Brazil and the United States are the two most populous countries in the Americas today. In 1500, the year that Pedro Álvares Cabral made landfall in present-day Brazil and claimed it for the Portuguese crown, it is estimated that there were roughly one million people living in the region. Some estimates for the present-day United States give a population of two million in the year 1500, although estimates vary greatly. By 1820, the population of the U.S. was still roughly double that of Brazil, but rapid growth in the 19th century would see it grow 4.5 times larger by 1890, before the difference shrunk during the 20th century. In 2024, the U.S. has a population over 340 million people, making it the third most populous country in the world, while Brazil has a population of almost 218 million and is the sixth most populous. Looking to the future, population growth is expected to be lower in Brazil than in the U.S. in the coming decades, as Brazil's fertility rates are already lower, and migration rates into the United States will be much higher. Historical development The indigenous peoples of present-day Brazil and the U.S. were highly susceptible to diseases brought from the Old World; combined with mass displacement and violence, their population growth rates were generally low, therefore migration from Europe and the import of enslaved Africans drove population growth in both regions. In absolute numbers, more Europeans migrated to North America than Brazil, whereas more slaves were transported to Brazil than the U.S., but European migration to Brazil increased significantly in the early 1900s. The U.S. also underwent its demographic transition much earlier than in Brazil, therefore its peak period of population growth was almost a century earlier than Brazil. Impact of ethnicity The demographics of these countries are often compared, not only because of their size, location, and historical development, but also due to the role played by ethnicity. In the mid-1800s, these countries had the largest slave societies in the world, but a major difference between the two was the attitude towards interracial procreation. In Brazil, relationships between people of different ethnic groups were more common and less stigmatized than in the U.S., where anti-miscegenation laws prohibited interracial relationships in many states until the 1960s. Racial classification was also more rigid in the U.S., and those of mixed ethnicity were usually classified by their non-white background. In contrast, as Brazil has a higher degree of mixing between those of ethnic African, American, and European heritage, classification is less obvious, and factors such as physical appearance or societal background were often used to determine racial standing. For most of the 20th century, Brazil's government promoted the idea that race was a non-issue and that Brazil was racially harmonious, but most now acknowledge that this actually ignored inequality and hindered progress. Racial inequality has been a prevalent problem in both countries since their founding, and today, whites generally fare better in terms of education, income, political representation, and even life expectancy. Despite this adversity, significant progress has been made in recent decades, as public awareness of inequality has increased, and authorities in both countries have made steps to tackle disparities in areas such as education, housing, and employment.

The Black Death was the largest and deadliest pandemic of Yersinia pestis recorded in human history, and likely the most infamous individual pandemic ever documented. The plague originated in the Eurasian Steppes, before moving with Mongol hordes to the Black Sea, where it was then brought by Italian merchants to the Mediterranean. From here, the Black Death then spread to almost all corners of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. While it was never endemic to these regions, it was constantly re-introduced via trade routes from Asia (such as the Silk Road), and plague was present in Western Europe until the seventeenth century, and the other regions until the nineteenth century. Impact on Europe In Europe, the major port cities and metropolitan areas were hit the hardest. The plague spread through south-western Europe, following the arrival of Italian galleys in Sicily, Genoa, Venice, and Marseilles, at the beginning of 1347. It is claimed that Venice, Florence, and Siena lost up to two thirds of their total population during epidemic's peak, while London, which was hit in 1348, is said to have lost at least half of its population. The plague then made its way around the west of Europe, and arrived in Germany and Scandinavia in 1348, before travelling along the Baltic coast to Russia by 1351 (although data relating to the death tolls east of Germany is scarce). Some areas of Europe remained untouched by the plague for decades; for example, plague did not arrive in Iceland until 1402, however it swept across the island with devastating effect, causing the population to drop from 120,000 to 40,000 within two years. Reliability While the Black Death affected three continents, there is little recorded evidence of its impact outside of Southern or Western Europe. In Europe, however, many sources conflict and contrast with one another, often giving death tolls exceeding the estimated population at the time (such as London, where the death toll is said to be three times larger than the total population). Therefore, the precise death tolls remain uncertain, and any figures given should be treated tentatively.

