
252,812,245 | 3.49% | 1.18% | 1,904,567 | 133 | |
5 |
202,033,670 | 2.79% | 0.83% | 8,514,209 | 24 | |
6 |
185,132,926 | 2.56% | 1.64% | 796,096 | 233 | |
7 |
178,516,904 | 2.46% | 2.82% | 923,766 | 193 | |
8 |
158,512,570 | 2.19% | 1.22% | 143,998 | 1,101 | |
9 |
142,467,651 | 1.97% | -0.26% | 17,076,310 | 8 | |
10 |
126,999,808 | 1.75% | -0.11% | 377,873 | 336 | |
11 |
123,799,215 | 1.71% | 1.20% | 1,958,198 | 63 | |
12 |
100,096,496 | 1.38% | 1.73% | 300,000 | 334 | |
13 |
96,506,031 | 1.33% | 2.56% | 1,104,302 | 87 | |
14 |
92,547,959 | 1.28% | 0.95% | 331,689 | 279 | |
15 |
83,386,739 | 1.15% | 1.62% | 1,001,450 | 83 | |
16 |
82,652,256 | 1.14% | -0.09% | 357,021 | 232 | |
17 |
78,470,222 | 1.08% | 1.32% | 1,648,188 | 48 | |
18 |
75,837,020 | 1.05% | 1.21% | 783,562 | 97 | |
19 |
69,360,118 | 0.96% | 2.73% | 2,344,832 | 30 | |
20 |
67,222,972 | 0.93% | 0.32% | 513,113 | 131 | |
21 |
64,641,279 | 0.89% | 0.54% | 551,500 | 117 | |
22 |
63,489,234 | 0.88% | 0.56% | 242,900 | 261 | |
23 |
61,070,224 | 0.84% | 0.13% | 301,318 | 203 | |
24 |
53,718,958 | 0.74% | 0.86% | 676,578 | 79 | |
25 |
53,139,528 | 0.73% | 0.69% | 1,221,037 | 44 | |
26 |
Tanzania |
50,757,459 | 0.70% | 3.05% | 945,081 | 54 |
27 |
South Korea |
49,512,026 | 0.68% | 0.51% | 99,538 | 497 |
28 |
Colombia |
48,929,706 | 0.68% | 1.26% | 1,138,907 | 43 |
29 |
Spain |
47,066,402 | 0.65% | 0.30% | 505,992 | 93 |
30 |
Kenya |
45,545,980 | 0.63% | 2.69% | 580,366 | 78 |
31 |
Ukraine |
44,941,303 | 0.62% | -0.66% | 603,701 | 74 |
32 |
Argentina |
41,803,125 | 0.58% | 0.86% | 2,780,387 | 15 |
33 |
Algeria |
39,928,947 | 0.55% | 1.84% | 2,381,685 | 17 |
34 |
Uganda |
38,844,624 | 0.54% | 3.37% | 241,037 | 161 |
35 |
Sudan |
38,764,090 | 0.54% | 2.11% | 1,861,510 | 21 |
36 |
Poland |
38,220,543 | 0.53% | 0.01% | 323,251 | 118 |
37 |
Canada |
35,524,732 | 0.49% | 0.98% | 9,970,455 | 4 |
38 |
Iraq |
34,768,761 | 0.48% | 2.97% | 438,319 | 79 |
39 |
Morocco |
33,492,909 | 0.46% | 1.47% | 446,548 | 75 |
40 |
Afghanistan |
31,280,518 | 0.43% | 2.39% | 652,085 | 48 |
41 |
Venezuela |
30,851,343 | 0.43% | 1.47% | 912,060 | 34 |
42 |
Peru |
30,769,077 | 0.42% | 1.30% | 1,285,204 | 24 |
43 |
Malaysia |
30,187,896 | 0.42% | 1.58% | 329,847 | 92 |
44 |
Saudi Arabia |
29,369,428 | 0.41% | 1.88% | 2,149,717 | 14 |
45 |
Uzbekistan |
29,324,920 | 0.40% | 1.35% | 447,401 | 66 |
46 |
Nepal |
28,120,740 | 0.39% | 1.16% | 147,181 | 191 |
47 |
Mozambique |
26,472,977 | 0.37% | 2.47% | 801,580 | 33 |
48 |
Ghana |
26,442,178 | 0.37% | 2.08% | 238,534 | 111 |
