In 1938, the year before the outbreak of the Second world War, the countries with the largest populations were China, the Soviet Union, and the United States, although the United Kingdom had the largest overall population when it's colonies, dominions, and metropole are combined. Alongside France, these were the five Allied "Great Powers" that emerged victorious from the Second World War. The Axis Powers in the war were led by Germany and Japan in their respective theaters, and their smaller populations were decisive factors in their defeat. Manpower as a resource In the context of the Second World War, a country or territory's population played a vital role in its ability to wage war on such a large scale. Not only were armies able to call upon their people to fight in the war and replenish their forces, but war economies were also dependent on their workforce being able to meet the agricultural, manufacturing, and logistical demands of the war. For the Axis powers, invasions and the annexation of territories were often motivated by the fact that it granted access to valuable resources that would further their own war effort - millions of people living in occupied territories were then forced to gather these resources, or forcibly transported to work in manufacturing in other Axis territories. Similarly, colonial powers were able to use resources taken from their territories to supply their armies, however this often had devastating consequences for the regions from which food was redirected, contributing to numerous food shortages and famines across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Men from annexed or colonized territories were also used in the armies of the war's Great Powers, and in the Axis armies especially. This meant that soldiers often fought alongside their former-enemies. Aftermath The Second World War was the costliest in human history, resulting in the deaths of between 70 and 85 million people. Due to the turmoil and destruction of the war, accurate records for death tolls generally do not exist, therefore pre-war populations (in combination with other statistics), are used to estimate death tolls. The Soviet Union is believed to have lost the largest amount of people during the war, suffering approximately 24 million fatalities by 1945, followed by China at around 20 million people. The Soviet death toll is equal to approximately 14 percent of its pre-war population - the countries with the highest relative death tolls in the war are found in Eastern Europe, due to the intensity of the conflict and the systematic genocide committed in the region during the war.

In 1800, the population of Japan was just over 30 million, a figure which would grow by just two million in the first half of the 19th century. However, with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan would begin transforming from an isolated feudal island, to a modernized empire built on Western models. The Meiji period would see a rapid rise in the population of Japan, as industrialization and advancements in healthcare lead to a significant reduction in child mortality rates, while the creation overseas colonies would lead to a strong economic boom. However, this growth would slow beginning in 1937, as Japan entered a prolonged war with the Republic of China, which later grew into a major theater of the Second World War. The war was eventually brought to Japan's home front, with the escalation of Allied air raids on Japanese urban centers from 1944 onwards (Tokyo was the most-bombed city of the Second World War). By the war's end in 1945 and the subsequent occupation of the island by the Allied military, Japan had suffered over two and a half million military fatalities, and over one million civilian deaths.

The population figures of Japan were quick to recover, as the post-war “economic miracle” would see an unprecedented expansion of the Japanese economy, and would lead to the country becoming one of the first fully industrialized nations in East Asia. As living standards rose, the population of Japan would increase from 77 million in 1945, to over 127 million by the end of the century. However, growth would begin to slow in the late 1980s, as birth rates and migration rates fell, and Japan eventually grew to have one of the oldest populations in the world. The population would peak in 2008 at just over 128 million, but has consistently fallen each year since then, as the fertility rate of the country remains below replacement level (despite government initiatives to counter this) and the country's immigrant population remains relatively stable. The population of Japan is expected to continue its decline in the coming years, and in 2020, it is estimated that approximately 126 million people inhabit the island country.

Russian estimates suggest that the total population of the Soviet Union in 1941 was 195.4 million people, before it fell to 170.5 million in 1946 due to the devastation of the Second World War. Not only did the USSR's population fall as a consequence of the war, but fertility and birth rates also dropped due to the disruption. Hypothetical estimates suggest that, had the war not happened and had fertility rates remained on their pre-war trajectory, then the USSR's population in 1946 would have been 39 million higher than in reality. Gender differences When it comes to gender differences, the Soviet male population fell from 94 million in 1941, to 74 million in 1946, and the female population fell from 102 to 96 million. While the male and female population fell by 19 and 5.5 million respectively, hypothetical estimates suggest that both populations would have grown by seven million each had there been no war. In actual figures, adult males saw the largest change in population due to the war, as a drop of 18 to 21 percent was observed across the three age groups. In contrast, the adult female population actually grew between 1941 and 1946, although the population under 16 years fell by a number similar to that observed in the male population due to the war's impact on fertility.

