The region of present-day China has historically been the most populous region in the world; however, its population development has fluctuated throughout history. In 2022, China was overtaken as the most populous country in the world, and current projections suggest its population is heading for a rapid decline in the coming decades. Transitions of power lead to mortality The source suggests that conflict, and the diseases brought with it, were the major obstacles to population growth throughout most of the Common Era, particularly during transitions of power between various dynasties and rulers. It estimates that the total population fell by approximately 30 million people during the 14th century due to the impact of Mongol invasions, which inflicted heavy losses on the northern population through conflict, enslavement, food instability, and the introduction of bubonic plague. Between 1850 and 1870, the total population fell once more, by more than 50 million people, through further conflict, famine and disease; the most notable of these was the Taiping Rebellion, although the Miao an Panthay Rebellions, and the Dungan Revolt, also had large death tolls. The third plague pandemic also originated in Yunnan in 1855, which killed approximately two million people in China. 20th and 21st centuries There were additional conflicts at the turn of the 20th century, which had significant geopolitical consequences for China, but did not result in the same high levels of mortality seen previously. It was not until the overlapping Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) and Second World War (1937-1945) where the death tolls reached approximately 10 and 20 million respectively. Additionally, as China attempted to industrialize during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), economic and agricultural mismanagement resulted in the deaths of tens of millions (possibly as many as 55 million) in less than four years, during the Great Chinese Famine. This mortality is not observable on the given dataset, due to the rapidity of China's demographic transition over the entire period; this saw improvements in healthcare, sanitation, and infrastructure result in sweeping changes across the population. The early 2020s marked some significant milestones in China's demographics, where it was overtaken by India as the world's most populous country, and its population also went into decline. Current projections suggest that China is heading for a "demographic disaster", as its rapidly aging population is placing significant burdens on China's economy, government, and society. In stark contrast to the restrictive "one-child policy" of the past, the government has introduced a series of pro-fertility incentives for couples to have larger families, although the impact of these policies are yet to materialize. If these current projections come true, then China's population may be around half its current size by the end of the century.

In 1800, the population of the territory that makes up present-day Thailand was approximately 4.7 million people. As part of the kingdom of Siam, the population of Thailand would grow gradually through the 19 th century, with much of the population growth being driven by Chinese emigration from southern Qing China into Siam, in search of work and refuge from instability in their home country. This migrant influx would continue throughout the century, with estimates suggesting that the Chinese population in Siam grew from 230,000 in 1825, to over 792,000 in 1910; by 1932, over 12 percent of the population in modern-day Thailand was ethnically Chinese. Migration from China would see another surge under the reign of Vajiravudh, as the "Warlord era" in China, after the fall of the Qing dynasty, would see entire families of Chinese immigrants arriving in Thailand. While immigration would slow in later years, Chinese-Thai would remain a significant demographic in Thailand’s population, both as one of the largest overseas Chinese populations, and accounting for an estimated 11-14 percent of the total Thailand population in 2012.

Population growth would slow somewhat in the 1930s, as several rebellions and coups, paired with a rise in anti-Chinese sentiment in the country, would result in a sharp decline in immigration to the country. In the years following the Second World War, the population of Thailand would begin to grow rapidly, following a wave of urbanization and a significant increase in standard of living throughout the country. As a result, the population of Thailand would rise from approximately 20 million in 1950, to just under 63 million by the turn of the century just 50 years later. This population growth would slow somewhat as the country would continue to modernize in the 2000s, and in 2020, it is estimated that just under 70 million people live in Thailand.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In 1930, China's fertility rate was 5.5 children per woman, and this number then dropped to just under five over the next fifteen years, as China experienced a civil war and the Second World War. The fertility rate rose rather quickly after this to over 6.1 in 1955, before dropping again in the late 1950s, as Chairman Mao's 'Great Leap Forward' failed to industrialize the nation, and resulted in widespread famine that killed an estimated 45 million people. In the decade following this, China's fertility rate reached it's highest level in 1970, before the implementation of the two-child policy in the 1970s, and the one-child policy** in the 1980s, which radically changed the population structure. The fertility rate fell to an all time low in the early 2000s, where it was just 1.6 children per woman. However this number has increased to 1.7 today, and the two-child policy was reintroduced in 2016, replacing the one-child policy that had been effective for over 36 years.

