Demographics of the world - wikipedia Demographics of the world See also : World population Demographics of the world include population density, ethnicity, education level, health measures, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The overall total population of the world is approximately 7.47 billion, as of July 2017. Its overall population density is 50 people per km2 ( 129.28 per sq. mile ), excluding Antarctica. Nearly two - thirds of the population lives in Asia and is predominantly urban and suburban, with more than 2.5 billion in the countries of China and India combined. The World 's fairly low literacy rate ( 83.7 % ) is attributable to impoverished regions. Extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, the Arab states, South and West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The world 's largest ethnic group is Han Chinese with Mandarin being the world 's most spoken language in terms of native speakers. Human migration has been shifting toward cities and urban centers, with the urban population jumping from 29 % in 1950, to 50.5 % in 2005. Working backwards from the United Nations prediction that the world will be 51.3 percent urban by 2010, Dr. Ron Wimberley, Dr. Libby Morris and Dr. Gregory Fulkerson estimated May 23, 2007 to be the first time the urban population outnumbered the rural population in history. China and India are the most populous countries, as the birth rate has consistently dropped in developed countries and until recently remained high in developing countries. Tokyo is the largest urban conglomeration in the world. The total fertility rate of the World is estimated as 2.52 children per woman, which is above the global average for the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.33 ( as of 2003 ).. However, world population growth is unevenly distributed, with the total fertility rate going from. 91 in Macau, to 7.68 in Niger. The United Nations estimated an annual population increase of 1.14 % for the year of 2000. People under 14 years of age made up over a quarter of the world population ( 26.3 % ), and people age 65 and over made up less than one - tenth ( 7.9 % ) in 2011. The world population growth is approximately 1.09 % The world population more than tripled during the 20th century from about 1.65 billion in 1900 to 5.97 billion in 1999. It reached the 2 billion mark in 1927, the 3 billion mark in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, and 5 billion in 1987. Currently, population growth is fastest among low wealth, Third World countries. The UN projects a world population of 9.15 billion in 2050, which is a 32.69 % increase from 2010 ( 6.89 billion ). World Population Year Million 1500 458 1600 580 1700 682 1750 791 1800 978 1850 1,262 1900 1,650 1950 2,521 1999 5,978 2008 6,707 2014 7,215 Contents 1 History 2 Cities 3 Population density 4 Population distribution 5 Ethnicity 6 Religion 7 Marriage 8 Health 9 Demographic statistics 9.1 Age structure 9.2 Population growth rate 9.3 Birth count 9.4 Birth rate 9.5 Death rate 9.6 Sex ratio 9.7 Total fertility rate 9.8 Unemployment rate 9.9 Demonym 10 Languages 11 Education 12 See also 13 References History Historical migration of human populations begins with the movement of Homo erectus out of Africa across Eurasia about a million years ago. Homo sapiens appear to have occupied all of Africa about 150,000 years ago, moved out of Africa 50,000 - 60,000 years ago, and had spread across Australia, Asia and Europe by 30,000 years BC. Migration to the Americas took place 20,000 to 15,000 years ago, and by 2,000 years ago, most of the Pacific Islands were colonized. Until c. 10,000 years ago, humans lived as hunter - gatherers. They generally lived in small nomadic groups known as band societies. The advent of agriculture prompted the Neolithic Revolution, when access to food surplus led to the formation of permanent human settlements. About 6,000 years ago, the first proto - states developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt 's Nile Valley and the Indus Valley. Early human settlements were dependent on proximity to water and, depending on the lifestyle, other natural resources used for subsistence. But humans have a great capacity for altering their habitats by means of technology. Since 1800, the human population has increased from one billion to over seven billion, In 2004, some 2.5 billion out of 6.3 billion people ( 39.7 % ) lived in urban areas. In February 2008, the U.N. estimated that half the world 's population would live in urban areas by the end of the year. Problems for humans living in cities include various forms of pollution