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.

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 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.

There are approximately 8.16 billion people living in the world today, a figure that shows a dramatic increase since the beginning of the Common Era. Since the 1970s, the global population has also more than doubled in size. It is estimated that the world's population will reach and surpass 10 billion people by 2060 and plateau at around 10.3 billion in the 2080s, before it then begins to fall. Asia When it comes to number of inhabitants per continent, Asia is the most populous continent in the world by a significant margin, with roughly 60 percent of the world's population living there. Similar to other global regions, a quarter of inhabitants in Asia are under 15 years of age. The most populous nations in the world are India and China respectively; each inhabit more than three times the amount of people than the third-ranked United States. 10 of the 20 most populous countries in the world are found in Asia. Africa Interestingly, the top 20 countries with highest population growth rate are mainly countries in Africa. This is due to the present stage of Sub-Saharan Africa's demographic transition, where mortality rates are falling significantly, although fertility rates are yet to drop and match this. As much of Asia is nearing the end of its demographic transition, population growth is predicted to be much slower in this century than in the previous; in contrast, Africa's population is expected to reach almost four billion by the year 2100. Unlike demographic transitions in other continents, Africa's population development is being influenced by climate change on a scale unseen by most other global regions. Rising temperatures are exacerbating challenges such as poor sanitation, lack of infrastructure, and political instability, which have historically hindered societal progress. It remains to be seen how Africa and the world at large adapts to this crisis as it continues to cause drought, desertification, natural disasters, and climate migration across the region.

Proportion of population in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) living in Low Elevation Coastal Zones (LECZ) of 0-10 and 0-20 meters above sea level. LECZ were delineated using the bathub method overlaid on the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Global Digital Surface Model (AW3D30). Populations within the LECZs were estimated using the Pacific Community (SPC) Statistics for Development Division’s 100m2 population grids.

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Mexico MX: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data was reported at 11.100 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 14.400 % for 2007. Mexico MX: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 17.150 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2014, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.100 % in 1990 and a record low of 11.100 % in 2014. Mexico MX: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Mexico – Table MX.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, and durability of housing.; ; UN HABITAT, retrieved from the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals database. Data are available at : http://mdgs.un.org/; Weighted average;

Over the past three decades, the share of the global population living in rural areas decreased continuously. Since 2007, less than half of the world's population lived in rural areas, a share that had dropped to 42.75 percent as of 2023. The urbanization is expected to continue over the coming decades.

This line chart displays urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) by date using the aggregation sum and is filtered where the country is Georgia. The data is about countries per year.

Brazil BR: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data was reported at 14.897 % in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 14.897 % for 2014. Brazil BR: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 21.511 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 34.740 % in 2000 and a record low of 14.897 % in 2016. Brazil BR: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability, and security of tenure, as adopted in the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.D. The successor, the Sustainable Development Goal 11.1.1, considers inadequate housing (housing affordability) to complement the above definition of slums/informal settlements.;United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT);Weighted average;

This scatter chart displays urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) against access to electricity (% of population) and is filtered where the country is Georgia. The data is about countries per year.

This scatter chart displays urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) against urban land area (km²) and is filtered where the country is Georgia. The data is about countries per year.

Share of national population living in area

Chart and table of Philippines population from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Germany DE: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data was reported at 0.010 % in 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.010 % for 2016. Germany DE: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.010 % from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2018, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.010 % in 2018 and a record low of 0.010 % in 2018. Germany DE: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability, and security of tenure, as adopted in the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.D. The successor, the Sustainable Development Goal 11.1.1, considers inadequate housing (housing affordability) to complement the above definition of slums/informal settlements.;United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT);Weighted average;

2007 marked the first year where more of the world's population lived in an urban setting than a rural setting. In 1960, roughly a third of the world lived in an urban setting; it is expected that this figure will reach two thirds by 2050. Urbanization is a fairly new phenomenon; for the vast majority of human history, fewer than five percent of the world lived in urban areas, due to the dependency on subsistence agriculture. Advancements in agricultural practices and technology then coincided with the beginning of the industrial revolution in Europe in the late 19th century, which resulted in waves of urbanization to meet the demands of emerging manufacturing industries. This trend was replicated across the rest of the world as it industrialized over the following two centuries, and the most significant increase coincided with the industrialization of the most populous countries in Asia. In more developed economies, urbanization remains high even as economies de-industrialize, due to a variety of factors such as housing availability, labor demands in service industries, and social trends.

Equatorial Guinea GQ: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data was reported at 66.200 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 66.300 % for 2005. Equatorial Guinea GQ: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 66.250 % from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2014, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 66.300 % in 2005 and a record low of 66.200 % in 2014. Equatorial Guinea GQ: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Equatorial Guinea – Table GQ.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, and durability of housing.; ; UN HABITAT, retrieved from the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals database. Data are available at : http://mdgs.un.org/; Weighted Average;

San Marino Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 0.000 % in 2010. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for 2000. San Marino Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.000 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. San Marino Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s San Marino – Table SM.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban population below 5m is the percentage of the total population, living in areas where the elevation is 5 meters or less.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Weighted Average;

Argentina AR: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data was reported at 15.938 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16.664 % for 2010. Argentina AR: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 18.115 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2012, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.292 % in 2000 and a record low of 15.938 % in 2012. Argentina AR: Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population 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. Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability, and security of tenure, as adopted in the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.D. The successor, the Sustainable Development Goal 11.1.1, considers inadequate housing (housing affordability) to complement the above definition of slums/informal settlements.;United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT);Weighted average;

Italy - Population living in households considering that they suffer from noise: Below 60% of median equivalised income was 12.30% in December of 2023, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Italy - Population living in households considering that they suffer from noise: Below 60% of median equivalised income - last updated from the EUROSTAT on March of 2025. Historically, Italy - Population living in households considering that they suffer from noise: Below 60% of median equivalised income reached a record high of 27.60% in December of 2004 and a record low of 11.40% in December of 2018.

Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.