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

World population growth from 10,000 BCE to 2021
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 2006. Only 3% of the world's population lived in urban areas in 1800; this proportion had risen to 47% by 2000, and reached 50.5% by 2010. By 2050, the proportion may reach 70%.
Template:Legend-col* 2015 map showing average life expectancy by country in years. In 2015, the World Health Organization estimated the average global life expectancy as 71.4 years.
Population pyramid of the world in continental groupings in 2023
Cartogram showing the distribution of the world population, each square represents half a million people.
A map of world population 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