Until the 1800s, population growth was incredibly slow on a global level. The global population was estimated to have been around 188 million people in the year 1CE, and did not reach one billion until around 1803. However, since the 1800s, a phenomenon known as the demographic transition has seen population growth skyrocket, reaching eight billion people in 2023, and this is expected to peak at over 10 billion in the 2080s.

The geographic distribution of human population is key to understanding the effects of humans on the natural world and how natural events such as storms, earthquakes, and other natural phenomenon affect humans. Dataset SummaryThis layer was created with a model that combines imagery, road intersection density, populated places, and urban foot prints to create a likelihood surface. The likelihood surface is then used to create a raster of population with a cell size of 0.00221 degrees (approximately 250 meters).The population raster is created usingDasymetriccartographic methods to allocate the population values in over 1.6 million census polygons covering the world.The population of each polygon was normalized to the 2013 United Nations population estimates by country.Each cell in this layer has an integer value depicting the number of people that are likely to reside in that cell. Tabulations based on these values should result in population totals that more accurately reflect the population of areas of several square kilometers.This layer has global coverage and was published by Esri in 2014.More information about this layer is available:Building the Most Detailed Population Map in the World

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 World population growth rate by year from 1961 to 2023.

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.

Over the past 23 years, there were constantly more men than women living on the planet. Of the 8.06 billion people living on the Earth in 2023, 4.05 billion were men and 4.01 billion were women. One-quarter of the world's total population in 2024 was below 15 years.

World Population World Population and top 20 Countries Live Clock. Population in the past, present, and future. Milestones. Global Growth Rate. World population by Region and by Religion. Population Density, Fertility Rate, Median Age, Migrants. All-time population total.

The Global Population Count Grid Time Series Estimates provide a back-cast time series of population grids based on the year 2000 population grid from SEDAC's Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1) data set. The grids were created by using rates of population change between decades from the coarser resolution History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE) database to back-cast the GRUMPv1 population count grids. Mismatches between the spatial extent of the HYDE calculated rates and GRUMPv1 population data were resolved via infilling rate cells based on a focal mean of values. Finally, the grids were adjusted so that the population totals for each country equaled the UN World Population Prospects (2008 Revision) estimates for that country for the respective year (1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000). These data do not represent census observations for the years prior to 2000, and therefore can at best be thought of as estimations of the populations in given locations. The population grids are consistent internally within the time series, but are not recommended for use in creating longer time series with any other population grids, including GRUMPv1, Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4), or non-SEDAC developed population grids. These population grids served as an input to SEDAC's Global Estimated Net Migration Grids by Decade: 1970-2000 data set.

In 2024, just under 41 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's population was below the age of 15; in contrast, this figure was just 17 percent in Europe & Central Asia and in North America. Across these regions, the share of the population aged 65 and over inversely correlated with the younger population, in that the regions with the largest share aged under 15 had the smallest share aged over 64, and vice versa. For most regions, the share of the population aged between 15 and 64 years ranged between 64 and 65 percent, except for Sub-Saharan Africa where it was below 56 percent. These trends can largely be explained by looking at global demographic development.

Costa Rica CR: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 0.964 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.951 % for 2000. Costa Rica CR: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.964 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.061 % in 1990 and a record low of 0.951 % in 2000. Costa Rica CR: 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 Costa Rica – Table CR.World Bank.WDI: Environmental: 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, and CUNY Institute for Demographic Research - CIDR - City University of New York. 2021. Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 3. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/d1x1-d702.;Weighted average;

United States US: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 2.264 % in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.246 % for 2000. United States US: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 2.264 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.329 % in 1990 and a record low of 2.246 % in 2000. United States US: 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 USA – Table US.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;

Country Population (Admin0) using aggregated Facebook high resolution population density data (https://data.humdata.org/organization/facebook).The world population data sourced from Facebook Data for Good is some of the most accurate population density data in the world. The data is accumulated using highly accurate technology to identify buildings from satellite imagery and can be viewed at up to 30-meter resolution. This building data is combined with publicly available census data to create the most accurate population estimates. This data is used by a wide range of nonprofit and humanitarian organizations, for example, to examine trends in urbanization and climate migration or discover the impact of a natural disaster on a region. This can help to inform aid distribution to reach communities most in need. There is both country and region-specific data available. The data also includes demographic estimates in addition to the population density information. This population data can be accessed via the Humanitarian Data Exchange website.