and crime, especially in inner city and suburban slums. Both overall population numbers and the proportion residing in cities are expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. Cities The World has hundreds of major cities spread across 6 continents. Most are in coastal regions. As of 2005, the World had 62 metropolitan areas with a population of over 3,000,000 people each. As of 2010, about 3 billion people live in or around urban areas. The following table shows the populations of the top ten conglomerations. Rank City Population Country Statistical concept Area ( km2 ) Density ( p / km2 ) Tokyo 30,000,000 Japan Metropolitan area 13,500 2,716 Delhi 22,157,000 India Urban agglomeration 33,578 659 Lagos 21,000,000 Nigeria Metropolitan area ( região metropolitana ) 10,050 3,400 New York City 20,182,305 United States Metropolitan Statistics Area 34,490 585 5 Mumbai 20,041,000 India Urban agglomeration 1,097 18,268 6 Mexico City 19,460,000 Mexico Metropolitan area ( zona metropolitana ) 7,815 2,490 7 Shanghai 16,575,000 China Urban agglomeration 3,920 4,228 8 Kolkata 15,552,000 India Urban agglomeration 1,026 15,158 9 Dhaka 14,648,000 Bangladesh Metropolitan area ( megacity ) 1,600 9,155 10 Istanbul 14,160,467 Turkey Metropolitan Municipality 5,461 2,593 Population density See also : List of countries by population density Population density ( people per km ) by country, 2015 The world 's population is 7 billion and Earth 's total area ( including land and water ) is 510 million square kilometers ( 197 million square miles ). Therefore, the worldwide human population density is 7 billion ÷ 510 million = 13.7 per km2 ( 35.5 per sq. mile ). If only the Earth 's land area of 150 million km2 ( 58 million sq. miles ) is taken into account, then human population density increases to 46.7 per km2 ( 117.2 per sq. mile ). This calculation includes all continental and island land area, including Antarctica. If Antarctica is also excluded, then population density rises to 50 people per km2 ( 129.28 per sq. mile ). Considering that over half of the Earth 's land mass consists of areas inhospitable to human inhabitation, such as deserts and high mountains, and that population tends to cluster around seaports and fresh water sources, this number by itself does not give any meaningful measurement of human population density. Several of the most densely populated territories in the world are city - states, microstates or dependencies. These territories share a relatively small area and a high urbanization level, with an economically specialized city population drawing also on rural resources outside the area, illustrating the difference between high population density and overpopulation. Population distribution Region Number Percentage Asia 4,307,107,875 > 9000 % Africa 1,037,524,058 14.5 % Europe 816,426,346 11.4 % North America 544,620,340 7.6 % South America 400,067,694 5.6 % Australia 35,426,995 0.5 % Antarctica 1,169 0.00002 % Total 7,591,222, 89 100.0 % Ethnicity Main article : Lists of ethnic groups The world is made up of thousands of ethnic groups. Han Chinese represent about 18 % of the global population. Religion Major denominations and religions of the world Further information : List of religious populations The table below lists HUGE 8 = D classified by philosophy ; however, religious philosophy is not always the determining factor in local practice. Please note that this table includes heterodox movements as adherents to their larger philosophical category, although this may be disputed by others within that category. For example, Cao Đài is listed because it claims to be a separate category from Buddhism, while Hòa Hảo is not, even though they are similar new religious movements. The population numbers below are computed by a combination of census reports, random surveys ( in countries where religion data is not collected in census, for example United States or France ), and self - reported attendance numbers, but results can vary widely depending on the way questions are phrased, the definitions of religion used and the bias of the agencies or organizations conducting the survey. Informal or unorganized religions are especially difficult to count. Some organizations may wildly inflate their numbers. Religious category Number of followers ( in millions ) Cultural tradition Main regions covered Christianity 2,000 -- 2,200 Abrahamic religions Predominant in the Western world ( Western Europe, the Americas, Oceania ), Eastern Europe, Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Philippines, and East Timor in Southeast Asia. Minorities worldwide, see Christianity by country. Islam 