In 1800, the region of Germany was not a single, unified nation, but a collection of decentralized, independent states, bound together as part of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire was dissolved, however, in 1806, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Europe, and the German Confederation was established in 1815. Napoleonic reforms led to the abolition of serfdom, extension of voting rights to property-owners, and an overall increase in living standards. The population grew throughout the remainder of the century, as improvements in sanitation and medicine (namely, mandatory vaccination policies) saw child mortality rates fall in later decades. As Germany industrialized and the economy grew, so too did the argument for nationhood; calls for pan-Germanism (the unification of all German-speaking lands) grew more popular among the lower classes in the mid-1800s, especially following the revolutions of 1948-49. In contrast, industrialization and poor harvests also saw high unemployment in rural regions, which led to waves of mass migration, particularly to the U.S.. In 1886, the Austro-Prussian War united northern Germany under a new Confederation, while the remaining German states (excluding Austria and Switzerland) joined following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this established the German Empire, under the Prussian leadership of Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. 1871 to 1945 - Unification to the Second World War The first decades of unification saw Germany rise to become one of Europe's strongest and most advanced nations, and challenge other world powers on an international scale, establishing colonies in Africa and the Pacific. These endeavors were cut short, however, when the Austro-Hungarian heir apparent was assassinated in Sarajevo; Germany promised a "blank check" of support for Austria's retaliation, who subsequently declared war on Serbia and set the First World War in motion. Viewed as the strongest of the Central Powers, Germany mobilized over 11 million men throughout the war, and its army fought in all theaters. As the war progressed, both the military and civilian populations grew increasingly weakened due to malnutrition, as Germany's resources became stretched. By the war's end in 1918, Germany suffered over 2 million civilian and military deaths due to conflict, and several hundred thousand more during the accompanying influenza pandemic. Mass displacement and the restructuring of Europe's borders through the Treaty of Versailles saw the population drop by several million more.

Reparations and economic mismanagement also financially crippled Germany and led to bitter indignation among many Germans in the interwar period; something that was exploited by Adolf Hitler on his rise to power. Reckless printing of money caused hyperinflation in 1923, when the currency became so worthless that basic items were priced at trillions of Marks; the introduction of the Rentenmark then stabilized the economy before the Great Depression of 1929 sent it back into dramatic decline. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi government disregarded the Treaty of Versailles' restrictions and Germany rose once more to become an emerging superpower. Hitler's desire for territorial expansion into eastern Europe and the creation of an ethnically-homogenous German empire then led to the invasion of Poland in 1939, which is considered the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Again, almost every aspect of German life contributed to the war effort, and more than 13 million men were mobilized. After six years of war, and over seven million German deaths, the Axis powers were defeated and Germany was divided into four zones administered by France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the U.S.. Mass displacement, shifting borders, and the relocation of peoples based on ethnicity also greatly affected the population during this time. 1945 to 2020 - Partition and Reunification In the late 1940s, cold war tensions led to two distinct states emerging in Germany; the Soviet-controlled east became the communist German Democratic Republic (DDR), and the three western zones merged to form the democratic Federal Republic of Germany. Additionally, Berlin was split in a similar fashion, although its location deep inside DDR territory created series of problems and opportunities for the those on either side. Life quickly changed depending on which side of the border one lived. Within a decade, rapid economic recovery saw West Germany become western Europe's strongest economy and a key international player. In the east, living standards were much lower, although unemployment was almost non-existent; internationally, East Germany was the strongest economy in the Eastern Bloc (after the USSR), though it eventually fell behind the West by the 1970s. The restriction of movement between the two states also led to labor shortages in the West, and an influx of migrants from...

1941 marked an escalation of the Second World War in Europe. By the middle of the year, Germany and its European allies had already consolidated power across most of the continent, with only the United Kingdom and Soviet Union not under Axis control or on neutral terms with Germany. As population sizes were fundamental to the war effort, both in terms of military manpower and the workforce of the home front, the annexation of other countries proved vital in supplying new volunteers, conscripts, and forced laborers for the Axis war effort. Together, Germany and Austria had a similar population to the rest of Europe's Axis powers combined, with all giving a total population of 154 million. However, the total population of the Axis-occupied territories in Europe was comparable to the Axis home fronts themselves, at almost 130 million people

Germans in the East Eastern Europe had a sizeable population of ethnic Germans who often worked with the Axis powers, and the German Army recruited upwards of a million volunteers from occupied countries. The Soviet Union in particular had a number of Russia German enclaves across the region, that reached as far as the Volga river and Kazakhstan and numbered at several million people. In Russia, these communities had existed for centuries, but they were ostracized or mistrusted by Soviet leadership and the deaths of these communities under Stalin's regime is often considered genocide. In addition to ethnic Germans, collaborators also included large numbers of Eastern Europeans who sympathized with Nazi ideology, or were hostile to Soviet or communist expansion; this also included ethnic minorities, such as Muslims from the Balkans or USSR.

