This database represents the historic, current and future estimates and projections with number of inhabitants for the world's largest urban areas from 1950-2050. The data covers cities and other urban areas with more than 750,000 people.

In 2025, Moscow was the largest city in Europe with an estimated urban agglomeration of 12.74 million people. The French capital, Paris, was the second largest city in 2025 at 11.35 million, followed by the capitals of the United Kingdom and Spain, with London at 9.84 million and Madrid at 6.81 million people. Istanbul, which would otherwise be the largest city in Europe in 2025, is excluded as it is only partially in Europe, with a sizeable part of its population living in Asia. Europe’s population is almost 750 million Since 1950, the population of Europe has increased by approximately 200 million people, increasing from 550 million to 750 million in these seventy years. Before the turn of the millennium, Europe was the second-most populated continent, before it was overtaken by Africa, which saw its population increase from 228 million in 1950 to 817 million by 2000. Asia has consistently had the largest population of the world’s continents and was estimated to have a population of 4.6 billion. Europe’s largest countries Including its territory in Asia, Russia is by far the largest country in the world, with a territory of around 17 million square kilometers, almost double that of the next largest country, Canada. Within Europe, Russia also has the continent's largest population at 145 million, followed by Germany at 83 million and the United Kingdom at almost 68 million. By contrast, Europe is also home to various micro-states such as San Marino, which has a population of just 30 thousand.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Madrid, Spain metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Context

The United States Census Bureau’s international dataset provides estimates of country populations since 1950 and projections through 2050. Specifically, the dataset includes midyear population figures broken down by age and gender assignment at birth. Additionally, time-series data is provided for attributes including fertility rates, birth rates, death rates, and migration rates.

Querying BigQuery tables

You can use the BigQuery Python client library to query tables in this dataset in Kernels. Note that methods available in Kernels are limited to querying data. Tables are at bigquery-public-data.census_bureau_international.

Sample Query 1

What countries have the longest life expectancy? In this query, 2016 census information is retrieved by joining the mortality_life_expectancy and country_names_area tables for countries larger than 25,000 km2. Without the size constraint, Monaco is the top result with an average life expectancy of over 89 years!

standardSQL

SELECT age.country_name, age.life_expectancy, size.country_area FROM ( SELECT country_name, life_expectancy FROM bigquery-public-data.census_bureau_international.mortality_life_expectancy WHERE year = 2016) age INNER JOIN ( SELECT country_name, country_area FROM bigquery-public-data.census_bureau_international.country_names_area where country_area > 25000) size ON age.country_name = size.country_name ORDER BY 2 DESC /* Limit removed for Data Studio Visualization */ LIMIT 10

Sample Query 2

Which countries have the largest proportion of their population under 25? Over 40% of the world’s population is under 25 and greater than 50% of the world’s population is under 30! This query retrieves the countries with the largest proportion of young people by joining the age-specific population table with the midyear (total) population table.

standardSQL

SELECT age.country_name, SUM(age.population) AS under_25, pop.midyear_population AS total, ROUND((SUM(age.population) / pop.midyear_population) * 100,2) AS pct_under_25 FROM ( SELECT country_name, population, country_code FROM bigquery-public-data.census_bureau_international.midyear_population_agespecific WHERE year =2017 AND age < 25) age INNER JOIN ( SELECT midyear_population, country_code FROM bigquery-public-data.census_bureau_international.midyear_population WHERE year = 2017) pop ON age.country_code = pop.country_code GROUP BY 1, 3 ORDER BY 4 DESC /* Remove limit for visualization*/ LIMIT 10

Sample Query 3

The International Census dataset contains growth information in the form of birth rates, death rates, and migration rates. Net migration is the net number of migrants per 1,000 population, an important component of total population and one that often drives the work of the United Nations Refugee Agency. This query joins the growth rate table with the area table to retrieve 2017 data for countries greater than 500 km2.

SELECT growth.country_name, growth.net_migration, CAST(area.country_area AS INT64) AS country_area FROM ( SELECT country_name, net_migration, country_code FROM bigquery-public-data.census_bureau_international.birth_death_growth_rates WHERE year = 2017) growth INNER JOIN ( SELECT country_area, country_code FROM bigquery-public-data.census_bureau_international.country_names_area

Update frequency

Historic (none)

Dataset source

United States Census Bureau

Terms of use: This dataset is publicly available for anyone to use under the following terms provided by the Dataset Source - http://www.data.gov/privacy-policy#data_policy - and is provided "AS IS" without any warranty, express or implied, from Google. Google disclaims all liability for any damages, direct or indirect, resulting from the use of the dataset.