In the past four centuries, the population of the United States has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 331 million people in 2020. The pre-colonization populations of the indigenous peoples of the Americas have proven difficult for historians to estimate, as their numbers decreased rapidly following the introduction of European diseases (namely smallpox, plague and influenza). Native Americans were also omitted from most censuses conducted before the twentieth century, therefore the actual population of what we now know as the United States would have been much higher than the official census data from before 1800, but it is unclear by how much. Population growth in the colonies throughout the eighteenth century has primarily been attributed to migration from the British Isles and the Transatlantic slave trade; however it is also difficult to assert the ethnic-makeup of the population in these years as accurate migration records were not kept until after the 1820s, at which point the importation of slaves had also been illegalized. Nineteenth century In the year 1800, it is estimated that the population across the present-day United States was around six million people, with the population in the 16 admitted states numbering at 5.3 million. Migration to the United States began to happen on a large scale in the mid-nineteenth century, with the first major waves coming from Ireland, Britain and Germany. In some aspects, this wave of mass migration balanced out the demographic impacts of the American Civil War, which was the deadliest war in U.S. history with approximately 620 thousand fatalities between 1861 and 1865. The civil war also resulted in the emancipation of around four million slaves across the south; many of whose ancestors would take part in the Great Northern Migration in the early 1900s, which saw around six million black Americans migrate away from the south in one of the largest demographic shifts in U.S. history. By the end of the nineteenth century, improvements in transport technology and increasing economic opportunities saw migration to the United States increase further, particularly from southern and Eastern Europe, and in the first decade of the 1900s the number of migrants to the U.S. exceeded one million people in some years. Twentieth and twenty-first century The U.S. population has grown steadily throughout the past 120 years, reaching one hundred million in the 1910s, two hundred million in the 1960s, and three hundred million in 2007. In the past century, the U.S. established itself as a global superpower, with the world's largest economy (by nominal GDP) and most powerful military. Involvement in foreign wars has resulted in over 620,000 further U.S. fatalities since the Civil War, and migration fell drastically during the World Wars and Great Depression; however the population continuously grew in these years as the total fertility rate remained above two births per woman, and life expectancy increased (except during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918).

Since the Second World War, Latin America has replaced Europe as the most common point of origin for migrants, with Hispanic populations growing rapidly across the south and border states. Because of this, the proportion of non-Hispanic whites, which has been the most dominant ethnicity in the U.S. since records began, has dropped more rapidly in recent decades. Ethnic minorities also have a much higher birth rate than non-Hispanic whites, further contributing to this decline, and the share of non-Hispanic whites is expected to fall below fifty percent of the U.S. population by the mid-2000s. In 2020, the United States has the third-largest population in the world (after China and India), and the population is expected to reach four hundred million in the 2050s.

In 1800, the population of Japan was just over 30 million, a figure which would grow by just two million in the first half of the 19th century. However, with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan would begin transforming from an isolated feudal island, to a modernized empire built on Western models. The Meiji period would see a rapid rise in the population of Japan, as industrialization and advancements in healthcare lead to a significant reduction in child mortality rates, while the creation overseas colonies would lead to a strong economic boom. However, this growth would slow beginning in 1937, as Japan entered a prolonged war with the Republic of China, which later grew into a major theater of the Second World War. The war was eventually brought to Japan's home front, with the escalation of Allied air raids on Japanese urban centers from 1944 onwards (Tokyo was the most-bombed city of the Second World War). By the war's end in 1945 and the subsequent occupation of the island by the Allied military, Japan had suffered over two and a half million military fatalities, and over one million civilian deaths.

The population figures of Japan were quick to recover, as the post-war “economic miracle” would see an unprecedented expansion of the Japanese economy, and would lead to the country becoming one of the first fully industrialized nations in East Asia. As living standards rose, the population of Japan would increase from 77 million in 1945, to over 127 million by the end of the century. However, growth would begin to slow in the late 1980s, as birth rates and migration rates fell, and Japan eventually grew to have one of the oldest populations in the world. The population would peak in 2008 at just over 128 million, but has consistently fallen each year since then, as the fertility rate of the country remains below replacement level (despite government initiatives to counter this) and the country's immigrant population remains relatively stable. The population of Japan is expected to continue its decline in the coming years, and in 2020, it is estimated that approximately 126 million people inhabit the island country.