Collaborators in the West The perceived threat of communism in the west saw men volunteer from countries such as France, the Netherlands, or Norway, to fight in the Axis armies. The fluctuating borders of the interwar period also meant that there were many German communities across the borders of neighboring countries, whose men also enlisted in the Wehrmacht. Within these occupied countries, conspirators with local knowledge were used to track down Jews and political adversaries, and many collaborated in order to elevate their positions in the government or enterprises. Apart from Austria, however, the majority of the public in annexed territories were unsupportive or hostile to their occupiers, and after the war, many of the surviving collaborators were tried (and often executed) for their actions.

In 1800, the population of the region of present-day India was approximately 169 million. The population would grow gradually throughout the 19th century, rising to over 240 million by 1900. Population growth would begin to increase in the 1920s, as a result of falling mortality rates, due to improvements in health, sanitation and infrastructure. However, the population of India would see it’s largest rate of growth in the years following the country’s independence from the British Empire in 1948, where the population would rise from 358 million to over one billion by the turn of the century, making India the second country to pass the billion person milestone. While the rate of growth has slowed somewhat as India begins a demographics shift, the country’s population has continued to grow dramatically throughout the 21st century, and in 2020, India is estimated to have a population of just under 1.4 billion, well over a billion more people than one century previously. Today, approximately 18% of the Earth’s population lives in India, and it is estimated that India will overtake China to become the most populous country in the world within the next five years.

Due to the devastating impact of the Second World War on the Soviet population, the total population in 1950 was almost 15.5 million fewer than in 1940, which is a decrease of eight percent. In Russia (RSFSR), the largest of the Soviet states, the population difference was almost nine million people; also eight percent. It would take until 1955 for the populations of either the USSR or Russia to reach their pre-war levels, which was a decade after the conflict had ended. Urbanization Despite this drop in total population, industrialization and urbanization saw a significant change in the USSR's population distribution between the given years. The Soviet urban population increased by 6.3 million, or ten percent, between 1940 and 1950; 5.8 million of this was in Russia, which was a 15 percent increase. In contrast, the Soviet Union's rural population dropped by 21.8 million (a 17 percent change), 14.5 million of which in Russia (a decrease of 20 percent). In terms of overall population, the urban population of the USSR rose from 33 to 39 percent between 1940 and 1950, and from 34 to 43 percent in Russia. By 1955, 44 percent of the Soviet population, and 49 percent of the Russian population, lived in an urban setting.

During the eighteenth century, it is estimated that France's population grew by roughly fifty percent, from 19.7 million in 1700, to 29 million by 1800. In France itself, the 1700s are remembered for the end of King Louis XIV's reign in 1715, the Age of Enlightenment, and the French Revolution. During this century, the scientific and ideological advances made in France and across Europe challenged the leadership structures of the time, and questioned the relationship between monarchial, religious and political institutions and their subjects. France was arguably the most powerful nation in the world in these early years, with the second largest population in Europe (after Russia); however, this century was defined by a number of costly, large-scale conflicts across Europe and in the new North American theater, which saw the loss of most overseas territories (particularly in North America) and almost bankrupted the French crown. A combination of regressive taxation, food shortages and enlightenment ideologies ultimately culminated in the French Revolution in 1789, which brought an end to the Ancien Régime, and set in motion a period of self-actualization.

War and peace

After a volatile and tumultuous decade, in which tens of thousands were executed by the state (most infamously: guillotined), relative stability was restored within France as Napoleon Bonaparte seized power in 1799, and the policies of the revolution became enforced. Beyond France's borders, the country was involved in a series of large scale wars for two almost decades, and the First French Empire eventually covered half of Europe by 1812. In 1815, Napoleon was defeated outright, the empire was dissolved, and the monarchy was restored to France; nonetheless, a large number of revolutionary and Napoleonic reforms remained in effect afterwards, and the ideas had a long-term impact across the globe. France experienced a century of comparative peace in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars; there were some notable uprisings and conflicts, and the monarchy was abolished yet again, but nothing on the scale of what had preceded or what was to follow. A new overseas colonial empire was also established in the late 1800s, particularly across Africa and Southeast Asia. Through most of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, France had the second largest population in Europe (after Russia), however political instability and the economic prioritization of Paris meant that the entire country did not urbanize or industrialize at the same rate as the other European powers. Because of this, Germany and Britain entered the twentieth century with larger populations, and other regions, such as Austria or Belgium, had overtaken France in terms of industrialization; the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War was also a major contributor to this.

