Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for the United States (SPPOPGROWUSA) from 1961 to 2024 about population, rate, and USA.

Historical chart and dataset showing World population growth rate by year from 1961 to 2023.

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.

Population growth (annual %) in World was reported at 0.9512 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Brazil (SPPOPGROWBRA) from 1961 to 2024 about Brazil, population, and rate.

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.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the state of California from 1900 to 2024.

Population growth (annual %) in United States was reported at 0.97642 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

In 2023, the annual population growth in the United States stood at 0.49 percent. Between 1961 and 2023, the figure dropped by 1.17 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Greece (SPPOPGROWGRC) from 1961 to 2024 about Greece, population, and rate.

In the past four centuries, the population of the Thirteen Colonies and United States of America has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 346 million in 2025. While the fertility rate has now dropped well below replacement level, and the population is on track to go into a natural decline in the 2040s, projected high net immigration rates mean the population will continue growing well into the next century, crossing the 400 million mark in the 2070s. Indigenous population Early population figures for the Thirteen Colonies and United States come with certain caveats. Official records excluded the indigenous population, and they generally remained excluded until the late 1800s. In 1500, in the first decade of European colonization of the Americas, the native population living within the modern U.S. borders was believed to be around 1.9 million people. The spread of Old World diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, to biologically defenseless populations in the New World then wreaked havoc across the continent, often wiping out large portions of the population in areas that had not yet made contact with Europeans. By the time of Jamestown's founding in 1607, it is believed the native population within current U.S. borders had dropped by almost 60 percent. As the U.S. expanded, indigenous populations were largely still excluded from population figures as they were driven westward, however taxpaying Natives were included in the census from 1870 to 1890, before all were included thereafter. It should be noted that estimates for indigenous populations in the Americas vary significantly by source and time period. Migration and expansion fuels population growth The arrival of European settlers and African slaves was the key driver of population growth in North America in the 17th century. Settlers from Britain were the dominant group in the Thirteen Colonies, before settlers from elsewhere in Europe, particularly Germany and Ireland, made a large impact in the mid-19th century. By the end of the 19th 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. It is also estimated that almost 400,000 African slaves were transported directly across the Atlantic to mainland North America between 1500 and 1866 (although the importation of slaves was abolished in 1808). Blacks made up a much larger share of the population before slavery's abolition. Twentieth and twenty-first century The U.S. population has grown steadily since 1900, reaching one hundred million in the 1910s, two hundred million in the 1960s, and three hundred million in 2007. Since WWII, the U.S. has established itself as the world's foremost superpower, with the world's largest economy, and most powerful military. This growth in prosperity has been accompanied by increases in living standards, particularly through medical advances, infrastructure improvements, clean water accessibility. These have all contributed to higher infant and child survival rates, as well as an increase in life expectancy (doubling from roughly 40 to 80 years in the past 150 years), which have also played a large part in population growth. As fertility rates decline and increases in life expectancy slows, migration remains the largest factor in population growth. Since the 1960s, Latin America has now become the most common origin for migrants in the U.S., while immigration rates from Asia have also increased significantly. It remains to be seen how immigration restrictions of the current administration affect long-term population projections for the United States.

United States - Population Growth for World was 0.89981 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Population Growth for World reached a record high of 2.13312 in January of 1971 and a record low of 0.82796 in January of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Population Growth for World - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

The average for 2023 based on 196 countries was 1.15 percent. The highest value was in Singapore: 4.86 percent and the lowest value was in Ukraine: -2.67 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Population growth (annual %) in Germany was reported at --0.46708 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Germany - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Population Growth for the United States was 0.49192 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Growth for the United States reached a record high of 1.71833 in January of 1954 and a record low of 0.15734 in January of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Growth for the United States - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

Population growth (annual %) in China was reported at --0.12306 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the state of Colorado from 1900 to 2024.

In 2023, the annual population growth in Bangladesh amounted to 1.22 percent. Between 1961 and 2023, the figure dropped by 1.6 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for World (SPPOPGROWWLD) from 1961 to 2024 about population and rate.

The statistic shows the development of the world population from 1950 to 2050. The world population was around 7.38 billion people in 2015.

The global population

As shown above, the total number of people living on Earth has more than doubled since the 1950s, and continues to increase. A look at the development of the world population since the beginning of the Common Era shows that such a surge in numbers is unprecedented. The first significant rise in population occurred during the 14th century, after the Black Death had killed approximately 25 million people worldwide. Subsequently, the global population increased slowly but steadily until it reached record numbers between 1950 and 2000.

The majority of the global population lives on the Asian continent, as a statistic of the world population by continent shows. In around 100 years, it is estimated that population levels on the African continent will have reached similar levels to those we see in Asia today. As for a forecast of the development of the world population, the figures are estimated to have reached more than 10 billion by the 22nd century.

Growing population numbers pose an increasing risk to the planet, since rocketing numbers equal increased consumption of food and resources. Scientists worry that natural resources, such as oil, and food resources will become scarce, endangering the human race and, even more so, the world’s ecosystem. Nowadays, the number of undernourished / starving people worldwide has decreased slightly, but forecasts paint a darker picture.