The earliest point where scientists can make reasonable estimates for the population of global regions is around 10,000 years before the Common Era (or 12,000 years ago). Estimates suggest that Asia has consistently been the most populated continent, and the least populated continent has generally been Oceania (although it was more heavily populated than areas such as North America in very early years). Population growth was very slow, but an increase can be observed between most of the given time periods. There were, however, dips in population due to pandemics, the most notable of these being the impact of plague in Eurasia in the 14th century, and the impact of European contact with the indigenous populations of the Americas after 1492, where it took almost four centuries for the population of Latin America to return to its pre-1500 level. The world's population first reached one billion people in 1803, which also coincided with a spike in population growth, due to the onset of the demographic transition. This wave of growth first spread across the most industrially developed countries in the 19th century, and the correlation between demographic development and industrial or economic maturity continued until today, with Africa being the final major region to begin its transition in the late-1900s.

In China, the crude birth rate in 1930 was just under 39 live births per thousand people, meaning that 3.9 percent of the population had been born in that year. The crude birth rate dropped gradually over the next fifteen years, however it then rose to it's highest recorded figure by 1955. Between 1945 and 1950, the Second World War ended and the Chinese Civil War was finally coming to an end, and during this time the crude birth rate rose to almost 47 births per thousand in individual years. The crude birth rate dropped again in the late 1950s, as Chairman Mao's 'Great Leap Forward' failed to industrialize the nation, and resulted in a famine which killed an estimated 45 million people. The 1960s saw some recovery, where the figures rose from 36.4 to 39.5 births per thousand in this decade, however two-child and one-child policies were introduced in the 1970s and 80s, in an attempt to slow China's rapidly growing population. These measures led to the decline of the birth rate, dropping below fifteen births per thousand at the turn of the millennium. From 2000 until now the decline of China's crude birth rate has slowed, falling by just 2.8 births per thousand over the past twenty years, and it is expected to be just below twelve in 2020.

More than two thirds of the world population were living in some form of autocracy in 2022. This high share is explained by the fact that around one third of the world population is residing in India and China, classified as an electoral autocracy and closed autocracy, respectively. India falling from an electoral democracy to an electoral autocracy explains why the share of people living in autocracies increased sharply in 2017.

New York was the most populous state in the union in the year 1900. It had the largest white population, for both native born and foreign born persons, and together these groups made up over 7.1 million of New York's 7.2 million inhabitants at this time. The United States' industrial centers to the north and northeast were one of the most important economic draws during this period, and states in these regions had the largest foreign born white populations. Ethnic minorities Immigration into the agricultural southern states was much lower than the north, and these states had the largest Black populations due to the legacy of slavery - this balance would begin to shift in the following decades as a large share of the Black population migrated to urban centers to the north during the Great Migration. The Japanese and Chinese populations at this time were more concentrated in the West, as these states were the most common point of entry for Asians into the country. The states with the largest Native American populations were to the west and southwest, due to the legacy of forced displacement - this included the Indian Territory, an unorganized and independent territory assigned to the Native American population in the early 1800s, although this was incorporated into Oklahoma when it was admitted into the union in 1907. Additionally, non-taxpaying Native Americans were historically omitted from the U.S. Census, as they usually lived in separate communities and could not vote or hold office - more of an effort was made to count all Native Americans from 1890 onward, although there are likely inaccuracies in the figures given here. Changing distribution Internal migration in the 20th century greatly changed population distribution across the country, with California and Florida now ranking among the three most populous states in the U.S. today, while they were outside the top 20 in 1900. The growth of Western states' populations was largely due to the wave of internal migration during the Great Depression, where unemployment in the east saw many emigrate to "newer" states in search of opportunity, as well as significant immigration from Latin America (especially Mexico) and Asia since the mid-1900s.

Until the 1800s, population growth was incredibly slow on a global level. The global population was estimated to have been around 188 million people in the year 1CE, and did not reach one billion until around 1803. However, since the 1800s, a phenomenon known as the demographic transition has seen population growth skyrocket, reaching eight billion people in 2023, and this is expected to peak at over 10 billion in the 2080s.

