30 March 2012

How Many People Have There Been?


Whatever you think the answer is to the question posed in the title, I'd guess that that your estimate is way off. Mine sure was as I was seduced by a promiscuous factoid.  Enjoy!

How Many People Have Ever Lived On Earth? 108 Billion
Year Population Births per 1,000 Births Between Benchmarks
50,000 B.C. 2 - -
8000 B.C. 5,000,000 80 1,137,789,769
1 A.D. 300,000,000 80 46,025,332,354
1200 450,000,000 60 26,591,343,000
1650 500,000,000 60 12,782,002,453
1750 795,000,000 50 3,171,931,513
1850 1,265,000,000 40 4,046,240,009
1900 1,656,000,000 40 2,900,237,856
1950 2,516,000,000 31-38 3,390,198,215
1995 5,760,000,000 31 5,427,305,000
2011 6,215,000,000 23 2,130,327,622

NUMBER WHO HAVE EVER BEEN BORN 107,602,707,791
World population in mid-2011 6,987,000,000
Percent of those ever born who are living in 2011 6.5
Source: Population Reference Bureau estimates.