TheInfoList

upright=1.3, Population growth graph In demographics, the world population is the total number of
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most populous and widespread species of primates, characterized by bipedality, opposable thumbs, hairlessness, and intelligence allowing the use of culture, language and tools. They are the only Extant taxon, ...

s currently living, and was estimated to have reached 7,800,000,000 people . It took over 2 million years of human prehistory and
history History (from Greek , ''historia'', meaning "inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation") is the study of the past. Events occurring before the invention of writing systems are considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term that relate ...
for the world's population to reach 1 billion, and only 200 years more to reach 7 billion. The world population has experienced continuous growth following the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the end of the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia from 1346 to 1353. It is the List of epidemics, most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing th ...
in 1350, when it was near 370 million. The highest global population growth rates, with increases of over 1.8% per year, occurred between 1955 and 1975peaking at 2.1% between 1965 and 1970. The growth rate declined to 1.2% between 2010 and 2015 and is projected to decline further in the course of the 21st century. The global population is still increasing, but there is significant uncertainty about its long-term trajectory due to changing rates of fertility and mortality. The UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs projects between 9-10 billion people by 2050, and gives an 80% confidence interval of 10-12 billion by the end of the 21st century. Total annual births were highest in the late 1980s at about 139 million, and as of 2011 were expected to remain essentially constant at a level of 135 million, while deaths numbered 56 million per year and were expected to increase to 80 million per year by 2040. The of the world's population was estimated to be 30.4 years in 2018.

# Population by region

Six of the Earth's seven
continent A continent is one of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these ...
s 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 The Caribbean (, ; es, Caribe; french: Caraïbes; ht, Karayib; also gcf, label= Antillean Creole, Kawayib; nl, Caraïben; Papiamento: ) is a region of the Americas that comprises the Caribbean Sea, its surrounding coasts, and its islands ( ...
regions are home to around 653 million (8%). North 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%).
Antarctica Antarctica ( or ) is Earth's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Oce ...

only has a very small, fluctuating population of about 1200 people based mainly in polar science stations.

# History

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 date to the 17th century: William Petty in 1682 estimated world population at 320 million (modern estimates ranging close to twice this number); by the late 18th century, estimates ranged close to one billion (consistent with modern estimates). 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 at 800 million to 1 billion in the 1840s. It is difficult for estimates to be better than rough approximations, as even modern population estimates are fraught with uncertainties on the order of 3% to 5%.

## 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. 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 Lake Toba genetic bottleneck, 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. The Plague of Justinian, which first emerged during the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian, caused Europe's population to drop by around 50% between the 6th and 8th centuries AD. The population of Europe was more than 70 million in 1340. The
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia from 1346 to 1353. It is the List of epidemics, most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing th ...
pandemic of the 14th century may have reduced the world's population from an estimated 450 million in 1340 to between 350 and 375 million in 1400; it took 200 years for population figures to recover. The population of China decreased from 123 million in 1200 to 65 million in 1393, presumably from a combination of Mongol Empire, Mongol invasions, famine, and plague. Starting in AD 2, the Han Dynasty of ancient China kept consistent family registers in order to properly assess the poll taxes and labor service duties of each household.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. 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. 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. England's population reached an estimated 5.6 million in 1650, up from an estimated 2.6 million in 1500. 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. Since their introduction to Africa by Portuguese traders in the 16th century, maize and cassava have similarly replaced traditional African crops as the most important staple food crops grown on the continent. The Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian population of the Americas is uncertain; historian David Henige called it "the most unanswerable question in the world." 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. Encounters between European explorers and populations in the rest of the world often introduced local List of epidemics, epidemics of extraordinary virulence. According to the most extreme scholarly claims, as many as 90% of the Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American population of the New World died of Old World diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza. Over the centuries, the Europeans had developed high degrees of immunity to these diseases, while the indigenous peoples had no such immunity.

## Modern history

During the European British Agricultural Revolution, Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically. The percentage of the children born in London who infant mortality, died before the age of five decreased from 74.5% in 1730–1749 to 31.8% in 1810–1829. Between 1700 and 1900, Europe's population increased from about 100 million to over 400 million. Altogether, the areas populated by people of European descent comprised 36% of the world's population in 1900. Population growth in the West became more rapid after the introduction of vaccination and other improvements in medicine and sanitation. Improved material conditions led to the population of Britain increasing from 10 million to 40 million in the 19th century. The population of the United Kingdom reached 60 million in 2006. The United States saw its population grow from around 5.3 million in 1800 to 106 million in 1920, exceeding 307 million in 2010. The first half of the 20th century in Russian Empire, 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). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's population declined significantly – from 150 million in 1991 to 143 million in 2012 – but by 2013 this decline appeared to have halted. 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, 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; today, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are collectively home to about billion people. Java had about 5 million inhabitants in 1815; its present-day successor, Indonesia, now has a population of over 140 million. 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. Between the 1920s and 2000s, Kenya's population grew from 2.9 million to 37 million.