World Wars and contemporary France

Coming into the 1900s, France had a population of approximately forty million people (officially 38 million* due to to territorial changes), and there was relatively little growth in the first half of the century. France was comparatively unprepared for a large scale war, however it became one of the most active theaters of the First World War when Germany invaded via Belgium in 1914, with the ability to mobilize over eight million men. By the war's end in 1918, France had lost almost 1.4 million in the conflict, and approximately 300,000 in the Spanish Flu pandemic that followed. Germany invaded France again during the Second World War, and occupied the country from 1940, until the Allied counter-invasion liberated the country during the summer of 1944. France lost around 600,000 people in the course of the war, over half of which were civilians. Following the war's end, the country experienced a baby boom, and the population grew by approximately twenty million people in the next fifty years (compared to just one million in the previous fifty years). Since the 1950s, France's economy quickly grew to be one of the strongest in the world, despite losing the vast majority of its overseas colonial empire by the 1970s. A wave of migration, especially from these former colonies, has greatly contributed to the growth and diversity of France's population today, which stands at over 65 million people in 2020.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the area of modern-day Italy, at the time a collection of various states and kingdoms, was estimated to have a population of nineteen million, a figure which would grow steadily throughout the century, and by the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, the population would rise to just over 26 million.

Italy’s population would see its first major disruption during the First World War, as Italy would join the Allied Forces in their fight against Austria-Hungary and Germany. In the First World War, Italy’s population would largely stagnate at 36 million, only climbing again following the end of the war in 1920. While Italy would also play a prominent role in the Second World War, as the National Fascist Party-led country would fight alongside Germany against the Allies, Italian fatalities from the war would not represent a significant percentage of Italy’s population compared to other European countries in the conflict. As a result, Italy would exit the Second World War with a population of just over 45 million.

From this point onwards the Italian economy started to recover from the war, and eventually boomed, leading to increased employment and standards of living, which facilitated steady population growth until the mid-1980s, when falling fertility and birth rates would cause growth to largely cease. From this point onward, the Italian population would remain at just over 57 million, until the 2000s when it began growing again due to an influx of migrants, peaking in 2017 at just over 60 million people. In the late 2010s, however, the Italian population began declining again, as immigration slowed and the economy weakened. As a result, in 2020, Italy is estimated to have fallen to a population of 59 million.

In 1800, the population of the territory that makes up present-day Thailand was approximately 4.7 million people. As part of the kingdom of Siam, the population of Thailand would grow gradually through the 19 th century, with much of the population growth being driven by Chinese emigration from southern Qing China into Siam, in search of work and refuge from instability in their home country. This migrant influx would continue throughout the century, with estimates suggesting that the Chinese population in Siam grew from 230,000 in 1825, to over 792,000 in 1910; by 1932, over 12 percent of the population in modern-day Thailand was ethnically Chinese. Migration from China would see another surge under the reign of Vajiravudh, as the "Warlord era" in China, after the fall of the Qing dynasty, would see entire families of Chinese immigrants arriving in Thailand. While immigration would slow in later years, Chinese-Thai would remain a significant demographic in Thailand’s population, both as one of the largest overseas Chinese populations, and accounting for an estimated 11-14 percent of the total Thailand population in 2012.

Population growth would slow somewhat in the 1930s, as several rebellions and coups, paired with a rise in anti-Chinese sentiment in the country, would result in a sharp decline in immigration to the country. In the years following the Second World War, the population of Thailand would begin to grow rapidly, following a wave of urbanization and a significant increase in standard of living throughout the country. As a result, the population of Thailand would rise from approximately 20 million in 1950, to just under 63 million by the turn of the century just 50 years later. This population growth would slow somewhat as the country would continue to modernize in the 2000s, and in 2020, it is estimated that just under 70 million people live in Thailand.

In 1800, the population of Indonesia was estimated to be approximately 16 million. The population of the island nation would grow steadily over the course of the 19th century, as the Dutch colonial administration launched several initiatives to modernize the region. After reaching 38 million people in 1900, the population of Indonesia would continue to grow until the 1940’s, when the Japanese occupation of the country would see between four to ten million Indonesians moved away from the island nation to be made to work on Japanese military projects, and in combination with wartime famine, this would result in the death or displacement of up to four million Indonesians by the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945. Despite this, Indonesia's population continued to grow throughout these years.

Following the Second World War, Indonesia claimed its independence from the Netherlands, and achieved this in 1949. In the second half of the 20thcentury, the population would continue to grow exponentially in size through the remainder of the 20th century, although the growth rate would slow somewhat in the 1980s, the result of a decline in fertility rate throughout the country which some studies suggest may be attributed to improved access to birth control and improved mass education. In 2020, Indonesia is estimated to have just over 273.5 million people living within its borders, making it the fourth most populous country in the world (behind the U.S. and above Pakistan).

