Map of countries by population—China and India, the only two countries to have a population greater than one billion, together possess more than a third of the world's population. In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country (See List of countries by population. List of countries by population in 2005|List of countries by population in 1907This is a list of countries ordered according to Population. )

Population by continent as a percentage of world population (1750–2005)

The world population is the total number of living humans on Earth at a given time. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 As of May 2008, the world's population is believed to be just over 6. International holidays May 1 - Labour Day ( Pakistan) May 1 - Labour Day ( Singapore) In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology 7 billion. ^[1][2] In line with population projections, this figure continues to grow at rates that were unprecedented before the 20th century, although the rate of increase has almost halved since its peak, which was reached in 1963, of 2. 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 2 percent per year. The world's population, on its current growth trajectory, is expected to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2042. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology ^[3][4]

Population figures

Censuses taken between 300–400 CE showed over 50 million people living in the combined eastern and western Roman empire. (citation Dr. Kenneth W. Harl, tulane. edu)

Below is a table with historical and predicted population figures shown in millions. ^[5][6][7] The availability of historical population figures varies by region. (Note: These projections here are not kept up to date. ) Please see World population estimates for more figures. A list of data for historical and projected human Population of planet Earth from various sources is recorded here for reference (see e

* Northern America indicates the northern countries and territories of North America: Canada, the United States, Greenland, Bermuda, and St. Pierre and Miquelon. This should not be confused with the term "North America" which typically includes Mexico. The United Nations data includes Mexico as part of Latin America.

** This figure is disputed.

Rate of increase

Main article: Population growth

Population evolution in different continents. 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 A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions The vertical axis is logarithmic and is millions of people.

Different regions have different rates of population growth, but in the unusual case of the 20th century, the world saw the biggest increase in its population in human history due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity made by the Green Revolution. 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 The twentieth century of the Common Era began on All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, Death, and Disease. The Green Revolution refers to the transformation of Agriculture that began in 1945 at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to

In 2000, the United Nations estimated that the world's population was then growing at the rate of 1. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security 14% (or about 75 million people) per year,^[12] down from a peak of 86 million per year in 1987. 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 Factbooks, the world human population increased by 203,800 every day. The World Factbook ( ISSN; also known as the CIA World Factbook) is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the ^[13] The 2007 CIA factbook increased this to 211,090 people every day.

Globally, the population growth rate has been steadily declining from its peak of 2. 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 19% in 1963, but growth remains high in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. 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 ^[14]

In some countries there is negative population growth (i. e. net decrease in population over time), especially in Central and Eastern Europe (mainly due to low fertility rates) and Southern Africa (due to the high number of HIV-related deaths). Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. The total fertility rate ( TFR, sometimes also called the fertility rate, period total fertility rate (PTFR or total Southern Africa is the Southernmost Region of the African Continent, variably defined by Geography or Geopolitics. Human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) is a Lentivirus (a member of the Retrovirus family that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome Within the next decade, Japan and some countries in Western Europe are also expected to encounter negative population growth due to sub-replacement fertility rates. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' Sub-replacement fertility is a Total fertility rate that is not high enough to replace an area's population

Population growth which exceeds the carrying capacity of an area or environment results in overpopulation. The supportable Population of an Organism, given the food habitat, water and other necessities available within an environment is known as the environment's Overpopulation refers to a condition where an Organism 's numbers exceed the Carrying capacity of its Habitat. Conversely, such areas may be considered "underpopulated" if the population is not large enough to maintain an economic system; however, many who do not view overpopulation as a serious problem fail to consider the sustainability of economic systems, the environmental degradation caused, and the ecological footprint of the existing population. An economic system is a System that involves the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services between Sustainability, in a general sense is the capacity to maintain a certain process or state indefinitely Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as Air, Water and Soil; the destruction The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's Ecosystems.

