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.

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

Population growth (annual %) in World was reported at 0.89981 % in 2023, 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 July of 2025.

Published in The Anthropocene Review. Abstract: Enormous growth of the world population during the last two centuries and its present slowing down pose questions about precedents in history and broader forces shaping the population size. Population estimates collected in an extensive survey of literature (873 estimates from 25 studies covering 1,000,000 BCE to 2100 CE) show that world population growth has proceeded in two distinct phases of acceleration followed by stoppage—from at least 25,000 BCE to 100 BCE, and from 400 CE to the present, interrupted by centuries of standstill and 10% decrease. Both phases can be fitted with a mathematical function that projects to a peak at 11.2 ± 1.5 billion around 2100 CE. An interaction model can account for this acceleration-stoppage pattern in quantitative detail: Technology grows exponentially, with rate boosted by population. Population grows exponentially, capped by Earth’s carrying capacity. Technology raises this cap, but only until it approaches Earth’s ultimate carrying capacity.

Throughout most of human history, global population growth was very low; between 10,000BCE and 1700CE, the average annual increase was just 0.04 percent. Therefore, it took several thousand years for the global population to reach one billion people, doing so in 1803. However, this period marked the beginning of a global phenomenon known as the demographic transition, from which point population growth skyrocketed. With the introduction of modern medicines (especially vaccination), as well as improvements in water sanitation, food supply, and infrastructure, child mortality fell drastically and life expectancy increased, causing the population to grow. This process is linked to economic and technological development, and did not take place concurrently across the globe; it mostly began in Europe and other industrialized regions in the 19thcentury, before spreading across Asia and Latin America in the 20th century. As the most populous societies in the world are found in Asia, the demographic transition in this region coincided with the fastest period of global population growth. Today, Sub-Saharan Africa is the region at the earliest stage of this transition. As population growth slows across the other continents, with the populations of the Americas, Asia, and Europe expected to be in decline by the 2070s, Africa's population is expected to grow by three billion people by the end of the 21st century.

The world's population first reached one billion people in 1803, and reach eight billion in 2023, and will peak at almost 11 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 live 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 decade 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.

Historical chart and dataset showing total population for the world by year from 1950 to 2025.

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.

Argentina AR: Population: Growth data was reported at 0.287 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.211 % for 2022. Argentina AR: Population: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 1.384 % from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2023, with 63 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.657 % in 1962 and a record low of 0.211 % in 2022. Argentina AR: Population: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Argentina – Table AR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.;Derived from total population. Population source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics; (4) United Nations Statistics Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years).;Weighted average;

Author: S Wicklund, educator, Minnesota Alliance for Geographic EducationGrade/Audience: high schoolResource type: lessonSubject topic(s): population, mapsRegion: worldStandards: Minnesota Social Studies Standards

Standard 1. People use geographic representations and geospatial technologies to acquire, process and report information within a spatial context.

Standard 3. Places have physical characteristics (such as climate, topography and vegetation) and human characteristics (such as culture, population, political and economic systems).

Standard 5. The characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations on the earth’s surface influence human systems (cultural, economic and political systems).Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Use maps of population distribution to examine the history of world population growth.
2. Construct a dot map to show current world population distribution.
3. Describe the difference between arithmetic and physiological densities.
4. Craft a response to a prompt to evaluate the Negative Population Growth perspective. Summary: Students will use maps of population distribution to examine the history of world population growth. They will also examine current world population distribution. Students will role-play the difference between arithmetic and physiologic densities using Egypt as an example. They will then craft a response to a prompt where they evaluate the Negative Population Growth perspective.

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

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.

Population growth (annual %) in Japan was reported at --0.48737 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

India population growth rate for 2023 was 0.88%, a 0.09% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India population growth rate for 2022 was <strong>0.79%</strong>, a <strong>0.03% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>India population growth rate for 2021 was <strong>0.82%</strong>, a <strong>0.15% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>India population growth rate for 2020 was <strong>0.97%</strong>, a <strong>0.07% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

Population growth (annual %) in Iceland was reported at 2.9269 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Iceland - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Population growth (annual %) in France was reported at 0.32632 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Between 1800 and 2021, the total population of each continent experienced consistent growth, however as growth rates varied by region, population distribution has fluctuated. In the early 19th century, almost 70 percent of the world's population lived in Asia, while fewer than 10 percent lived in Africa. By the end of this century, it is believed that Asia's share will fall to roughly 45 percent, while Africa's will be on course to reach 40 percent. 19th and 20th centuries Fewer than 2.5 percent of the world's population lived in the Americas in 1800, however the demographic transition, along with waves of migration, would see this share rise to almost 10 percent a century later, peaking at almost 14 percent in the 1960s. Europe's share of the global population also grew in the 19th century, to roughly a quarter in 1900, but fell thereafter and saw the largest relative decline during the 20th century. Asia, which has consistently been the world's most populous continent, saw its population share drop by the mid-1900s, but it has been around 60 percent since the 1970s. It is important to note that the world population has grown from approximately one to eight billion people between 1800 and the 2020s, and that declines in population distribution before 2020 have resulted from different growth rates across the continents. 21st century Africa's population share remained fairly constant throughout this time, fluctuating between 7.5 and 10 percent until the late-1900s, but it is set to see the largest change over the 21st century. As Europe's total population is now falling, and it is estimated that the total populations of Asia and the Americas will fall by the 2050s and 2070s respectively, rapid population growth in Africa will see a significant shift in population distribution. Africa's population is predicted to grow from 1.3 to 3.9 billion people over the next eight decades, and its share of the total population will rise to almost 40 percent. The only other continent whose population will still be growing at this time will be Oceania, although its share of the total population has never been more than 0.7 percent.

Population growth (annual %) in Brazil was reported at 0.39593 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Brazil - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Population growth (annual %) in Bangladesh was reported at 1.2217 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Bangladesh - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Turkey TR: Population: Growth data was reported at 1.538 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.573 % for 2016. Turkey TR: Population: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 1.817 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.446 % in 1960 and a record low of 1.204 % in 2008. Turkey TR: Population: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; Derived from total population. Population source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision, (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;