It is presumed that the first humans migrated from Siberia to North America approximately twelve thousand years ago, where they then moved southwards to warmer lands. It was not until many centuries later that humans returned to the north and began to settle regions that are now part of Canada. Despite a few short-lived Viking settlements on Newfoundland around the turn of the first millennium CE, the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), became the first European to explore the coast of North America in the late 1400s. The French and British crowns both made claims to areas of Canada throughout the sixteenth century, but real colonization and settlement did not begin until the early seventeenth century. Over the next 150 years, France and Britain competed to take control of the booming fur and fishing trade, and to expand their overseas empires. In the Seven Year's War, Britain eventually defeated the French colonists in North America, through superior numbers and a stronger agriculture resources in the southern colonies, and the outcome of the war saw France cede practically all of it's colonies in North America to the British.

Increased migration and declining native populations

The early 1800s saw a large influx of migrants into Canada, with the Irish Potato Famine bringing the first wave of mass-migration to the country, with further migration coming from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. It is estimated that the region received just shy of one million migrants from the British Isles alone, between 1815 and 1850, which helped the population grow to 2.5 million in the mid-1800s and 5.5 million in 1900. It is also estimated that infectious diseases killed around 25 to 33 percent of all Europeans who migrated to Canada before 1891, and around a third of the Canadian population is estimated to have emigrated southwards to the United States in the 1871-1896 period. From the time of European colonization until the mid-nineteenth century, the native population of Canada dropped from roughly 500,000 (some estimates put it as high as two million) to just over 100,000; this was due to a mixture of disease, starvation and warfare, instigated by European migration to the region. The native population was generally segregated and oppressed until the second half of the 1900s; Native Canadians were given the vote in 1960, and, despite their complicated and difficult history, the Canadian government has made significant progress in trying to include indigenous cultures in the country's national identity in recent years. As of 2020, Indigenous Canadians make up more than five percent of the total Canadian population, and a higher birth rate means that this share of the population is expected to grow in the coming decades.

Independence and modern Canada

Canadian independence was finally acknowledged in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster, putting it on equal terms with the United Kingdom within the Commonwealth; virtually granting independence and sovereignty until the Canada Act of 1982 formalized it. Over the past century, Canada has had a relatively stable political system and economy (although it was hit particularly badly by the Wall Street Crash of 1929). Canada entered the First World War with Britain, and as an independent Allied Power in the Second World War; Canadian forces played pivotal roles in a number of campaigns, notably Canada's Hundred Days in WWI, and the country lost more than 100,000 men across both conflicts. The economy boomed in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a stream of socially democratic programs such as universal health care and the Canadian pension plan were introduced, which contributed to a rise in the standard of living. The post war period also saw various territories deciding to join Canada, with Newfoundland joining in 1949, and Nunavut in 1999. Today Canada is among the most highly ranked in countries in terms of civil liberties, quality of life and economic growth. It promotes and welcomes immigrants from all over the world and, as a result, it has one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural populations of any country in the world. As of 2020, Canada's population stands at around 38 million people, and continues to grow due to high migration levels and life expectancy, and a steady birth rate.

In 1800, the population of Spain was approximately 14.7 million. This figure would rise consistently throughout the 19th century, and early 20th century. The population growth rate was set to increase in the mid-1900s, but this was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, which would claim around half a million lives between 1936 and 1939. In spite of the war, the Spanish population continued to grow throughout these years, and reached 28 million by the middle of the century. Between the 1950s and 1970s, Spain observed a significant increase in its population growth, facilitated by the baby boom that followed the Second World War (as in most of Western Europe) as well as general medical improvements and increased life expectancy.

Beginning in the 1980s, Spain would begin a demographic transition marked by a dramatic drop in the fertility rate of the country, resulting in the population only growing by two million between the mid-1980s and 2000 (compared to an increase of two million every five or six years beforehand). There was a sharp rise in Spain’s population from 2000 to 2008, as strong economic growth would be accompanied by a dramatic surge in immigration to the country. This would plateau at just over 46 million in 2008 however, as the Great Recession took its toll on the country’s economy, and in 2020, Spain is estimated to have a population of approximately 46.8 million, which is the sixth-largest in Europe.

The history of modern Brazil begins in the year 1500 when Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived with a small fleet and claimed the land for the Portuguese Empire. With the Treaty of Torsedillas in 1494, Spain and Portugal agreed to split the New World peacefully, thus allowing Portugal to take control of the area with little competition from other European powers. As the Portuguese did not arrive with large numbers, and the indigenous population was overwhelmed with disease, large numbers of African slaves were transported across the Atlantic and forced to harvest or mine Brazil's wealth of natural resources. These slaves were forced to work in sugar, coffee and rubber plantations and gold and diamond mines, which helped fund Portuguese expansion across the globe. In modern history, transatlantic slavery brought more Africans to Brazil than any other country in the world. This combination of European, African and indigenous peoples set the foundation for what has become one of the most ethnically diverse countries across the globe.