The United Nations states that population growth is rapidly declining due to the demographic transition. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Demographic transition model (DTM is a model used to explain the process of shift from high Birth rates and high Death rates to low birth rates and low death rates The world population is expected to peak at 9. 2 billion in 2075. [1]

Population (est. ) 10,000 BCE – 2000 CE.

Population (est. ) in log y scale

World population 1950–2000

Increase rate 1950–2000

Milestones

These numbers show that the world's population has tripled in 72 years, and doubled in 38 years up to the year 1999. Including some more estimates, the world population has been doubled or will double in the following years (with two different starting points). A list of data for historical and projected human Population of planet Earth from various sources is recorded here for reference (see e Note how, during the 2nd millennium, each doubling has taken roughly half as long as the previous doubling. The second millennium is a period of time that commenced on January 1, 1001, and ended on December 31, 2000.

Population distribution

Population density map of the world in 1994, when the world's population was at 5. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 6 billion; Observe the high densities in the Indo-Gangetic and North China Plains, the Sichuan Basin, the Nile river delta, Southern Japan, Western Europe, the Indonesian island of Java, Central America (especially El Salvador, the Americas' most densely populated nation), and the United States' BosWash megalopolis. The Indo-Gangetic Plain also known as the Northern plains and the North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, The North China Plain ( is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River and is the largest Alluvial plain of eastern Asia. The Sichuan basin ( Chinese: 四川盆地 is a lowland region in southwestern China. The Nile Delta ( Arabic: دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt ( Lower Egypt) where the Nile River spreads For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. El Salvador ( República de El Salvador,) is a country in Central America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Northeastern_United_States#The_Northeast_as_a_megalopolis BosWash (also referred to as BoWash, BosNYwash, the Northeast Corridor, the

Asia accounts for over 60% of the world population with almost 3. 8 billion people. People's Republic of China and India alone comprise 20% and 16% respectively. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Africa follows with 840 million people, 12% of the world population. Europe's 710 million people make up 11% of the world's population. North America is home to 514 million (8%), South America to 371 million (5. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a 3%), and Australia 21 million. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.

The 15 most populous nations

The 15 most populous nations

Approximately 4. 3 billion people live in these 15 countries, representing roughly two-thirds of the world's population. If added together, all nations in the European Union, with 494 million people – about 7. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in 3% of world's population in 2006 – would be third in the list below.

Population by region, 2007

Ethnicity

Main article: List of ethnic groups

The world is made up of hundreds of thousands of ethnic groups, and due to mass migration across the planet over millennia, it is impossible to tell how many people belonging to a certain ethnic group inhabit the earth. Human migration denotes any movement by Humans from one locality to another sometimes over long distances or The single largest ethnic group on the planet by far is Han Chinese, which represents 19. Han Chinese ( are an Ethnic group native to China and by most modern definitions the largest single Ethnic group in the world. 73% of the global population, for comparison 6. 06% of the planet's population is of full or partial Spanish ancestry, and on a wider scale 14. 2% of earth's population is of Sub-Saharan descent (those identifying as 'Black'). 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

Demographics of youth

According to the 2006 CIA World Factbook, around 27% of the world's population is below 15 years of age. The World Factbook ( ISSN; also known as the CIA World Factbook) is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the ^[16]

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. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 In fact, because of the 160 million-per-year raw births after 1995, the time it took to reach the next billion reached its fastest pace (only 12 years), as world population reached 6 billion people in 1999, when at the beginning of the decade, the reaching was designated for the year 2000, by most demographers. People aged 7 through 17 make up these births, today.

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 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The reason is because 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 17 to 22 make up these births, today.

Forecast of world population

Main article: World population estimates

See also: Overpopulation

In the long run, the future population growth of the world is difficult to predict. 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 Birth rates 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. This page consists of two tables Table 1 is sourced from the CIA World Factbook''' Death rates can change unexpectedly due to disease, wars and catastrophes, or advances in medicine. Mortality rate is a measure of the number of Deaths (in general or due to a specific cause in some population scaled to the size of that population per unit time An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic This is a listing of lists of Wars, sorted by country date region and type of conflict All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, Death, and Disease. 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.