For most of the past two centuries, falling birth rates have been associated with societal progress. During the demographic transition, where pre-industrial societies modernize in terms of fertility and mortality, falling death rates, especially among infants and children, are the first major change. In response, as more children survive into adulthood, women have fewer children as the need to compensate for child mortality declines. This transition has happened at different times across the world and is an ongoing process, with early industrial countries being the first to transition, and Sub-Saharan African countries being the most recent to do so. Additionally, some Asian countries (particularly China through government policy) have gone through their demographic transitions at a much faster pace than those deemed more developed. Today, in countries such as Japan, Italy, and Germany, birth rates have fallen well below death rates; this is no longer considered a positive demographic trend, as it leads to natural population decline, and may create an over-aged population that could place a burden on healthcare systems.

In 1800, the population of the region of present-day India was approximately 169 million. The population would grow gradually throughout the 19th century, rising to over 240 million by 1900. Population growth would begin to increase in the 1920s, as a result of falling mortality rates, due to improvements in health, sanitation and infrastructure. However, the population of India would see it’s largest rate of growth in the years following the country’s independence from the British Empire in 1948, where the population would rise from 358 million to over one billion by the turn of the century, making India the second country to pass the billion person milestone. While the rate of growth has slowed somewhat as India begins a demographics shift, the country’s population has continued to grow dramatically throughout the 21st century, and in 2020, India is estimated to have a population of just under 1.4 billion, well over a billion more people than one century previously. Today, approximately 18% of the Earth’s population lives in India, and it is estimated that India will overtake China to become the most populous country in the world within the next five years.

Throughout the Common Era, Japan's population saw relatively steady growth between each century. Failed invasions and distance from Asia's mainland meant that Japan was unaffected by many pandemics, primarily bubonic plague, therefore its development was not drastically impeded in the same way as areas such as China or Europe. Additionally, religious practices meant that hygiene was prioritized much more in Japan than in other regions, and dietary customs saw lower rates of meat consumption and regular boiling of water in meals or tea; both of these factors contributed to lower rates of infection for many parasitic or water-borne diseases. Fewer international conflicts and domestic stability also saw lower mortality in this regard, and Japan was an considered an outlier by Asian standards, as some shifting trends associated with the demographic transition (such as lower child mortality and fertility) began taking place in the 17th century; much earlier time than anywhere else in the world. Yet the most significant changes came in the 20th century, as Japan's advanced healthcare and sanitation systems saw drastic reductions in mortality. Challenges Japan's isolation meant that, when pandemics did arrive, the population had less protection and viruses could have higher mortality rates; smallpox has been cited as the deadliest of these pandemics, although increased international contact in the late 19th century brought new viruses, and population growth slowed. Earlier isolation also meant that crop failure or food shortages could leave large sections of the population vulnerable, and, as mentioned, the Japanese diet contained relatively little meat, therefore there was a higher reliance on crops and vegetables. It is believed that the shortage of arable land and the acidity of the soil due to volcanic activity meant that agriculture was more challenging in Japan than on the Asian mainland. For most of history, paddy fields were the most efficient source of food production in Japan, but the challenging nature of this form of agriculture and changes in employment trends gradually led to an increased reliance in imported crops. Post-Sakoku Japan Distance from the Asian mainland was not the only reason for Japan's isolation; from 1603 to 1853, under the Tokugawa shogunate, international trade was restricted, migration abroad was forbidden, and most foreign interaction was centered around Nagasaki. American neo-imperialism then forced Japan to open trade with the west, and Japan became an imperial power by the early-1900s. Japanese expansion began with a series of military victories against China and Russia at the turn of the century, and the annexation of Taiwan, Korea, and Manchuria by the 1930s, before things escalated further during its invasion of China and the Second World War. Despite its involvement in so many wars, the majority of conflicts involving Japan were overseas, therefore civilian casualties were much lower than those suffered by other Asian countries during this time. After Japan's defeat in 1945, its imperial ambitions were abandoned, it developed strong economic ties with the West, and had the fastest economic growth of any industrial country in the post-WWII period. Today, Japan is one of the most demographically advanced countries in the world, with the highest life expectancy in most years. However, its population has been in a steady decline for over a decade, and low fertility and an over-aged society are considered some of the biggest challenges to Japanese society today.

