World population

World population estimates from 1800 to 2100, based on UN 2010 projections (red, orange, green) and US Census Bureau historical estimates (black). According to the highest estimate, the world population may rise to 16 billion by 2100; according to the lowest estimate, it may decline to only 6 billion.

The world's population is the number of people on Earth. It is increasing all the time because more people are being born than are dying. The population of the world can be changed by other causes such as extinction level events, and natural and un-natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, war). In November 2022, the United Nations said the Earth's population had reached 8 billion.^[1]

World Population Media

High, medium, and low projections of the future human world population
Visual comparison of the world population in past and present
Map showing urban areas with at least one million inhabitants in 2020. Only 3% of the world's population lived in urban areas in 1800; this proportion had risen to 47% by 2000, and reached 56% by 2020.
Cartogram showing the distribution of the world population, each square represents half a million people.
Choropleth showing Population density (people per square kilometre) by country or U.S. state in 2019
1901 to 2021 population graph of the five countries with the highest current populations
Population density (people per km2) map of the world in 2020. Red areas denote regions of highest population density
Estimates of population evolution in different continents between 1950 and 2050, according to the United Nations. The vertical axis is logarithmic and is in millions of people.