Alternately, 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.

Other projections of population growth predict that the world's population will eventually crest, though it is uncertain exactly when or how. In some scenarios, the population will crest as early as the mid-21st century at under 9 billion, due to gradually decreasing birth rates, (the "low variant" of ^[5]), The "high variant" from the same source gives a population between 10 and 11 billion in 2050.

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 (also see overpopulation and food security). A Malthusian catastrophe (or Malthusian check, crisis, dilemma, disaster, trap, controls, or limit) is a return Overpopulation refers to a condition where an Organism 's numbers exceed the Carrying capacity of its Habitat. Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it

Predictions based on our growing population

In 1798, Thomas Malthus incorrectly predicted that population growth would eventually outrun food supply in the middle of the 19th century, resulting in catastrophe. Thomas Robert Malthus FRS (13 February 1766 – 23 December 1834 was an English political economist and demographer who expressed views In 1968, Paul R. Ehrlich reignited this argument with his book The Population Bomb, which helped give the issue significant attention throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29 1932 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is a renowned Entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera (butterflies The Population Bomb (1968 is a book written by Paul R Ehrlich. The dire predictions of Ehrlich and other neo-Malthusians were vigorously challenged by a number of economists, notably Julian Simon. Neo-malthusianism is a set of doctrines derived from Thomas Malthus 's theory that limited resources keep populations in check and reduce economic growth Julian Lincoln Simon (born February 12, 1932; died February 8, 1998 in Chevy Chase Maryland of Heart attack) was

On the opposite end of the spectrum there are a number of people who argue that today's low fertility rates in Europe, North America, Japan and Australia, combined with mass immigration, will have severe negative consequences for these countries. The total fertility rate ( TFR, sometimes also called the fertility rate, period total fertility rate (PTFR or total For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term ^[20]

Child poverty has been linked to people having children before they have the means to care for them. Child poverty concerns poverty of people under the age of 18 Causes Government corruption. ^[21] More recently, some scholars have put forward the Doomsday argument applying Bayesian probability to world population to argue that the end of humanity will come sooner than we usually think. The Doomsday argument ( DA) is a Probabilistic argument that claims to Predict the Future lifetime of the Human race given only an Bayesian probability interprets the concept of Probability as 'a measure of a state of knowledge'. ^[22]

It should be noted that between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%. The Green Revolution refers to the transformation of Agriculture that began in 1945 at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon fueled irrigation. Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fossil source Fuels that is Hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the Earth’s crust. Fertilizers ( also spelt fertiliser are chemical compounds given to Plants to promote growth they are usually applied either through the soil for uptake by plant A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest. In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops ^[23] The peaking of world hydrocarbon production (Peak oil) may test Malthus and Ehrlich critics. ^[24][25] As of May 2008, increased farming for use in biofuels,^[26] world oil prices at over $120 a barrel,^[27] global population growth,^[28] climate change,^[29] loss of agricultural land to residential and industrial development,^[30][31] and growing consumer demand in China and India^[32] have pushed up the price of grain. This article is about the price of crude oil see Gasoline usage and pricing for information about derivative motor fuels 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 Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ^[33] Food riots have recently taken place in many countries across the world. The years 2007–2008 saw dramatic rises in world food prices creating a global crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in ^[34][35][36]

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 and malnutrition than the UN presently documents (approximately 850 million people suffering from chronic malnutrition in 2005). A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. ^[37]

Number of humans who have ever lived

Estimates of the total number of people who have ever lived range approximately from 45 billion to 125 billion. Many of the more robust estimates fall into the range of 90 to 110 billion humans. It is impossible to make a precise count of the number of human beings who have ever lived 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.