Monaco led the ranking for countries with the highest population density in 2024, with nearly 26,000 residents per square kilometer. The Special Administrative Region of Macao came in second, followed by Singapore. The world’s second smallest country Monaco is the world’s second-smallest country, with an area of about two square kilometers and a population of only around 40,000. It is a constitutional monarchy located by the Mediterranean Sea, and while Monaco is not part of the European Union, it does participate in some EU policies. The country is perhaps most famous for the Monte Carlo casino and for hosting the Monaco Grand Prix, the world's most prestigious Formula One race. The global population Globally, the population density per square kilometer is about 60 inhabitants, and Asia is the most densely populated region in the world. The global population is increasing rapidly, so population density is only expected to increase. In 1950, for example, the global population stood at about 2.54 billion people, and it reached over eight billion during 2023.

United States US: Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 2.513 % in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.502 % for 2000. United States US: Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 2.513 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.575 % in 1990 and a record low of 2.502 % in 2000. United States US: 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 USA – Table US.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. 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;

Total current population for China in 2025 is 1,424,381,924, a 0.06% decline from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Total population for China in 2024 was <strong>1,425,178,782</strong>, a <strong>1.03% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Total population for China in 2023 was <strong>1,410,710,000</strong>, a <strong>0.1% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Total population for China in 2022 was <strong>1,412,175,000</strong>, a <strong>0.01% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

The world population data sourced from Meta Data for Good is some of the most accurate population density data in the world. The data is accumulated using highly accurate technology to identify buildings from satellite imagery and can be viewed at up to 30-meter resolution. This building data is combined with publicly available census data to create the most accurate population estimates. This data is used by a wide range of nonprofit and humanitarian organizations, for example, to examine trends in urbanization and climate migration or discover the impact of a natural disaster on a region. This can help to inform aid distribution to reach communities most in need. There is both country and region-specific data available. The data also includes demographic estimates in addition to the population density information. This population data can be accessed via the Humanitarian Data Exchange website.

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;

This map features the World Population Density Estimate 2016 layer for the Caribbean region. The advantage population density affords over raw counts is the ability to compare levels of persons per square kilometer anywhere in the world. Esri calculated density by converting the the World Population Estimate 2016 layer to polygons, then added an attribute for geodesic area, which allowed density to be derived, and that was converted back to raster. A population density raster is better to use for mapping and visualization than a raster of raw population counts because raster cells are square and do not account for area. For instance, compare a cell with 185 people in northern Quito, Ecuador, on the equator to a cell with 185 people in Edmonton, Canada at 53.5 degrees north latitude. This is difficult because the area of the cell in Edmonton is only 35.5% of the area of a cell in Quito. The cell in Edmonton represents a density of 9,810 persons per square kilometer, while the cell in Quito only represents a density of 3,485 persons per square kilometer. Dataset SummaryEach cell in this layer has an integer value with the estimated number of people per square kilometer likely to live in the geographic region represented by that cell. Esri additionally produced several additional layers: World Population Estimate 2016: this layer contains estimates of the count of people living within the the area represented by the cell. World Population Estimate Confidence 2016: the confidence level (1-5) per cell for the probability of people being located and estimated correctly. World Settlement Score 2016: the dasymetric likelihood surface used to create this layer by apportioning population from census polygons to the settlement score raster.To use this layer in analysis, there are several properties or geoprocessing environment settings that should be used:Coordinate system: WGS_1984. This service and its underlying data are WGS_1984. We do this because projecting population count data actually will change the populations due to resampling and either collapsing or splitting cells to fit into another coordinate system. Cell Size: 0.0013474728 degrees (approximately 150-meters) at the equator. No Data: -1Bit Depth: 32-bit signedThis layer has query, identify, pixel, and export image functions enabled, and is restricted to a maximum analysis size of 30,000 x 30,000 pixels - an area about the size of Africa.Frye, C. et al., (2018). Using Classified and Unclassified Land Cover Data to Estimate the Footprint of Human Settlement. Data Science Journal. 17, p.20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2018-020.What can you do with this layer?This layer is primarily intended for cartography and visualization, but may also be useful for analysis, particularly for estimating where people living above specified densities. There are two processing templates defined for this layer: the default, "World Population Estimated 2016 Density Classes" uses a classification, described above, to show locations of levels of rural and urban populations, and should be used for cartography and visualization; and "None," which provides access to the unclassified density values, and should be used for analysis. The breaks for the classes are at the following levels of persons per square kilometer:100 - Rural (3.2% [0.7%] of all people live at this density or lower) 400 - Settled (13.3% [4.1%] of all people live at this density or lower)1,908 - Urban (59.4% [81.1%] of all people live at this density or higher)16,978 - Heavy Urban (13.0% [24.2%] of all people live at this density or higher)26,331 - Extreme Urban (7.8% [15.4%] of all people live at this density or higher) Values over 50,000 are likely to be erroneous due to spatial inaccuracies in source boundary dataNote the above class breaks were derived from Esri's 2015 estimate, which have been maintained for the sake of comparison. The 2015 percentages are in gray brackets []. The differences are mostly due to improvements in the model and source data. While improvements in the source data will continue, it is hoped the 2017 estimate will produce percentages that shift less.For analysis, Esri recommends using the Zonal Statistics tool or the Zonal Statistics to Table tool where you provide input zones as either polygons, or raster data, and the tool will summarize the average, highest, or lowest density within those zones.