49 |
North Korea |
25,026,588 | 0.35% | 0.53% | 120,538 | 208 |
50 |
Yemen |
24,968,508 | 0.34% | 2.30% | 527,965 | 47 |
51 |
Australia |
23,630,169 | 0.33% | 1.23% | 7,739,983 | 3 |
52 |
Madagascar |
23,571,962 | 0.33% | 2.82% | 587,039 | 40 |
53 |
Cameroon |
22,818,632 | 0.32% | 2.54% | 475,438 | 48 |
54 |
Angola |
22,137,261 | 0.31% | 3.10% | 1,246,678 | 18 |
55 |
Syria |
21,986,615 | 0.30% | 0.40% | 185,180 | 119 |
56 |
Romania |
21,640,168 | 0.30% | -0.27% | 238,391 | 91 |
57 |
Sri Lanka |
21,445,775 | 0.30% | 0.81% | 65,610 | 327 |
58 |
Côte d'Ivoire |
20,804,774 | 0.29% | 2.41% | 322,465 | 65 |
59 |
Niger |
18,534,802 | 0.26% | 3.95% | 1,266,990 | 15 |
60 |
Chile |
17,772,871 | 0.25% | 0.87% | 756,614 | 23 |
61 |
Burkina Faso |
17,419,615 | 0.24% | 2.86% | 274,001 | 64 |
62 |
Malawi |
16,829,144 | 0.23% | 2.85% | 118,484 | 142 |
63 |
Netherlands |
16,802,463 | 0.23% | 0.26% | 41,528 | 405 |
64 |
Kazakhstan |
16,606,878 | 0.23% | 1.01% | 2,725,119 | 6 |
65 |
Ecuador |
15,982,551 | 0.22% | 1.55% | 283,560 | 56 |
66 |
Guatemala |
15,859,714 | 0.22% | 2.53% | 108,889 | 146 |
67 |
Mali |
15,768,227 | 0.22% | 3.05% | 1,240,225 | 13 |
68 |
Cambodia |
15,408,270 | 0.21% | 1.80% | 181,035 | 85 |
69 |
Zambia |
15,021,002 | 0.21% | 3.32% | 752,631 | 20 |
70 |
Zimbabwe |
14,599,325 | 0.20% | 3.18% | 390,753 | 37 |
71 |
Senegal |
14,548,171 | 0.20% | 2.94% | 196,722 | 74 |
72 |
Chad |
13,211,146 | 0.18% | 3.01% | 1,284,007 | 10 |
73 |
Rwanda |
12,100,049 | 0.17% | 2.75% | 26,338 | 459 |
74 |
Guinea |
12,043,898 | 0.17% | 2.54% | 245,859 | 49 |
75 |
South Sudan |
11,738,718 | 0.16% | 3.92% | 644,312 | 18 |
76 |
Cuba |
11,258,597 | 0.16% | -0.06% | 110,861 | 102 |
77 |
Belgium |
11,144,420 | 0.15% | 0.36% | 30,528 | 365 |
78 |
Greece |
11,128,404 | 0.15% | 0.00% | 131,956 | 84 |
79 |
Tunisia |
11,116,899 | 0.15% | 1.09% | 163,609 | 68 |
80 |
Bolivia |
10,847,664 | 0.15% | 1.65% | 1,098,609 | 10 |
81 |
Somalia |
10,805,651 | 0.15% | 2.95% | 637,652 | 17 |
82 |
Czech Republic |
10,740,468 | 0.15% | 0.36% | 78,866 | 136 |
83 |
Portugal |
10,610,304 | 0.15% | 0.02% | 91,982 | 115 |
84 |
Benin |
10,599,510 | 0.15% | 2.67% | 112,622 | 94 |
85 |
Dominican Republic |
10,528,954 | 0.15% | 1.20% | 48,511 | 217 |
86 |
Burundi |
10,482,752 | 0.14% | 3.15% | 27,834 | 377 |
87 |
Haiti |
10,461,409 | 0.14% | 1.40% | 27,750 | 377 |
88 |
Hungary |
9,933,173 | 0.14% | -0.22% | 93,032 | 107 |
89 |
Sweden |
9,631,261 | 0.13% | 0.63% | 449,954 | 21 |
90 |
Azerbaijan |
9,514,887 | 0.13% | 1.08% | 86,600 | 110 |