In 1800, it is estimated that approximately 9.4 million people lived in the region of modern-day South Korea (and 13.8 million on the entire peninsula). The population of this region would remain fairly constant through much of the 19th century, but would begin to grow gradually starting in the mid-1800s, as the fall of the Joseon dynasty and pressure from the U.S. and Japan would end centuries of Korean isolationism. Following the opening of the country to foreign trade, the Korean peninsula would begin to modernize, and by the start of the 20th century, it would have a population of just over ten million. The Korean peninsula was then annexed by Japan in 1910, whose regime implemented industrialization and modernization policies that saw the population of South Korea rising from just under ten million in 1900, to over fifteen million by the start of the Second World War in 1939.

The Korean War Like most regions, the end of the Second World War coincided with a baby boom, that helped see South Korea's population grow by almost two million between 1945 and 1950. However, this boom would stop suddenly in the early 1950s, due to disruption caused by the Korean War. After WWII, the peninsula was split along the 38th parallel, with governments on both sides claiming to be the legitimate rulers of all Korea. Five years of tensions then culminated in North Korea's invasion of the South in June 1950, in the first major conflict of the Cold War. In September, the UN-backed South then repelled the Soviet- and Chinese-backed Northern army, and the frontlines would then fluctuate on either side of the 38th parallel throughout the next three years. The war came to an end in July, 1953, and had an estimated death toll of three million fatalities. The majority of fatalities were civilians on both sides, although the North suffered a disproportionate amount due to extensive bombing campaigns of the U.S. Unlike North Korea, the South's total population did not fall during the war.

Post-war South Korea Between the war's end and the late 1980s, the South's total population more than doubled. In these decades, South Korea was generally viewed as a nominal democracy under authoritarian and military leadership; it was not until 1988 when South Korea transitioned into a stable democracy, and grew its international presence. Much of South Korea's rapid socio-economic growth in the late 20th century was based on the West German model, and was greatly assisted by Japanese and U.S. investment. Today, South Korea is considered one of the world's wealthiest and most developed nations, ranking highly in terms of GDP, human development and life expectancy; it is home to some of the most valuable brands in the world, such as Samsung and Hyundai; and has a growing international cultural presence in music and cinema. In the past decades, South Korea's population growth has somewhat slowed, however it remains one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with total population of more than 51 million people.

Humans have been living on the continent of Australia (name derived from "Terra Australis"; Latin for "the southern land") for approximately 65,000 years, however population growth was relatively slow until the nineteenth century. Europeans had made some contact with Australia as early as 1606, however there was no significant attempt at settlement until the late eighteenth century. By 1800, the population of Australia was approximately 350,000 people, and the majority of these were Indigenous Australians. As colonization progressed the number of ethnic Europeans increased while the Australian Aboriginal population was decimated through conflict, smallpox and other diseases, with some communities being exterminated completely, such as Aboriginal Tasmanians. Mass migration from Britain and China After the loss of its American colonies in the 1780s, the British Empire looked to other parts of the globe to expand its sphere of influence. In Australia, the first colonies were established in Sydney, Tasmania and Western Australia. Many of these were penal colonies which became home to approximately 164,000 British and Irish convicts who were transported to Australia between 1788 and 1868. As the decades progressed, expansion into the interior intensified, and the entire country was claimed by Britain in 1826. Inland colonization led to further conflict between European settlers and indigenous Australians, which cost the lives of thousands of natives. Inward expansion also saw the discovery of many natural resources, and most notably led to the gold rushes of the 1850s, which attracted substantial numbers of Chinese migrants to Australia. This mass migration from non-European countries eventually led to some restrictive policies being introduced, culminating with the White Australia Policy of 1901, which cemented ethnic-European dominance in Australian politics and society. These policies were not retracted until the second half of the 1900s. Independent Australia Australia changed its status to a British dominion in 1901, and eventually became independent in 1931. Despite this, Australia has remained a part of the British Commonwealth, and Australian forces (ANZAC) fought with the British and their Allies in both World Wars, and were instrumental in campaigns such as Gallipoli in WWI, and the South West Pacific Theater in WWII. The aftermath of both wars had a significant impact on the Australian population, with approximately 90 thousand deaths in both world wars combined, as well as 15 thousand deaths as a result of the Spanish flu pandemic following WWI, although Australia experienced a significant baby boom following the Second World War. In the past fifty years, Australia has promoted immigration from all over the world, and now has one of the strongest economies and highest living standards in the world, with a population that has grown to over 25 million people in 2020.