According to the 2021 Census, London was the most ethnically diverse region in England and Wales – 63.2% of residents identified with an ethnic minority group.

The data consist of transcripts of interviews with 19 individuals from Brazil and 5 individuals from Colombia, who are all involved in Black and Indigenous activist organisations or in state agencies that are charged with promoting anti-racism and/or human rights. Each transcript begins with a paragraph giving contextual informationLatin America has often been held up as a region where racism is less of a problem than in regions such as the United States or Europe. Because most people are 'mestizos' (mixed race) and mixture is often seen as the essence of national identity, clear racial boundaries are blurred, resulting in comparatively low levels of racial segregation and a traditionally low public profile for issues of race. In Europe and the United States, the racial mixture and interaction across racial boundaries, which are typical of Latin America and are becoming more visible elsewhere, are heralded by some observers as leading towards a 'post-racial' reality, where anti-racism and multiculturalism - seen in this view as divisive policies that accentuate social differences - become unnecessary. Critics point out that mixture is not an antidote to racial inequality and racism in Latin America: they all coexist. This severely qualifies claims that mixture can lead to a 'post-racial' era. This project will investigate anti-racist practices and ideologies in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. The project will contribute to conceptualising and addressing problems of racism, racial inequality and anti-racism in the region. We also propose that Latin America presents new opportunities for thinking about racism and anti-racism in a 'post-racial' world. Understanding how racism and anti-racism are conceived and practised in Latin America - in contexts in which mixture is pervasive - can help us to understand how to think about racism and anti-racism in other regions of the world, where notions of race have been changing in some respects towards Latin American patterns. It is also crucial to show the variety of ways in which mixture operates and co-exists with racism in Latin America - a region that is far from homogeneous. Research teams in each country, working with a range of organisations concerned with racism and discrimination, will explore how the organisations conceptualise and address key problems, which are becoming more salient in other regions, which confront similar scenarios. First, how to practice anti-racism when most people are mixed and when they may deny the importance of race and racism and themselves be both victims and the perpetrators of racism. Second, how to conceptualise and practice anti-racism when 'culture' seems to be the dominant discourse for talking about difference, but when physical difference (skin colour, hair type, etc.) remain powerful but often unacknowledged signs that move people to discriminate. Third, how to understand racism and combat it when race and class coincide to a great extent and make it easy to deny that race and racism are important factors. Fourth, how to make sure anti-racism addresses gender difference effectively, in a context in which mixture between white men and non-white women has been seen as the founding act of the nation. Fifth, how to pursue anti-racism when it is often claimed that there is little overt racist violence and that this is evidence of racial tolerance. We will explore how these elements structure - and may constrain - ideas about (anti-)racism within institutions, organisations and everyday practice. Our project will work with organisations in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico - countries that capture a good range of the region's diversity - to explore how racism and anti-racism are conceptualised and addressed in state and non-state circles, in legislation and the media, and in a variety of campaigns and projects. We aim to strengthen anti-racist practice in Latin America by feeding back our findings and by helping build networks; and to provide useful insights for understanding racism and anti-racism within and outside the region. The project carried out research in four countries, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. We started by scoping out a broad range of organizations and individuals who were working in a direct or indirect fashion to challenge racism and racial inequality. We then selected seventeen case studies (over a third of which were Indigenous), with which we worked in depth, while also touching on about twenty other cases in a less intensive way. The cases were selected in order to include both Black and Indigenous organisations and cases, and to include a range of cases from government bodies to grassroots activist movements, plus some legal processes in which a variety of actors and organizations were involved. Our methods were mainly ethnography and interviews, undertaken principally by the four postdoctoral researchers, each of whom worked in one country. Some interviews were done with the assistance of a research assistant hired in the country. The interviews were conducted mostly in 2017, with some in 2018, in localities appropriate to the case study, such as an organization’s offices, an individual’s residence, or an agreed neutral location (e.g. a café, a village square, a classroom). Some interviews were informal conservations, but most were at least semi-structured. Common interview guides were not used, as each interview was specific to the case in question. Many interviews were audio-recorded (some were video-recorded) and selected interviews were transcribed in full or in part. Files with the original audio recordings and the transcripts are stored on a secure server in the University of Manchester. The files uploaded here are a selection of the transcribed interviews.

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.