Independence and Monarchy By the early eighteenth century, Portugal had established control over most of modern-day Brazil, and the population more than doubled in each half of the 1800s. The capital of the Portuguese empire was moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1808 (as Napoleon's forces moved closer towards Lisbon), making this the only time in European history where a capital was moved to another continent. The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was established in 1815, and when the Portuguese monarchy and capital returned to Lisbon in 1821, the King's son, Dom Pedro, remained in Brazil as regent. The following year, Dom Pedro declared Brazil's independence, and within three years, most other major powers (including Portugal) recognized the Empire of Brazil as an independent monarchy and formed economic relations with it; this was a much more peaceful transition to independence than many of the ex-Spanish colonies in the Americas. Under the reign of Dom Pedro II, Brazil's political stability remained relatively intact, and the economy grew through its exportation of raw materials and economic alliances with Portugal and Britain. Despite pressure from political opponents, Pedro II abolished slavery in 1850 (as part of a trade agreement with Britain), and Brazil remained a powerful, stable and progressive nation under Pedro II's leadership, in stark contrast to its South American neighbors. The booming economy also attracted millions of migrants from Europe and Asia around the turn of the twentieth century, which has had a profound impact on Brazil's demography and culture to this day.

The New Republic

Despite his popularity, King Pedro II was overthrown in a military coup in 1889, ending his 58 year reign and initiating six decades of political instability and economic difficulties. A series of military coups, failed attempts to restore stability, and the decline of Brazil's overseas influence contributed greatly to a weakened economy in the early 1900s. The 1930s saw the emergence of Getúlio Vargas, who ruled as a fascist dictator for two decades. Despite a growing economy and Brazil's alliance with the Allied Powers in the Second World War, the end of fascism in Europe weakened Vargas' position in Brazil, and he was eventually overthrown by the military, who then re-introduced democracy to Brazil in 1945. Vargas was then elected to power in 1951, and remained popular among the general public, however political opposition to his beliefs and methods led to his suicide in 1954. Further political instability ensued and a brutal, yet prosperous, military dictatorship took control in the 1960s and 1970s, but Brazil gradually returned to a democratic nation in the 1980s. Brazil's economic and political stability fluctuated over the subsequent four decades, and a corruption scandal in the 2010s saw the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Despite all of this economic instability and political turmoil, Brazil is one of the world's largest economies and is sometimes seen as a potential superpower. The World Bank classifies it as a upper-middle income country and it has the largest share of global wealth in Latin America. It is the largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking), and sixth most populous country in the world, with a population of more than 210 million people.

The Holocaust was the systematic extermination of Europe's Jewish population in the Second World War, during which time, up to six million Jews were murdered as part of Nazi Germany's "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". In the context of the Second World War, the term "Holocaust" is traditionally used to reference the genocide of Europe's Jews, although this coincided with the Nazi regime's genocide and ethnic cleansing of an additional eleven million people deemed "undesirable" due to their ethnicity, beliefs, disability or sexuality (among others). During the Holocaust, Poland's Jewish population suffered the largest number of fatalities, with approximately three million deaths. Additionally, at least one million Jews were murdered in the Soviet Union, while Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Yugoslavia also lost the majority of their respective pre-war Jewish populations. The Holocaust in Poland In the interwar period, Europe's Jewish population was concentrated in the east, with roughly one third living in Poland; this can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when thousands of Jews flocked to Eastern Europe to escape persecution. At the outbreak of the Second World War, it is estimated that there were 3.4 million Jews living in Poland, which was approximately ten percent of the total population. Following the German invasion of Poland, Nazi authorities then segregated Jews in ghettos across most large towns and cities, and expanded their network of concentration camps throughout the country. In the ghettos, civilians were deprived of food, and hundreds of thousands died due to disease and starvation; while prison labor was implemented under extreme conditions in concentration camps to fuel the German war effort. In Poland, six extermination camps were also operational between December 1941 and January 1945, which saw the mass extermination of approximately 2.7 million people over the next three years (including many non-Poles, imported from other regions of Europe). While concentration camps housed prisoners of all backgrounds, extermination camps were purpose-built for the elimination of the Jewish race, and over 90% of their victims were Jewish. The majority of the victims in these extermination camps were executed by poison gas, although disease, starvation and overworking were also common causes of death. In addition to the camps and ghettos, SS death squads (Einsatzgruppen) and local collaborators also committed widespread atrocities across Eastern Europe. While the majority of these atrocities took place in the Balkan, Baltic and Soviet regions, they were still prevalent in Poland (particularly during the liquidation of the ghettos), and the Einsatzgruppen alone are estimated to have killed up to 1.3 million Jews throughout the Holocaust. By early 1945, Soviet forces had largely expelled the German armies from Poland and liberated the concentration and extermination camps; by this time, Poland had lost roughly ninety percent of its pre-war Jewish population, and suffered approximately three million further civilian and military deaths. By 1991, Poland's Jewish population was estimated to be just 15 thousand people, while there were fewer than two thousand Jews recorded as living in Poland in 2018.