A global phenomenon, known as the demographic transition, has seen life expectancy from birth increase rapidly over the past two centuries. In pre-industrial societies, the average life expectancy was around 24 years, and it is believed that this was the case throughout most of history, and in all regions. The demographic transition then began in the industrial societies of Europe, North America, and the West Pacific around the turn of the 19th century, and life expectancy rose accordingly. Latin America was the next region to follow, before Africa and most Asian populations saw their life expectancy rise throughout the 20th century.

Global life expactancy at birth has risen significantly since the mid-1900s, from roughly 46 years in 1950 to 73.5 years in 2025. 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.

In 2020, around 5.2 trillion cigarettes were consumed worldwide. This was a decrease from the total number of cigarettes consumed in previous years. The region with the highest number of cigarettes consumed worldwide, excluding China, is Europe. However, China alone consumed over double the number of cigarettes that Europe did in 2020.

Smoking continues to decrease around the world Overall, the prevalence of tobacco smoking has decreased around the world. In the year 2000, it was estimated that around 27 percent of the world population smoked, with this number decreasing to 17 percent by the year 2020. Every region around the world has seen a decrease in tobacco smoking, but some places have seen larger declines than others with South-East Asia seeing the largest change from 2000 to 2020. Men continue to smoke at much higher rates than women, although the prevalence of tobacco smoking among both men and women has declined over the past two decades. In 2020, around 29 percent of men and five percent of women worldwide smoked. In the year 2000 an astonishing 44 percent of men smoked tobacco.

Which countries smoke the most? As of 2019, the country with the highest number of smokers was China. As of that time, there were around 341 million people in China who smoked. However, given that China is the country with the largest population worldwide, it may not be surprising that it has the highest number of smokers. When looking at the percentage of the population that smokes, China is not even among the top 20 countries. The countries with the highest prevalence of smokers are Kiribati, Nauru, and Papa New Guinea. On both of the small Pacific Island countries of Kiribati and Nauru around 37 percent of the population smokes tobacco.

This statistic shows the number of deaths due to flooding disasters in certain countries between 1900 and 2016*. The floods in China in July 1931 led to 3.7 million deaths.FloodsThe 1931 Central China floods caused the most deaths due to a flood in the past century. 28 years later in 1959, the Yellow River flooded into East China killing an estimated 2 million people. The death toll due to this flood has been also associated with the Great sparrow campaign that arose due to the Great Chinese Famine that began in 1958. Citizens were told to kill sparrows and other wild birds that ate crop seeds which lead to an explosive increase in the population of crop-eating insects. This massive ecological shift, starvation, as well as floods and drought lead to the deaths of many Chinese people. More recently, a 1996 flood and 1998 flood in Yangtze, China caused some 30.7 billion U.S. dollars and 24 billion U.S. dollars in damage. In 2014, 38 lives were lost in the United States due to floods or flash floods. Since 1980, the two of the most significant natural disasters have been the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, which caused 22,570 deaths and the 2004 earthquake and resulting tsunami which caused 220,000 deaths in countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka. Death tolls in Haiti were aggravated by poverty and poor housing conditions that many Haitians experience.

Migration from Asia to the United States was very slow until the 1850s, however an influx of Chinese migrants brought the numbers up drastically during the California Gold Rush in the mid-nineteenth century. Migration from Asia reached its highest level in 1882, where there were almost 40,000 Asians documented as arriving in the United States in this year alone. As gold became scarcer across the continent, animosity towards the Chinese increased among white Americans, and the Chinese Expulsion Act was introduced in 1882. Following this legislation, there was a sharp decrease in the amount of Asian migrants arriving in the US, and it fell below 200 people in 1885. At the turn of the twentieth century, migration from Asia increased again, reaching a new high of 40,500 people in 1907, as higher numbers of Japanese and Turkish people emigrated to North America. There was another decrease during the First World War, and again during the Great Depression and Second World War (particularly from Japan). Following the Second World War, Asian migration rates increased again, from all areas of the continent.