• 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 exists for the last two or three centuries. Until the late 18th century, few nations, kingdoms, or empires had ever performed an accurate census. A global empire involves the extension of a state's sovereignty over territories all around the World. In many early attempts, the focus was on counting merely a subset of the people for purposes of taxation or military service. Even with the advent of agencies such as the United States Bureau of the Census, reliable census methods and technologies continue to evolve. All estimates 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.

"Guesstimating the number of people ever born. . . requires selecting population sizes for different points from antiquity to the present and applying assumed birth rates to each period. . . "^[38]

According to one set of calculations based on 2002 data:^[38]

• The number who have ever been born is around 106 000 000 000.
• The world population in mid-2002 was approximately 6 215 000 000
• The percentage of those ever born who were living in 2002 was approximately 5. 8%

References

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'[2] site. ^[1]
• Population patterns and trends can be explored on the GeoHive interactive world atlas. ^[2]

See also

External links

• World Population
• The Population Project
• Optimum Population Trust
• State of World Population 2007 report 27 June, 2007 - United Nations Population Fund
• World Population Day United Nations: 11 July
• The Day of 6 Billion official homepage
• World Population Prospects. Birth control, sometimes synonymous with contraception, is a regimen of one or more actions devices or Medications followed in order to deliberately prevent Depopulation is a term used to describe any great reduction in a human population The Doomsday argument ( DA) is a Probabilistic argument that claims to Predict the Future lifetime of the Human race given only an This is about the future of civilization humans and the earth Family planning is frequently used to mean that people plan when to have children using Birth control, preconceptional counseling. Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it The Green Revolution refers to the transformation of Agriculture that began in 1945 at the request of the Mexican government to establish an agricultural research station to Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age Religious demographics and Religions by country. Four largest religions List of countries by population in 2005|List of countries by population in 1907This is a list of countries ordered according to Population. List of countries and dependencies by Population density in inhabitants/km² This is a list of countries and self-governing dependent territories by Population growth rate, with estimates taken from the 2006 edition of the United Nations World This page consists of two tables Table 1 is sourced from the CIA World Factbook''' traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen, This is an incomplete list of major Famines ordered by date A complete list will almost certainly never become available Medieval Demography is the study of human Demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. The one-child policy is the Population control policy (or planned birth policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC Overpopulation refers to a condition where an Organism 's numbers exceed the Carrying capacity of its Habitat. Population control is the practice of limiting population increase usually by reducing the Birth rate. 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 The Population Reference Bureau (PRB a nonprofit organization informs people around the world about population health and the environment and seeks to help them use that information The United Nations Population Fund designated October 12, 1999 as the approximate day on which World population reached six billion A list of data for historical and projected human Population of planet Earth from various sources is recorded here for reference (see e The years 2007–2008 saw dramatic rises in world food prices creating a global crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in URL accessed on April 7, 2005.
• World Population Counter
• Trend of growth rate with total global population
• The World in Balance Transcript of two-part PBS' Nova on World Population
• BBC (1999). UN chief welcomes six billionth baby. URL accessed on March 7, 2005.
• Central Intelligence Agency (2004). near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all CIA The World Factbook 2004. URL accessed on February 13, 2005.
• United Nations (2001). The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security United Nations Population Information Network. URL accessed on February 13, 2005.
• United States Census Bureau (2004). The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census Historical Estimates of World Population. URL accessed on February 13, 2005.
• PopulationData. net (2005). PopulationData.net - Information and maps about populations around the world.
• GeoHive GeoHive.com - World Statistics including population and future predictions.
• Population Reference Bureau www.prb.org - News and issues related to population.
• (French) World Population Clock (2005). WorldPopClock.com - World population clock.
• Population Counter. Real time counter..
• Population Information on population, population growth, population problems, population statistics, and population figures.
• World maps, including maps of population from Year 1 to Year 2300
• Live World Population
• World Population from the US Census Bureau in an interactive Excel dashboard