91 |
Serbia |
9,468,378 | 0.13% | -0.44% | 88,361 | 107 |
92 |
United Arab Emirates |
9,445,624 | 0.13% | 1.06% | 83,600 | 113 |
93 |
Belarus |
9,307,609 | 0.13% | -0.52% | 207,602 | 45 |
94 |
Austria |
8,526,429 | 0.12% | 0.37% | 83,858 | 102 |
95 |
Tajikistan |
8,408,947 | 0.12% | 2.45% | 143,099 | 59 |
96 |
Honduras |
8,260,749 | 0.11% | 2.01% | 112,088 | 74 |
97 |
Switzerland |
8,157,896 | 0.11% | 0.99% | 41,284 | 198 |
98 |
Israel |
7,822,107 | 0.11% | 1.15% | 22,145 | 353 |
99 |
Jordan |
7,504,812 | 0.10% | 3.18% | 89,342 | 84 |
100 |
Papua New Guinea |
7,476,108 | 0.10% | 2.12% | 462,831 | 16 |
101 |
Hong Kong |
7,259,569 | 0.10% | 0.77% | 1,099 | 6,606 |
102 |
Bulgaria |
7,167,998 | 0.10% | -0.76% | 110,912 | 65 |
103 |
Togo |
6,993,244 | 0.10% | 2.59% | 56,785 | 123 |
104 |
Paraguay |
6,917,579 | 0.10% | 1.69% | 406,749 | 17 |
105 |
Laos |
6,894,098 | 0.10% | 1.84% | 236,797 | 29 |
106 |
Eritrea |
6,536,176 | 0.09% | 3.21% | 117,599 | 56 |
107 |
El Salvador |
6,383,752 | 0.09% | 0.68% | 21,041 | 303 |
108 |
Libya |
6,253,452 | 0.09% | 0.84% | 1,759,553 | 4 |
109 |
Sierra Leone |
6,205,382 | 0.09% | 1.86% | 71,740 | 86 |
110 |
Nicaragua |
6,169,269 | 0.09% | 1.46% | 130,000 | 47 |
111 |
Denmark |
5,640,184 | 0.08% | 0.38% | 43,094 | 131 |
112 |
Kyrgyzstan |
5,625,015 | 0.08% | 1.40% | 199,901 | 28 |
113 |
Singapore |
5,517,102 | 0.08% | 1.95% | 683 | 8,078 |
114 |
Slovakia |
5,454,154 | 0.08% | 0.07% | 49,033 | 111 |
115 |
Finland |
5,443,497 | 0.08% | 0.32% | 338,147 | 16 |
116 |
Turkmenistan |
5,307,171 | 0.07% | 1.28% | 488,105 | 11 |
117 |
Norway |
5,091,924 | 0.07% | 0.98% | 385,168 | 13 |
118 |
Lebanon |
4,965,914 | 0.07% | 2.99% | 10,400 | 477 |
119 |
Costa Rica |
4,937,755 | 0.07% | 1.35% | 51,100 | 97 |
120 |
Central African Republic |
4,709,203 | 0.07% | 2.01% | 622,993 | 8 |
121 |
Ireland |
4,677,340 | 0.06% | 1.08% | 70,273 | 67 |
122 |
Congo |
4,558,594 | 0.06% | 2.49% | 342,006 | 13 |
123 |
New Zealand |
4,551,349 | 0.06% | 1.01% | 270,527 | 17 |
124 |
State of Palestine |
4,436,411 | 0.06% | 2.55% | 6,020 | 737 |
125 |
Liberia |
4,396,873 | 0.06% | 2.39% | 111,370 | 39 |
126 |
Georgia |
4,322,842 | 0.06% | -0.42% | 69,700 | 62 |
127 |
Croatia |
4,272,044 | 0.06% | -0.41% | 56,538 | 76 |
128 |
Mauritania |
3,984,457 | 0.06% | 2.43% | 1,025,600 | 4 |
129 |
Oman |
3,926,492 | 0.05% | 8.10% | 309,489 | 13 |
130 |
Panama |
3,926,017 | 0.05% | 1.60% | 75,516 | 52 |
131 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
3,824,746 | 0.05% | -0.12% | 51,197 | 75 |