In the year 1800, the population of the region which makes up the present-day Netherlands was approximately two million people. The beginning of the 19th century was a tumultuous time in Dutch history, as the region had recently been annexed by Revolutionary France; however the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was eventually established in 1815 (which also included present-day Belgium and Luxembourg) and a period of economic growth, modernization and high quality of life followed. In spite of this economic prosperity, religious tensions between the predominantly Catholic south and Protestant north led to a split in the kingdom in 1839, where it was eventually partitioned into Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, along borders very similar to today's. Rapid modernization and liberalization continued throughout the 19th century, and in 1900 the population of the Netherlands was over five million people.

Early 20th century The Netherlands was free to continue economic expansion, both in the metropole and in its colonies, uninterrupted for much of the first half of the 20th century (partly facilitated by its neutrality in the First World War). This resulted in a steady rise in population, which doubled to ten million within half a century. Population growth would even continue throughout the Second World War, as the Netherlands would be spared from much of the casualty-heavy conflicts seen in neighboring countries; however, most estimates concur that approximately 210,000 Dutch people died as a result of the war, half of which were Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The war also saw the end of Dutch colonization in the East Indies, as Japan annexed the region of present-day Indonesia in 1942; although the Dutch tried to re-colonize the region after the war, Indonesia became an officially recognized independent nation in 1949.

Netherlands today Population growth in the Netherlands would continue largely uninterrupted in the post-war years, until the 1970s, when it began to slow as Western Europe experienced periods of recession and high unemployment. Improvements in contraceptives and education also saw birth rates fall at their fastest ever rates in the 1970s. Following the recovery of the Dutch economy in the 1990s, population growth would resume once more, continuing steadily into the 21th century. In 2020, the Netherlands is estimated to have a population of just over 17 million people, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. For its size, the Netherlands has one of the strongest economies globally, and often ranks among the highest in terms of development, freedom and quality of life.

Bulgaria, with the help of the Russian Empire, achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. In the decades before independence, Bulgaria's population had remained between 2.2 and 2.8 million people, and growth was much slower then the following century. Although most at the time assumed that it would become a Russian ally, Bulgaria defied the expectations and aligned itself with the western powers, and developed into a modern European state by the turn in the late 1800s. Bulgaria at war In the early twentieth century Bulgaria was involved in both World Wars, as well as two Balkan Wars. The Balkan states were unhappy with the borders assigned to them by the western powers, and instead wanted to re-draw them based on the dispersal of ethnic groups. This led to the first Balkan War in 1912, which saw Bulgaria fight alongside Greece and Serbia against the Ottomans. Bulgaria fought the second Balkan War on all sides, this time against Greece, Serbia, Romania and the Ottomans, as the dispute over borders continued. Bulgaria was defeated this time, and sustained heavy casualties, amassing in 58 thousand fatalities and over 100 thousand wounded in the two wars.

In the First World War, Bulgaria remained neutral at first, in order to recover from the previous wars, but then aligned itself with the Central powers in 1915, and played a vital role in maintaining their control in the Balkans. While Bulgaria was initially successful, its allies weakened as the war progressed, and then Bulgaria eventually succumbed to Allied forces and surrendered in 1918, with almost 200 thousand Bulgarians dying as a result of the war. The interwar years was a period of political and economic turmoil, and when control was re-established, Bulgaria was then able to maintain it's neutrality throughout most of the Second World War, (although there was some conflict and bombings in certain areas). Rise and fall of communism After the war, Bulgaria became a communist state, and life became harsh for the civil population there until the late 1950s when the standard of living rose again. In the late 1980s, like many Eastern European countries, Bulgaria experienced economic decline as the communist system began to collapse. Political failures also contributed to this, and approximately 300 thousand Bulgarian Turks migrated to Turkey, greatly weakening the agricultural economy. This trend of mass migration abroad continued after the fall of the iron curtain, as well as the rise of unemployment. Bulgaria reached it's peak population size in 1985 at 8.98 million inhabitants, but then the number decreases each year, and is expected to be 6.94 million in 2020. This drop in population size has been attributed to the economic collapse at the end of communism in Eastern Europe, causing many to leave the country in search of work elsewhere. Bulgaria also has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, with 8.7 births per 1,000 people per year (in 2018).

