{"id":1735,"date":"2022-08-08T12:47:36","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T11:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/?page_id=1735"},"modified":"2025-09-23T12:09:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T11:09:33","slug":"the-facts-numbers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/the-facts-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Population: the numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Population: the numbers<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Population is a dynamic field. There have been significant changes in birth rates and the population trajectories of countries and continents in recent years. Global population is still growing by more than 80 million a year, however, and is most likely to continue growing for most of this century unless we take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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current world population<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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How we got here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Until the time of Napoleon, there were less than 1 billion people on Earth at any one time. Since the Second World War, we have been adding a billion people to the global population every 12-15 years. Our population is more than double today what it was in 1970.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where we could be going next<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Every two years, the United Nations makes projections<\/a> for future population growth. Its latest medium projection – the most likely scenario – is a population 10.3bn in the 2080s<\/strong>, two billion more than today. Because many factors affect population growth, it makes a range of projections depending on different assumptions. Within its 95% certainty range, the difference in population in 2100 from the highest to lowest projection is 3.5 billion people – almost half the population we have today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dotted lines on the graph above shows the UN’s projected population if, on average, every other family had one fewer child or one more child than in the median projection (‘low fertility and “high fertility” scenarios).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Explore population growth and its effects on our planet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Our Population Explorer is an interactive online tool providing insights onto population growth and its impacts on nature, climate change and our demand for the Earth’s resources. You can investigate different areas, explore solutions and interact with the graphics to find out more. Check it out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’m ready to explore<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Where population growth will occur<\/h2>\n\n\n\n