132 |
Puerto Rico |
3,683,601 | 0.05% | -0.13% | 8,875 | 415 |
133 |
Kuwait |
3,479,371 | 0.05% | 3.29% | 17,818 | 195 |
134 |
Moldova |
3,461,380 | 0.05% | -0.74% | 33,851 | 102 |
135 |
Uruguay |
3,418,694 | 0.05% | 0.34% | 175,012 | 20 |
136 |
Albania |
3,185,413 | 0.04% | 0.38% | 28,748 | 111 |
137 |
Lithuania |
3,008,287 | 0.04% | -0.29% | 65,300 | 46 |
138 |
Armenia |
2,983,990 | 0.04% | 0.25% | 29,800 | 100 |
139 |
Mongolia |
2,881,415 | 0.04% | 1.49% | 1,566,838 | 2 |
140 |
Jamaica |
2,798,837 | 0.04% | 0.54% | 10,991 | 255 |
141 |
Namibia |
2,347,988 | 0.03% | 1.94% | 824,434 | 3 |
142 |
Qatar |
2,267,916 | 0.03% | 4.58% | 11,000 | 206 |
143 |
Macedonia |
2,108,434 | 0.03% | 0.06% | 25,713 | 82 |
144 |
Lesotho |
2,097,511 | 0.03% | 1.11% | 30,355 | 69 |
145 |
Slovenia |
2,075,592 | 0.03% | 0.17% | 20,256 | 102 |
146 |
Latvia |
2,041,111 | 0.03% | -0.45% | 64,600 | 32 |
147 |
Botswana |
2,038,587 | 0.03% | 0.86% | 581,789 | 4 |
148 |
Gambia |
1,908,954 | 0.03% | 3.23% | 11,295 | 169 |
149 |
Guinea-Bissau |
1,745,798 | 0.02% | 2.44% | 36,125 | 48 |
150 |
Gabon |
1,711,294 | 0.02% | 2.37% | 267,682 | 6 |
151 |
Trinidad and Tobago |
1,344,235 | 0.02% | 0.23% | 5,130 | 262 |
152 |
Bahrain |
1,344,111 | 0.02% | 0.90% | 694 | 1,937 |
153 |
Estonia |
1,283,771 | 0.02% | -0.27% | 45,100 | 28 |
154 |
Swaziland |
1,267,704 | 0.02% | 1.46% | 17,364 | 73 |
155 |
Mauritius |
1,249,151 | 0.02% | 0.38% | 2,040 | 612 |
156 |
Cyprus |
1,153,058 | 0.02% | 1.04% | 9,251 | 125 |
157 |
Timor-Leste |
1,152,439 | 0.02% | 1.73% | 14,874 | 77 |
158 |
Fiji |
887,027 | 0.01% | 0.68% | 18,274 | 49 |
159 |
Djibouti |
886,313 | 0.01% | 1.53% | 23,200 | 38 |
160 |
Réunion |
885,328 | 0.01% | 1.14% | 2,510 | 353 |
161 |
Guyana |
803,677 | 0.01% | 0.51% | 214,944 | 4 |
162 |
Equatorial Guinea |
778,061 | 0.01% | 2.78% | 28,051 | 28 |
163 |
Bhutan |
765,552 | 0.01% | 1.54% | 47,001 | 16 |
164 |
Comoros |
752,438 | 0.01% | 2.38% | 1,861 | 404 |
165 |
Montenegro |
621,542 | 0.01% | 0.03% | 13,812 | 45 |
166 |
Western Sahara |
585,646 | 0.01% | 3.23% | 265,961 | 2 |
167 |
Macau |
575,481 | 0.01% | 1.61% | 26 | 22,134 |
168 |
Solomon Islands |
572,865 | 0.01% | 2.07% | 28,896 | 20 |
169 |
Suriname |
543,925 | 0.01% | 0.86% | 163,833 | 3 |
170 |
Luxembourg |
536,761 | 0.01% | 1.20% | 2,586 | 208 |
171 |
Cape Verde |
503,637 | 0.01% | 0.95% | 4,033 | 125 |
172 |
Guadeloupe |
468,016 | 0.01% | 0.48% | 1,705 | 274 |
173 |
Malta |
430,146 | 0.01% | 0.27% | 316 | 1,361 |
174 |
Brunei |
423,205 | 0.01% | 1.30% | 5,765 | 73 |
