The world population surpassed eight billion people in 2022, having doubled from its figure less than 50 years previously. Looking forward, it is projected that the world population will reach nine billion in 2038, and 10 billion in 2060, but it will peak around 10.3 billion in the 2080s before it then goes into decline. Regional variations The global population has seen rapid growth since the early 1800s, due to advances in areas such as food production, healthcare, water safety, education, and infrastructure, however, these changes did not occur at a uniform time or pace across the world. Broadly speaking, the first regions to undergo their demographic transitions were Europe, North America, and Oceania, followed by Latin America and Asia (although Asia's development saw the greatest variation due to its size), while Africa was the last continent to undergo this transformation. Because of these differences, many so-called "advanced" countries are now experiencing population decline, particularly in Europe and East Asia, while the fastest population growth rates are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, the roughly two billion difference in population between now and the 2080s' peak will be found in Sub-Saharan Africa, which will rise from 1.2 billion to 3.2 billion in this time (although populations in other continents will also fluctuate). Changing projections The United Nations releases their World Population Prospects report every 1-2 years, and this is widely considered the foremost demographic dataset in the world. However, recent years have seen a notable decline in projections when the global population will peak, and at what number. Previous reports in the 2010s had suggested a peak of over 11 billion people, and that population growth would continue into the 2100s, however a sooner and shorter peak is now projected. Reasons for this include a more rapid population decline in East Asia and Europe, particularly China, as well as a prolongued development arc in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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

The model used here is a coupled ocean-atmosphere model that consists of the CCSR/NIES atmospheric GCM, the CCSR ocean GCM, a thermodynamic sea-ice model, and a river routing model (Abe-Ouchi et al., 1996). The spatial resolution is T21 spectral truncation (roughly 5.6 degrees latitude/longitude) and 20 vertical levels for the atmospheric part, and roughly 2.8 degrees horizontal grid and 17 vertical levels for the oceanic part. Flux adjustment for atmosphere-ocean heat and water exchange is applied to prevent a drift of the modelled climate. The atmospheric model adopts a radiation scheme based on the k-distribution, two-stream discrete ordinate method (DOM) (Nakajima and Tanaka, 1986). This scheme can deal with absorption, emission and scattering by gases, clouds and aerosol particles in a consistent manner. In the calculation of sulphate aerosol optical properties, the volumetric mode radius of the sulphate particle in dry environment is assumed to be 0.2 micron. The hygroscopic growth of the sulphate is considered by an empirical fit of d'Almeida et al. (1991). The vertical distribution of the sulphate aerosol is assumed to be constant in the lowest 2 km of the atmosphere. The concentrations of greenhouse gases are represented by equivalent-CO2. Three integrations are made for 200 model years (1890-2090). In the control experiment (CTL), the globally uniform concentration of greenhouse gases is kept constant at 345 ppmv CO2-equivalent and the concentration of sulphate is set to zero. In the experiment GG, the concentration of greenhouse gases is gradually increased, while that of sulphate is set to zero. In the experiments GS, the increase in anthropogenic sulphate as well as that in greenhouse gases is given and the aerosol scattering (the direct effect of aerosol) is explicitly represented in the way described above. The indirect effect of aerosol is not included in any experiment. The scenario of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols is given in accordance with Mitchell and Johns (1997). The increase in greenhouse gases is based on the historical record from 1890 to 1990 and is increased by 1 percent / yr (compound) after 1990. For sulphate aerosols, geographical distributions of sulphate loading for 1986 and 2050, which are estimated by a sulphur cycle model (Langer and Rodhe, 1991), are used as basic patterns. Based on global and annual mean sulphur emission rates, the 1986 pattern is scaled for years before 1990; the 2050 pattern is scaled for years after 2050; and the pattern is interpolated from the two basic ones for intermediate years to give the time series of the distribution. The sulphur emission rate in the future is based on the IPCC IS92a scenario. The sulphate concentration is offset in our run so that it starts from zero at 1890. The seasonal variation of sulphate concentration is ignored. Discussion on the results of the experiments will be found in Emori et al. (1999). Climate sensitivity of the CCSR/NIES model derived by equilibrium runs is estimated to be 3.5 degrees Celsius. Global-Mean Temperature, Precipitation and CO2 Changes (w.r.t. 1961-90) for the CCSR/NIES model. From the IPCC website: The A1 Family storyline is a case of rapid and successful economic development, in which regional averages of income per capita converge - current distinctions between poor and rich countries eventually dissolve. In this scenario family, demographic and economic trends are closely linked, as affluence is correlated with long life and small families (low mortality and low fertility). Global population grows to some nine billion by 2050 and declines to about seven billion by 2100. Average age increases, with the needs of retired people met mainly through their accumulated savings in private pension systems. The global economy expands at an average annual rate of about three percent to 2100. This is approximately the same as average global growth since 1850, although the conditions that lead to a global economic in productivity and per capita incomes are unparalleled in history. Income per capita reaches about US$21,000 by 2050. While the high average level of income per capita contributes to a great improvement in the overall health and social conditions of the majority of people, this world is not w... Visit https://dataone.org/datasets/doi%3A10.5063%2FAA%2Fdpennington.314.2 for complete metadata about this dataset.

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

The global number of internet users in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 1.3 billion users (+23.66 percent). After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the number of users is estimated to reach 7 billion users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of internet users of was continuously increasing over the past years.Depicted is the estimated number of individuals in the country or region at hand, that use the internet. As the datasource clarifies, connection quality and usage frequency are distinct aspects, not taken into account here.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of internet users in countries like the Americas and Asia.

The global number of smartphone users in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 1.8 billion users (+42.62 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the smartphone user base is estimated to reach 6.1 billion users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of smartphone users of was continuously increasing over the past years.Smartphone users here are limited to internet users of any age using a smartphone. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of smartphone users in countries like Australia & Oceania and Asia.

As of April 2024, Bahrain was the country with the highest Instagram audience reach with 95.6 percent. Kazakhstan also had a high Instagram audience penetration rate, with 90.8 percent of the population using the social network. In the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Brunei, the photo-sharing platform was used by more than 85 percent of each country's population.

As of April 2024, around 16.5 percent of global active Instagram users were men between the ages of 18 and 24 years. More than half of the global Instagram population worldwide was aged 34 years or younger.

              Teens and social media

              As one of the biggest social networks worldwide, Instagram is especially popular with teenagers. As of fall 2020, the photo-sharing app ranked third in terms of preferred social network among teenagers in the United States, second to Snapchat and TikTok. Instagram was one of the most influential advertising channels among female Gen Z users when making purchasing decisions. Teens report feeling more confident, popular, and better about themselves when using social media, and less lonely, depressed and anxious.
              Social media can have negative effects on teens, which is also much more pronounced on those with low emotional well-being. It was found that 35 percent of teenagers with low social-emotional well-being reported to have experienced cyber bullying when using social media, while in comparison only five percent of teenagers with high social-emotional well-being stated the same. As such, social media can have a big impact on already fragile states of mind.

The population share with mobile internet access in North America was forecast to increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 2.9 percentage points. This overall increase does not happen continuously, notably not in 2028 and 2029. The mobile internet penetration is estimated to amount to 84.21 percent in 2029. Notably, the population share with mobile internet access of was continuously increasing over the past years.The penetration rate refers to the share of the total population having access to the internet via a mobile broadband connection.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the population share with mobile internet access in countries like Caribbean and Europe.