See the GCP Marketplace listing for more details and sample queries: https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/details/united-states-census-bureau/international-census-data

This statistic shows the number of people living in urban areas worldwide from 1950 to 2050. By 2050, roughly 1.49 billion people in Africa will be living in urban areas.

The population of Europe was estimated to be 745 million in 2024, an increase of around 4 million when compared with 2012. Over 35 years between 1950 and 1985, the population of Europe grew by approximately 157.8 million. But 35 years after 1985 it was estimated to have only increased by around 38.7 million. Since the 1960s, population growth in Europe has fallen quite significantly and was even negative during the mid-1990s. While population growth has increased slightly since the low of -0.07 percent in 1998, the growth rate for 2020 was just 0.04 percent. Which European country has the biggest population? As of 2024, the population of Russia was estimated to be approximately 144.8 million and was by far Europe's largest country in terms of population, with Turkey being the second-largest at over 87 million. While these two countries both have territory in Europe, however, they are both only partially in Europe, with the majority of their landmasses being in Asia. In terms of countries wholly located on the European continent, Germany had the highest population at 84.5 million, and was followed by the United Kingdom and France at 69.1 million and 66.5 million respectively. Characteristics of Europe's population There are approximately 384.6 million females in Europe, compared with 359.5 million males, a difference of around 25 million. In 1950, however, the male population has grown faster than the female one, with the male population growing by 104.7 million, and the female one by 93.6 million. As of 2024, the single year of age with the highest population was 37, at 10.6 million, while in the same year there were estimated to be around 136 thousand people aged 100 or over.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Berlin, Germany metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Amazonia holds the largest continuous area of tropical forests with intense land use change dynamics inducing water, carbon, and energy feedbacks with regional and global impacts. Much of our knowledge of land use change in Amazonia comes from studies of the Brazilian Amazon, which accounts for two thirds of the region. Amazonia outside of Brazil has received less attention because of the difficulty of acquiring consistent data across countries. We present here an agricultural statistics database of the entire Amazonia region, with a harmonized description of crops and pastures in geospatial format, based on administrative boundary data at the municipality level. The spatial coverage includes countries within Amazonia and spans censuses and surveys from 1950 to 2012. Harmonized crop and pasture types are explored by grouping annual and perennial cropping systems, C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways, planted and natural pastures, and main crops. Our analysis examined the spatial pattern of ratios between classes of the groups and their correlation with the agricultural extent of crops and pastures within administrative units of the Amazon, by country, and census/survey dates. Significant correlations were found between all ratios and the fraction of agricultural lands of each administrative unit, with the exception of planted to natural pastures ratio and pasture lands extent. Brazil and Peru in most cases have significant correlations for all ratios analyzed even for specific census and survey dates. Results suggested improvements, and potential applications of the database for carbon, water, climate, and land use change studies are discussed. The database presented here provides an Amazon-wide improved data set on agricultural dynamics with expanded temporal and spatial coverage.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Paris, France metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. To collect socio-economic data in order to investigate theories concerning the causes of coups. Main Topics: Variables Country, % population living in rural areas/working in agriculture 1970, % growth rate of GNP per capita (U.S. dollars) 1970, number of people for each physician 1970, % population illiterate 1970, number of radio sets/newspaper circulation per 1000 inhabitants 1970, density of population 1970, GNP per capita (U.S. dollars), % military personnel per 1000 population 1970, whether has own army, annual defence budget as % of GNP per capita 1970, extent of bilateral aid per capita (U.S. dollars), whether had coup d'etat 1950-1970, whether has been a colony for any period 1950-1970, whether has had coup previously, largest % population having same religion, whether had coup between 1960-1970, % population living in urban areas 1965, newspaper circulation per 1000 population 1965, number of people per physician 1965, % population having received education 1965, number of radio sets per 1000 population 1965, SNP per capita 1965 (U.S. dollars), whether had coup 1950-Jan 1971/1950-1966/1961-1966, number of riots since 1948-1967, number of major 'irregular power transfers' 1950-1968 (Taylor and Hudson), whether has military agreements with France 1950-1970, whether has had internal physical conflict on grounds of ethnic or language differences, whether receives aid, whether defends itself, whether became independent since 1 Jan 1966, number of major 'irregular power transfers' where a coup has taken place, major commodity exported as % of value of all exports 1968, whether product has one year gestation period, amount of external trade in relation to rest of world 1968 (U.S. dollars), major % exports to one country 1968, whether has trade with communist countries, whether ex-British/ex-French colony, whether has had monarch/emperor/sultan (not constitutional), whether has fought external war/civil war 1950-1970, whether has military agreements with U.S./U.K./U.S.S.R./ France, four major commodities exported as % of all exports, whether imports and exports major % of commodities from U.S.S.R./France/U.K./U.S.A. 1968.