## Milestones by the billions

It is 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. Thereafter, the global population reached four billion in 1974, five billion in 1987, six billion in 1999 and, according to the United States Census Bureau, seven billion in March 2012. The number on this page is automatically updated daily. The United Nations, however, estimated that the world population reached seven billion in October 2011. According to current projections, the global population will reach eight billion by 2024, and is likely to reach around nine billion by 2042. Alternative scenarios for 2050 range from a low of 7.4 billion to a high of more than 10.6 billion.* * * * * Projected figures vary depending on underlying statistical assumptions and the variables used in projection calculations, especially the fertility rate, fertility variable. 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. 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. 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 7 Billion" to be 31 October 2011.

# Global demographics

## Environmental impacts

A number of scientists have argued that the current global population expansion and accompanying increase in resource consumption threatens the world's ecosystem. The InterAcademy Panel IAP statement on population growth, Statement on Population Growth, which was ratified by 58 member national academy, national academies in 1994, states that "unprecedented" population growth aggravates many environmental problems, including rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming, and pollution. Indeed, some analysts claim that overpopulation's most serious impact is its effect on the environment. Scientists contend that human overpopulation, continued human population growth and overconsumption, particularly by the wealthy, are the primary drivers of Holocene extinction, mass species extinction. By 2050 population growth, along with profligate consumption, could result in oceans containing more Plastic pollution, plastic than fish by weight. In November 2017, a World Scientists' Warning to Humanity, statement by 15,364 scientists from 184 countries asserted that rapid human population growth is the "primary driver behind many ecological and even societal threats." African wildlife populations are declining significantly as growing human populations encroach on protected ecosystems, such as the Serengeti. The ''Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services'', released by IPBES in 2019, states that human population growth is a factor in biodiversity loss. According to a 2020 World Wildlife Fund ''Living Planet Report'' and its Living Planet Index, global wildlife populations have plummeted by 68% since 1970 as a result of overconsumption, population growth and intensive farming, which experts assert is further evidence that humans have unleashed a sixth mass extinction event on earth. A July 2017 study published in ''Environmental Research Letters'' argued that the most significant way individuals could mitigate their own carbon footprint is to have fewer children, followed by living without a vehicle, foregoing air travel, and adopting a plant-based diet.

## Population control

Human population control is the practice of intervening to alter the rate of population growth. Historically, human population control has been implemented by limiting a region's birth rate, by voluntary contraception or by government mandate. It has been undertaken as a response to factors including high or increasing levels of poverty, carrying capacity, environmental concerns, and religion, religious reasons. The use of abortion in some population control strategies has caused controversy, with religious organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church explicitly opposing any intervention in the human reproductive process. The University of Nebraska publication ''Green Illusions'' argues that population control to alleviate environmental pressures need not be coercive. It states that "Women who are educated, economically engaged, and in control of their own bodies can enjoy the freedom of bearing children at their own pace, which happens to be a rate that is appropriate for the aggregate ecological endowment of our planet." The book ''Fatal Misconception'' by Matthew Connelly similarly points to the importance of supporting the rights of women in bringing population levels down over time. Paul R. Ehrlich, Paul Ehrlich also advocates making "modern contraception and back-up abortion available to all and give women full equal rights, pay and opportunities with men," noting that it could possibly "lead to a low enough total fertility rate that the needed shrinkage of population would follow. [But] it will take a very long time to humanely reduce total population to a size that is sustainable." Ehrlich places the optimum global population size at 1.5 to 2 billion people. Other academicians and public figures have pointed to the role of agriculture and agricultural productivity of increasing human carrying capacity, which results in population overshoot, as with any other species when their food supply experiences an increase, which in turn results in resource depletion and mass poverty and starvation in the case of humans.

# Number of humans who have ever lived

Estimates of the total number of humans who have ever lived range is estimated to be of the order of 1E11, 100 billion. Such estimates can only be rough approximations; as even modern population estimates are subject to uncertainty of around 3% to 5%."even 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). Kapitza (1996) cites estimates ranging between 80 and 150 billion. Haub (1995) prepared another figure, updated in 2002 and 2011; the 2011 figure was approximately 107 billion. ''Note: text of paper publication slightly different from text of on-line publication'' 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". 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 Census in Egypt, Ancient Egypt and the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire, the focus was on counting merely a subset of the population for purposes of taxation or military service.Kuhrt, A. (1995). ''The Ancient Near East, c. 3000–330 BCE''. Vol. 2. London: Routledge. p. 695. 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", which is not to be mistaken for the life expectancy after reaching adulthood. The latter equally depended on period, location and social standing, but Life expectancy#Variation over time, calculations identify averages from roughly 30 years upward.

# References

*
"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.

Demographia.ru. Retrieved 25 June 2013. *
World Factbook 2012
'. US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Retrieved 6 November 2012.
"The World in Balance"
(transcript). Two-part PBS Nova 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. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
World Population Growth
(Oct 2016), Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser, ''OurWorldInData.org'' *

Organizations
The Day of 6 Billion
an
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

Population clocks
U.S. and World Population Clock (US Census Bureau)
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Population World population, Cultural globalization Human overpopulation