175 |
Martinique |
404,705 | 0.01% | 0.25% | 1,102 | 367 |
176 |
Bahamas |
382,571 | 0.01% | 1.38% | 13,878 | 28 |
177 |
Maldives |
351,572 | 0.00% | 1.90% | 298 | 1,180 |
178 |
Belize |
339,758 | 0.00% | 2.37% | 22,966 | 15 |
179 |
Iceland |
333,135 | 0.00% | 1.09% | 103,010 | 3 |
180 |
Barbados |
286,066 | 0.00% | 0.50% | 430 | 665 |
181 |
French Polynesia |
279,835 | 0.00% | 1.09% | 4,000 | 70 |
182 |
New Caledonia |
259,824 | 0.00% | 1.30% | 18,575 | 14 |
183 |
Vanuatu |
258,301 | 0.00% | 2.19% | 12,189 | 21 |
184 |
French Guiana |
255,455 | 0.00% | 2.50% | 90,012 | 3 |
185 |
Mayotte |
228,070 | 0.00% | 2.66% | 374 | 610 |
186 |
Sao Tome and Principe |
197,882 | 0.00% | 2.53% | 964 | 205 |
187 |
Samoa |
191,831 | 0.00% | 0.77% | 2,831 | 68 |
188 |
Saint Lucia |
183,598 | 0.00% | 0.73% | 539 | 341 |
189 |
Guam |
167,546 | 0.00% | 1.47% | 549 | 305 |
190 |
Channel Islands |
162,778 | 0.00% | 0.47% | 195 | 835 |
191 |
Curaçao |
161,836 | 0.00% | 1.94% | 444 | 364 |
192 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
109,371 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 388 | 282 |
193 |
United States Virgin Islands |
106,792 | 0.00% | 0.15% | 347 | 308 |
194 |
Grenada |
106,303 | 0.00% | 0.38% | 344 | 309 |
195 |
Tonga |
105,782 | 0.00% | 0.44% | 650 | 163 |
196 |
Kiribati |
103,942 | 0.00% | 1.55% | 726 | 143 |
197 |
Micronesia |
103,903 | 0.00% | 0.34% | 702 | 148 |
198 |
Aruba |
103,431 | 0.00% | 0.51% | 180 | 575 |
199 |
Seychelles |
93,306 | 0.00% | 0.50% | 455 | 205 |
200 |
Antigua and Barbuda |
90,903 | 0.00% | 1.02% | 442 | 206 |
201 |
Isle of Man |
86,475 | 0.00% | 0.68% | 572 | 151 |
202 |
Andorra |
80,153 | 0.00% | 1.18% | 468 | 171 |
203 |
Dominica |
72,341 | 0.00% | 0.47% | 751 | 96 |
204 |
Bermuda |
65,461 | 0.00% | 0.18% | 53 | 1,235 |
205 |
Cayman Islands |
59,226 | 0.00% | 1.35% | 264 | 224 |
206 |
Greenland |
57,164 | 0.00% | 0.31% | 2,198,615 | 0 |
207 |
American Samoa |
55,320 | 0.00% | 0.28% | 199 | 278 |
208 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
54,789 | 0.00% | 1.10% | 261 | 210 |
209 |
Northern Mariana Islands |
54,531 | 0.00% | 1.26% | 464 | 118 |
210 |
Marshall Islands |
52,772 | 0.00% | 0.26% | 181 | 292 |
211 |
Faeroe Islands |
49,460 | 0.00% | -0.02% | 1,399 | 35 |
212 |
Sint Maarten (Dutch part) |
46,085 | 0.00% | 1.88% | 34 | 1,355 |
213 |
Monaco |
38,066 | 0.00% | 0.62% | 1 | 25,548 |
214 |
Liechtenstein |
37,194 | 0.00% | 0.73% | 160 | 232 |
215 |
Turks and Caicos Islands |
33,736 | 0.00% | 1.93% | 430 | 78 |
216 |