In 2020, about 82.66 percent of the total population in the United States lived in cities and urban areas. As the United States was one of the earliest nations to industrialize, it has had a comparatively high rate of urbanization over the past two centuries. The urban population became larger than the rural population during the 1910s, and by the middle of the century it is expected that almost 90 percent of the population will live in an urban setting. Regional development of urbanization in the U.S. The United States began to urbanize on a larger scale in the 1830s, as technological advancements reduced the labor demand in agriculture, and as European migration began to rise. One major difference between early urbanization in the U.S. and other industrializing economies, such as the UK or Germany, was population distribution. Throughout the 1800s, the Northeastern U.S. became the most industrious and urban region of the country, as this was the main point of arrival for migrants. Disparities in industrialization and urbanization was a key contributor to the Union's victory in the Civil War, not only due to population sizes, but also through production capabilities and transport infrastructure. The Northeast's population reached an urban majority in the 1870s, whereas this did not occur in the South until the 1950s. As more people moved westward in the late 1800s, not only did their population growth increase, but the share of the urban population also rose, with an urban majority established in both the West and Midwest regions in the 1910s. The West would eventually become the most urbanized region in the 1960s, and over 90 percent of the West's population is urbanized today. Urbanization today New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with a population of 8.3 million, while California has the largest urban population of any state. California also has the highest urbanization rate, although the District of Columbia is considered 100 percent urban. Only four U.S. states still have a rural majority, these are Maine, Mississippi, Montana, and West Virginia.

As of July 2024, Nigeria's population was estimated at around 229.5 million. Between 1965 and 2024, the number of people living in Nigeria increased at an average rate of over two percent. In 2024, the population grew by 2.42 percent compared to the previous year. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. By extension, the African continent records the highest growth rate in the world. Africa's most populous country Nigeria was the most populous country in Africa as of 2023. As of 2022, Lagos held the distinction of being Nigeria's biggest urban center, a status it also retained as the largest city across all of sub-Saharan Africa. The city boasted an excess of 17.5 million residents. Notably, Lagos assumed the pivotal roles of the nation's primary financial hub, cultural epicenter, and educational nucleus. Furthermore, Lagos was one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world. Nigeria's youthful population In Nigeria, a significant 50 percent of the populace is under the age of 19. The most prominent age bracket is constituted by those up to four years old: comprising 8.3 percent of men and eight percent of women as of 2021. Nigeria boasts one of the world's most youthful populations. On a broader scale, both within Africa and internationally, Niger maintains the lowest median age record. Nigeria secures the 20th position in global rankings. Furthermore, the life expectancy in Nigeria is an average of 62 years old. However, this is different between men and women. The main causes of death have been neonatal disorders, malaria, and diarrheal diseases.

The world's population first reached one billion people in 1805, and reached eight billion in 2022, and will peak at almost 10.2 billion by the end of the century. Although it took thousands of years to reach one billion people, it did so at the beginning of a phenomenon known as the demographic transition; from this point onwards, population growth has skyrocketed, and since the 1960s the population has increased by one billion people every 12 to 15 years. The demographic transition sees a sharp drop in mortality due to factors such as vaccination, sanitation, and improved food supply; the population boom that follows is due to increased survival rates among children and higher life expectancy among the general population; and fertility then drops in response to this population growth. Regional differences The demographic transition is a global phenomenon, but it has taken place at different times across the world. The industrialized countries of Europe and North America were the first to go through this process, followed by some states in the Western Pacific. Latin America's population then began growing at the turn of the 20th century, but the most significant period of global population growth occurred as Asia progressed in the late-1900s. As of the early 21st century, almost two-thirds of the world's population lives in Asia, although this is set to change significantly in the coming decades. Future growth The growth of Africa's population, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, will have the largest impact on global demographics in this century. From 2000 to 2100, it is expected that Africa's population will have increased by a factor of almost five. It overtook Europe in size in the late 1990s, and overtook the Americas a few years later. In contrast to Africa, Europe's population is now in decline, as birth rates are consistently below death rates in many countries, especially in the south and east, resulting in natural population decline. Similarly, the population of the Americas and Asia are expected to go into decline in the second half of this century, and only Oceania's population will still be growing alongside Africa. By 2100, the world's population will have over three billion more than today, with the vast majority of this concentrated in Africa. Demographers predict that climate change is exacerbating many of the challenges that currently hinder progress in Africa, such as political and food instability; if Africa's transition is prolonged, then it may result in further population growth that would place a strain on the region's resources, however, curbing this growth earlier would alleviate some of the pressure created by climate change.