In 1800, the population of Ethiopia was 2.95 million. Like most other Sub-Saharan countries, Ethiopia experienced slow but steady growth for much of the 18th century, and growth which would increase exponentially as the country entered the 20th century. Ethiopia’s population grew more rapidly as the 20th century progressed, however, this growth was offset in the late 1970s, with the beginning of the Ethiopian Civil War and the coinciding Qey Shibir (Red Terror) campaign. However, despite experiencing a significant famine from 1983 to 1985, which would result in approximately one million deaths, Ethiopia’s population would begin to grow rapidly once more, from 35 million in 1980 to 66 million by the beginning of the 21st century. By 2020, Ethiopia is estimated to have a population of almost 115 million, with some experts predicting that Ethiopia may become one of the most populous countries in the world by 2100.

In 1800, the population of the area of modern-day Lithuania was estimated to be just under 780,000. Lithuania’s rate of population growth would remain largely unchanged in the 19th century, as the Russian Empire would slowly but gradually develop its border regions. While large numbers of Lithuanians would emigrate west-ward (largely to the United States) between 1867 and 1868 after a famine in the country, growth would remain largely uninterrupted until the beginning of the First World War in 1912, which would see Lithuania, like much of the Baltic region, devastated as the battleground between the German and Russian Empires. As the conflict spread, those who were not made to evacuate by orders from the Russian government would face economic turmoil under German occupation, and as a result, Lithuania’s population would fall from just under 2.9 million in 1910, to under 2.3 million by 1920.

While Lithuania’s population would start to grow once more following the end of the First World War, this growth would be short-lived, as economic turmoil from the Great Depression, and later occupation and campaigns of mass extermination in the Second World War, most notably the extermination of 95 to 97 percent of the country’s Jewish population in the Holocaust, would cause Lithuania’s population growth to stagnate throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In the years following the end of the Second World War, Lithuania’s population would steadily climb, as industrialization by the Soviet Union would lead to improved economic growth and access to health, and campaigns of mass immunization and vaccination would lead to a sharp decline in child mortality. As a result, by the 1990s, Lithuania would have a population of over 3.7 million. However, Lithuania’s population would rapidly decline in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, as economic crises and mass emigration from the country, paired with sharp declines in fertility, would result in a dramatic reduction in population. As a result, in 2020, Lithuania is estimated to have a population of just over 2.7 million.

In 1800, the region of present-day Turkey had a population of approximately 9.8 million. Turkey’s population would grow steadily throughout the 1800s, growing to 14 million by the turn of the century. During this time, Turkey was the center of the Ottoman Empire, which also covered much of the Balkans, Arabia, and the African coast from Libya to Somalia. In the early 20th century, the Ottoman Empire's dissolution period began, characterized by political instability and a series of military defeats and coups. The empire was one of the defeated Central Powers of the First World War, in which it suffered approximately three million total fatalities. It is estimated that the majority of these deaths did not come directly from the war, but as a result of the government-orchestrated mass expulsion and genocide of non-Turks from within the Turkish borders, specifically Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and Kurds; many ethnic Turks were simultaneously expelled from neighboring countries, namely Greece, which makes these events less-visible when examining annual data, although Turkey's total population did drop by one million between 1914 and 1924.

The Republic of Turkey Following the end of the Turkish War of Independence in 1923, and the establishment of the republic of Turkey, the population would begin to recover, tripling from just around 21 million in 1950 to over 63 million by the turn of the century. The new republic, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, introduced sweeping, progressive reforms that modernized the country, particularly its healthcare and education systems. Turkey remained neutral throughout the Second World War, and became a member of NATO during the Cold War. The second half of the 1900s was marked with intermittent periods of political instability, and a number of military conflicts (namely, in Cyprus and Kurdistan). In spite of this, Turkey has generally been considered a developed country for most of this time, although its life expectancy and infant mortality rates have often been more in line with developing nations.

Modern Turkey In the past decade, Turkey's population growth has continued its rapid growth; while birth rates have declined, the mass migration of refugees to the country fleeing the Syrian Civil War has seen the population growth ramain high. This influx of refugees was seen as a stepping stone in Turkey's accession to the European Union, with whom it has been negotiating a potential membership since 2005. Accession to the EU would provide huge economic benefits to Turkey, however, political developments in recent years (particularly the 2016 coup) have seen these negotiations stall, as the EU has accused the Turkish government of committing widespread human rights violations, such as torture, political imprisonment and censorship of free speech. In 2020, Turkey's population is estimated to be over 84 million people, and is expected to exceed 100 million in the next two decades.