Demographics of the world


has a human population of over 8.2 billion as of 2025, with an overall population density of 50 people per km2. Nearly 60% of the world's population lives in Asia, with more than 2.8 billion in the countries of India and China combined. The percentage shares of China, India and rest of South Asia of the world population have remained at similar levels for the last few thousand years of recorded history.
The world's population is predominantly urban and suburban, and there has been significant migration toward cities and urban centers. The urban population jumped from 29% in 1950 to 55.3% in 2018. Interpolating from the United Nations prediction that the world will be 51.3% urban by 2010, Ron Wimberley, Libby Morris and Gregory Fulkerson estimated 23 May 2007 would have been the first time the urban population was more populous than the rural population in history. India and China are the most populous countries, as the birth rate has consistently dropped in wealthy countries and until recently remained high in poorer countries. Jakarta is the largest urban agglomeration in the world.
As of 2024, the total fertility rate of the world is estimated at 2.25 children per woman, which is slightly below the global average for the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.33. However, world population growth is unevenly distributed, with the total fertility rate ranging from the world's lowest of 0.8 in South Korea, to the highest of 6.7 in Niger. The United Nations estimated an annual population increase of 1.14% for the year of 2000.
The current world population growth is approximately 1.09%. People under 15 years of age made up over a quarter of the world population, and people age 65 and over made up nearly ten percent in 2021. The world's literacy rate has increased dramatically in the last 40 years, from 66.7% in 1979 to 86.3% today. Lower literacy levels are mostly attributable to poverty and are found mostly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The world population more than tripled during the 20th century from about 1.65 billion in 1900 to 5.97 billion in 1999. It reached the 2 billion mark in 1927, the 3 billion mark in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, and 5 billion in 1987. The overall population of the world is approximately 8 billion as of November 2022. Currently, population growth is fastest among low wealth, least developed countries. The UN projects a world population of 9.15 billion in 2050, a 32.7% increase from 6.89 billion in 2010.

History

Historical migration of human populations begins with the movement of Homo erectus out of Africa across Eurasia about a million years ago. Homo sapiens appear to have occupied all of Africa about 300,000 years ago, moved out of Africa 50,000 – 60,000 years ago, and had spread across Australia, Asia and Europe by 30,000 years BC. Migration to the Americas took place 20,000 to 15,000 years ago, and by 2,000 years ago, most of the Pacific Islands were colonized.
Until c. 10,000 years ago, humans lived as hunter-gatherers. They generally lived in small nomadic groups known as band societies. The advent of agriculture prompted the Neolithic Revolution, when access to food surplus led to the formation of permanent human settlements. About 6,000 years ago, the first proto-states developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt's Nile Valley and the Indus Valley. Early human settlements were dependent on proximity to water and, depending on the lifestyle, other natural resources used for subsistence. But humans have a great capacity for altering their habitats by means of technology.
Since 1800, the human population has increased from one billion to over eight billion. In 2004, some 2.5 billion out of 6.3 billion people lived in urban areas. In February 2008, the U.N. estimated that half the world's population would live in urban areas by the end of the year. Problems for humans living in cities include various forms of pollution and crime, especially in inner city and suburban slums. Both overall population numbers and the proportion residing in cities are expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.

World Population, AD 1–1998 (in thousands)

Source: Maddison and others..
Year11000150016001700182018701913195019731998
Western Europe24 70025 41357 26873 77881 460132 888187 532261 007305 060358 390388 399
Eastern Europe
4 7506 50013 50016 95018 80036 41552 18279 60487 289110 490121 006
Former USSR3 9007 10116 95020 70026 55054 76588 765156 192180 050249 748290 866
Total Europe
33 35039 01387 718111 428126 810224 068328 386496 803572 399718 628800 271
United States6801 3002 0001 5001 0009 98140 24197 606152 271212 909279 040
Other Western Offshoots4906608008007501 2495 89213 79523 82339 03652 859
Total Western Offshoots1 1701 9602 8002 3001 75011 23046 133111 401176 094250 945323 420
Mexico2 2004 5007 5002 5004 5006 5879 21914 97028 48557 64398 553
Other Latin America3 4006 90010 0006 1007 55014 63330 75465 545137 352250 807409 070
Total Latin America5 60011 40017 5008 60012 05021 22039 97380 515165 837308 450507 623
Japan3 0007 50015 40018 50027 00031 00034 43751 67283 563108 660126 469
China59 60059 000103 000160 000138 000381 000358 000437 140546 815881 9401 242 700
India75 00077 000113 000145 000201 000209 000239 000319 000362 000549 0001 029 000
Other Asia36 60041 40055 40065 00071 80089 366119 619185 092392 481677 2141 172 243
Total Asia 171 200175 400268 400360 000374 800679 366730 619925 9321 298 2962 139 1543 389 943
Africa16 50033 00046 00055 00061 00074 20890 466124 697228 342387 645759 954
World 230,820268,273437,818555,828603,4101,041,0921,270,0141,791,0202,524,5313,913,4825,907,680

Shares of world population, AD 1–1998 (% of world total)

Source: Maddison and others..
Year11000150016001700182018701913195019731998
Western Europe10.79.513.113.313.512.814.814.612.19.26.6
Eastern Europe
2.12.43.13.03.13.54.14.43.52.82.0
Former USSR1.72.63.93.74.45.37.08.77.16.44.9
Total Europe
14.514.520.120.021.021.625.927.722.718.413.5
United States0.30.50.50.30.21.03.25.46.05.44.6
Other Western Offshoots0.20.20.20.10.10.10.50.80.91.00.9
Total Western Offshoots 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.31.1 3.6 6.2 7.0 6.4 5.5
Mexico1.01.71.70.40.70.60.70.81.11.51.7
Other Latin America1.52.62.31.11.31.42.43.75.46.46.9
Total Latin America2.4 4.2 4.0 1.5 2.0 2.0 3.1 4.5 6.6 7.98.6
Japan 1.3 2.8 3.5 3.3 4.5 3.0 2.7 2.9 3.3 2.8 2.1
China25.822.023.528.822.936.628.224.421.722.521.0
India32.528.025.124.327.320.119.917.014.214.816.5
Other Asia15.915.412.711.711.98.69.410.315.517.319.8
Total Asia 74.2 65.461.3 64.8 62.1 65.3 57.5 51.7 51.4 54.7 57.4
Africa 7.1 12.3 10.5 9.9 10.1 7.1 7.1 7.0 9.0 9.912.9
World 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0100.0 100.0100.0 100.0