The average for 2023 based on 24 countries was 0.31 percent. The highest value was in the USA: 4.2 percent and the lowest value was in Antigua and Barbuda: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In the middle of 2023, about 60 percent of the global population was living in Asia.The total world population amounted to 8.1 billion people on the planet. In other words 4.7 billion people were living in Asia as of 2023. Global populationDue to medical advances, better living conditions and the increase of agricultural productivity, the world population increased rapidly over the past century, and is expected to continue to grow. After reaching eight billion in 2023, the global population is estimated to pass 10 billion by 2060. Africa expected to drive population increase Most of the future population increase is expected to happen in Africa. The countries with the highest population growth rate in 2024 were mostly African countries. While around 1.47 billion people live on the continent as of 2024, this is forecast to grow to 3.9 billion by 2100. This is underlined by the fact that most of the countries wit the highest population growth rate are found in Africa. The growing population, in combination with climate change, puts increasing pressure on the world's resources.

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.

Globally, about 25 percent of the population is under 15 years of age and 10 percent is over 65 years of age. Africa has the youngest population worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 40 percent of the population is below 15 years, and only three percent are above 65, indicating the low life expectancy in several of the countries. In Europe, on the other hand, a higher share of the population is above 65 years than the population under 15 years. Fertility rates The high share of children and youth in Africa is connected to the high fertility rates on the continent. For instance, South Sudan and Niger have the highest population growth rates globally. However, about 50 percent of the world’s population live in countries with low fertility, where women have less than 2.1 children. Some countries in Europe, like Latvia and Lithuania, have experienced a population decline of one percent, and in the Cook Islands, it is even above two percent. In Europe, the majority of the population was previously working-aged adults with few dependents, but this trend is expected to reverse soon, and it is predicted that by 2050, the older population will outnumber the young in many developed countries. Growing global population As of 2025, there are 8.1 billion people living on the planet, and this is expected to reach more than nine billion before 2040. Moreover, the global population is expected to reach 10 billions around 2060, before slowing and then even falling slightly by 2100. As the population growth rates indicate, a significant share of the population increase will happen in Africa.

The average for 2023 based on 24 countries was 50.82 percent. The highest value was in Puerto Rico: 52.88 percent and the lowest value was in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 49.01 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Population, female (% of total population) in North America was reported at 50.47 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Population growth (annual %) in North America was reported at 0.52905 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

The average for 2023 based on 12 countries was 0.46 percent. The highest value was in Brazil: 2.71 percent and the lowest value was in Guyana: 0.01 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Population, male (% of total population) in North America was reported at 49.53 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Population, male (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

The average for 2023 based on 24 countries was 37.14 percent. The highest value was in Saint Lucia: 80.83 percent and the lowest value was in Bermuda: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Prior to the arrival of European explorers in the Americas in 1492, it is estimated that the population of the continent was around sixty million people. Over the next two centuries, most scholars agree that the indigenous population fell to just ten percent of its pre-colonization level, primarily due to the Old World diseases (namely smallpox) brought to the New World by Europeans and African slaves, as well as through violence and famine.

Distribution

It is thought that the most densely populated region of the Americas was in the fertile Mexican valley, home to over one third of the entire continent, including several Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Aztec empire. While the mid-estimate shows a population of over 21 million before European arrival, one estimate suggests that there were just 730,000 people of indigenous descent in Mexico in 1620, just one hundred years after Cortes' arrival. Estimates also suggest that the Andes, home to the Incas, was the second most-populous region in the Americas, while North America (in this case, the region north of the Rio Grande river) may have been the most sparsely populated region. There is some contention as to the size of the pre-Columbian populations in the Caribbean, as the mass genocides, forced relocation, and pandemics that followed in the early stages of Spanish colonization make it difficult to predict these numbers.

Varying estimates Estimating the indigenous populations of the Americas has proven to be a challenge and point of contention for modern historians. Totals from reputable sources range from 8.4 million people to 112.55 million, and while both of these totals were published in the 1930s and 1960s respectively, their continued citation proves the ambiguity surrounding this topic. European settlers' records from the 15th to 17th centuries have also created challenges, due to their unrealistic population predictions and inaccurate methodologies (for example, many early settlers only counted the number of warriors in each civilization). Nonetheless, most modern historians use figures close to those given in the "Middle estimate" shown here, with similar distributions by region.

The average for 2023 based on 24 countries was 62.87 percent. The highest value was in Bermuda: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Saint Lucia: 19.17 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Population ages 80 and above, male (% of male population) in North America was reported at 3.2728 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Population ages 80 and above, male (% of male population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

In 2023, just under 42 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's population was below the age of 15; in contrast, this figure was just 18 percent in Europe & Central Asia and in North America. Across these regions, the share of the population aged 65 and over inversely correlated with the younger population, in that the regions with the largest share aged under 15 had the smallest share aged over 64, and vice versa. For most regions, the share of the population aged between 15 and 64 years ranged between 64 and 65 percent, except for Sub-Saharan Africa where it was below 56 percent. These trends can largely be explained by looking at global demographic development.

Population ages 40-44, female (% of female population) in North America was reported at 6.4061 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Population ages 40-44, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

As of May 2022, North America had the highest active Facebook usage rate with 82.3 percent of the population accessing the social media platform. Overall, Facebook penetration was lowest in Africa, where only 20.83 percent of the population used the social network. In addition, the global penetration rate of Facebook was just under 40 percent.

In 2013, the total number of women aged 15 to 49 years worldwide was *** billion. In 2017 it was estimated that this number would increase to almost ****billion by 2025. The U.S. accounted for a small proportion of the total number of women globally in 2013 with just **** million. Global demographics In 2024, the total global population at approximately **** billion people. In 2024, the continent with the largest proportion of the global population was Asia, followed by Africa. While North America and Oceania were some of the least populated areas of the world. The age distribution of the population varies by region as well. For example, the percentage of the global population between the ages of 15 and 64 years varies between ** percent and ** percent. Women’s health worldwide Women face different health challenges depending on the region and country. One important global health issue is maternal mortality. The country with the highest maternal mortality rate in 2023 was Nigeria. Chad had the seventh-highest estimated birth rate in 2024 and was the country with the second-highest maternal mortality rate. The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates when compared to similarly developed countries.

Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate) in North America was reported at 62.22 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Labor participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) in North America was reported at 15.66 % in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate) in North America was reported at 68.13 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.