San Marino |
31,637 | 0.00% | 0.60% | 61 | 519 |
217 |
Gibraltar |
29,335 | 0.00% | 0.09% | 6 | 4,889 |
218 |
British Virgin Islands |
28,562 | 0.00% | 0.78% | 151 | 189 |
219 |
Palau |
21,097 | 0.00% | 0.86% | 459 | 46 |
220 |
Cook Islands |
20,732 | 0.00% | 0.50% | 236 | 88 |
221 |
Caribbean Netherlands |
19,525 | 0.00% | 2.06% | 328 | 60 |
222 |
Anguilla |
14,460 | 0.00% | 1.12% | 91 | 159 |
223 |
Wallis and Futuna Islands |
13,206 | 0.00% | -0.50% | 200 | 66 |
224 |
Nauru |
10,081 | 0.00% | 0.30% | 21 | 480 |
225 |
Tuvalu |
9,894 | 0.00% | 0.18% | 26 | 381 |
226 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
6,046 | 0.00% | 0.05% | 242 | 25 |
227 |
Montserrat |
5,135 | 0.00% | 0.86% | 102 | 50 |
228 |
Saint Helena |
4,120 | 0.00% | -0.22% | 122 | 34 |
229 |
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) |
3,052 | 0.00% | 0.26% | 12,159 | 0 |
230 |
Niue |
1,307 | 0.00% | -2.75% | 260 | 5 |
231 |
Tokelau |
1,222 | 0.00% | 2.26% | 12 | 102 |
232 |
Holy See |
799 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0 | 1,816 |
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.
The world population counter displayed on Worldometers takes into consideration data from two major sources: the United Nations and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The above world population clock is based on the latest estimates released on July 29, 2015 by the United Nations and will show the same number wherever you are in the world and whatever time you set on your PC. Worldometers is the only website to show live counters that are based on UN data and that do not follow the user's PC clock.
Visitors around the world visiting a PC clock based counter, such as the the United Nations' one on http://7billionactions.org and http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion see different numbers depending on where they are located, and therefore have seen the clock reaching 7 billion whenever their locally set PC clocks reached 4:21:10 AM on October 31, 2011. As a test, try changing the date to yesterday on your computer clock, and watch what happens to http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion. With 39 time zones around the world, every visitor is seeing a different number right now on the United Nations clock. Look instead at Worldometers.
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 reaches 7 billion (or any other exact number), let alone at what time. But once an estimate is done (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.