Global life expectancy at birth has risen significantly since the mid-1900s, from roughly 46 years in 1950 to 73.2 years in 2023. Post-COVID-19 projections There was a drop of 1.7 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, between 2019 and 2021, however, figures resumed upon their previous trajectory the following year due to the implementation of vaccination campaigns and the lower severity of later strains of the virus. By the end of the century it is believed that global life expectancy from birth will reach 82 years, although growth will slow in the coming decades as many of the more-populous Asian countries reach demographic maturity. However, there is still expected to be a wide gap between various regions at the end of the 2100s, with the Europe and North America expected to have life expectancies around 90 years, whereas Sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to be in the low-70s. The Great Leap Forward While a decrease of one year during the COVID-19 pandemic may appear insignificant, this is the largest decline in life expectancy since the "Great Leap Forward" in China in 1958, which caused global life expectancy to fall by almost four years between by 1960. The "Great Leap Forward" was a series of modernizing reforms, which sought to rapidly transition China's agrarian economy into an industrial economy, but mismanagement led to tens of millions of deaths through famine and disease.

During the post-war economic boom, between the Second World War and the 1970s' recession, virtually all areas of Europe experienced significant economic growth. While this period is known as the "Golden Age of Capitalism" in Western Europe, communist countries in Eastern Europe (with socialist economic systems) generally experienced higher GDP growth rates in the 1950s and 1960s. Although most of these economies entered the period at a much less-developed stage than the likes of Britain, France, or West Germany, the Soviet model proved to be an economic success in these decades. Controlling the means of production The transition to communism across Eastern Europe saw the nationalization of most industries, as governments took control of the means of production in their respective countries. As much of Eastern Europe entered the period with relatively-low levels of industrialization compared to the west, this meant that governments could dictate the development of their manufacturing and retail industries. By the end of the 1960s, state-owned endeavors in Eastern Europe were responsible for over 95 percent of national income. Problems did arise, however, when states attempted to take control of the agricultural sector, as many of the families who owned the land were unwilling to part with it. Agriculture proved to be the only major industry not mostly owned by the state during Eastern Europe's communist era; in the long term, agriculture suffered due to the lack of government investment in such state-run economic systems. Variations There is a correlation between the sides taken during the Second World War and the speed of economic growth in each decade; the Allied nations of Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia all experienced faster economic growth in the 1950s; whereas the Axis nations of Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania saw faster growth in the 1960s. East Germany was the exception to this rule, as its economy was much more developed than other former-Axis powers. The speed of recovery in these countries was the largest contributor to variations in growth rates, although regional variations in governance did influence development in later years (particularly in Yugoslavia).

The worldwide production of plastics reached ***** million metric tons in 2023. The versatility of this group of materials accounts for the continued growth in production year after year. In tandem with that growth, the market value of plastics also continues to grow. What plastics are and how they are made Plastics are used in a wide variety of products and have displaced other materials – such as wood, metal, and glass – that were previously used for the applications that plastics now dominate. One of the main applications for plastics use is plastic packaging. The production of plastic requires four basic steps: the acquirement of raw material, synthesizing a basic polymer, compounding the polymer into a usable fraction, and lastly, molding or shaping the plastic. Leading plastic producers Asia was the largest plastics producer in the world in 2023. That year, the country accounted for ** percent of global production. Over recent years, China produced an average of approximately **** million metric tons of plastic products each month. The rest of Asia ranks second worldwide in terms of plastic production, with a share of ** percent in 2023.

As of the year 2024, the population of the capital city of India, Delhi was over ** million people. This was a 2.63 percent growth from last year. The historical trends show that the population doubled between 1990 and 2010. The UN estimated that the population was expected to reach around ** million by 2030. Reasons for population growth   As per the Delhi Economic Survey, migration added over *** thousand people to Delhi’s population in 2022. The estimates showed relative stability in natural population growth for a long time before the pandemic. The numbers suggest a sharp decrease in birth rates from 2020 onwards and a corresponding increase in death rates in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The net natural addition or the remaining growth is attributed to migration. These estimates are based on trends published by the Civil Registration System. National Capital Region (NCR) Usually, population estimates for Delhi represent the urban agglomeration of Delhi, which includes Delhi and some of its adjacent suburban areas. The National Capital Region or NCR is one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world. It is an example of inter-state regional planning and development, centred around the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and covering certain districts of neighbouring states Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad are some of the key cities of NCR. Over the past decade, NCR has emerged as a key economic centre in India.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Canberra, Australia metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Vancouver, Canada metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Nairobi, Kenya metro area from 1950 to 2025.