This map features a global estimate of human population for 2016 with a focus on the Caribbean region . Esri created this estimate by modeling a footprint of where people live as a dasymetric settlement likelihood surface, and then assigned 2016 population estimates stored on polygons of the finest level of geography available onto the settlement surface. Where people live means where their homes are, as in where people sleep most of the time, and this is opposed to where they work. Another way to think of this estimate is a night-time estimate, as opposed to a day-time estimate.Knowledge of population distribution helps us understand how humans affect the natural world and how natural events such as storms and earthquakes, and other phenomena affect humans. This layer represents the footprint of where people live, and how many people live there.Dataset SummaryEach cell in this layer has an integer value with the estimated number of people likely to live in the geographic region represented by that cell. Esri additionally produced several additional layers World Population Estimate Confidence 2016: the confidence level (1-5) per cell for the probability of people being located and estimated correctly. World Population Density Estimate 2016: this layer is represented as population density in units of persons per square kilometer.World Settlement Score 2016: the dasymetric likelihood surface used to create this layer by apportioning population from census polygons to the settlement score raster.To use this layer in analysis, there are several properties or geoprocessing environment settings that should be used:Coordinate system: WGS_1984. This service and its underlying data are WGS_1984. We do this because projecting population count data actually will change the populations due to resampling and either collapsing or splitting cells to fit into another coordinate system. Cell Size: 0.0013474728 degrees (approximately 150-meters) at the equator. No Data: -1Bit Depth: 32-bit signedThis layer has query, identify, pixel, and export image functions enabled, and is restricted to a maximum analysis size of 30,000 x 30,000 pixels - an area about the size of Africa.Frye, C. et al., (2018). Using Classified and Unclassified Land Cover Data to Estimate the Footprint of Human Settlement. Data Science Journal. 17, p.20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2018-020.What can you do with this layer?This layer is unsuitable for mapping or cartographic use, and thus it does not include a convenient legend. Instead, this layer is useful for analysis, particularly for estimating counts of people living within watersheds, coastal areas, and other areas that do not have standard boundaries. Esri recommends using the Zonal Statistics tool or the Zonal Statistics to Table tool where you provide input zones as either polygons, or raster data, and the tool will summarize the count of population within those zones.

Data includes Total Population and Women of reproductive age (15-49 years) population (thousands by province.)The world population data sourced from Facebook Data for Good is some of the most accurate population density data in the world. The data is accumulated using highly accurate technology to identify buildings from satellite imagery and can be viewed at up to 30-meter resolution. This building data is combined with publicly available census data to create the most accurate population estimates. This data is used by a wide range of nonprofit and humanitarian organizations, for example, to examine trends in urbanization and climate migration or discover the impact of a natural disaster on a region. This can help to inform aid distribution to reach communities most in need. There is both country and region-specific data available. The data also includes demographic estimates in addition to the population density information. This population data can be accessed via the Humanitarian Data Exchange website.