1,600 -- 1,800 Abrahamic religions Middle East, Northern Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, Western Africa, Maritime Southeast Asia with large population centers existing in Eastern Africa, Balkan Peninsula, Russia and China. No religion 1,100 Secularism, half of those are theistic ( but do not fit in with the major religions ) Predominant in the Western world, Israel and East Asia. Minorities worldwide, see Irreligion by country. Hinduism 828 -- 1,000 Indian religions South Asia, Bali, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and among the overseas Indian communities. Buddhism 400 -- 1,500 Indian religions South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and some regions of Russia. Folk religions 600 - 3,000 Folk religions Africa, Asia, Americas Chinese folk religions ( including Taoism and Confucianism ) 400 - 1,000 Chinese Religions East Asia, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. Shinto 27 -- 65 Japanese Religions Japan Sikhism 24 -- 28 Indian religions Indian subcontinent, Australasia, Northern America, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom and Western Europe. Judaism 14 -- 18 Abrahamic religions Israel and the worldwide Jewish diaspora ( mostly North America, South America, Europe, and Asia ). Jainism 8 -- 12 Indian religions India, and East Africa. Bahá'í Faith 7.6 -- 7.9 Abrahamic religions Noted for being dispersed worldwide but the top ten populations ( amounting to about 60 % of the Bahá'í World Faith adherents ) are ( in order of size of community ) India, United States, Vietnam, Kenya, DR of the Congo, Philippines, Zambia, South Africa, Iran, Bolivia Cao Đài 1 -- 3 Vietnamese Religions Vietnam. Cheondoism Korean religions North Korea and South Korea Tenrikyo Japanese religions Japan, Brazil. Wicca New religious movements United States, Australia, Europe, Canada. Church of World Messianity Japanese Religions Japan, Brazil Seicho - no - Ie 0.8 Japanese religions Japan, Brazil. Rastafari movement 0.7 New religious movements, Abrahamic religions Jamaica, Caribbean, Africa. Unitarian Universalism 0.63 New religious movements United States, Canada, Europe. Since the late 19th century, the demographics of religion have changed a great deal. Some countries with a historically large Christian population have experienced a significant decline in the numbers of professed active Christians : see demographics of atheism. Symptoms of the decline in active participation in Christian religious life include declining recruitment for the priesthood and monastic life, as well as diminishing attendance at church. On the other hand, since the 19th century, large areas of sub-Saharan Africa have been converted to Christianity, and this area of the world has the highest population growth rate. In the realm of Western civilization, there has been an increase in the number of people who identify themselves as secular humanists. In many countries, such as the People 's Republic of China, communist governments have discouraged religion, making it difficult to count the actual number of believers. However, after the collapse of communism in numerous countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, religious life has been experiencing resurgence there, both in the form of traditional Eastern Christianity and in the forms of Neopaganism and Far Eastern religions. Following is some available data based on the work of the World Christian Encyclopedia : Trends in annual growth of adherence 1970 -- 1985 1990 -- 2000 2000 -- 2005 2.74 % : Islam 2.13 % : Islam 1.84 % : Islam 3.65 % : Bahá'í Faith 2.28 % : Bahá'í Faith 1.70 % : Bahá'í Faith 2.34 % : Hinduism 1.69 % : Hinduism 1.57 % : Hinduism 1.64 % : Christianity 1.36 % : Christianity 1.32 % : Christianity 1.09 % : Judaism 1.87 % : 1.62 % : 1.67 % : Buddhism 1.09 % : Buddhism 2.65 % : Zoroastrianism The annual growth in the world population over the same period is 1.41 %. Studies conducted by the Pew Research Center have found that, generally, poorer nations had a larger proportion of citizens who found religion to be very important than richer nations, with the exceptions of the United States and Kuwait. Marriage The average age of marriage varies greatly from country to country, and has varied through time. Women tend to marry at the same age as men and currently varies from 17.6 for women in Niger, to 32.4 for women in Denmark while men range from 22.6 in Mozambique to 35.1 in Sweden. Health Life expectancy varies greatly from country to country. It is lowest in certain countries in Africa and higher in Japan, Australia and Spain. + 80 + 77.5 + 75 + 72.5 + 70 + 67.5 + 65 + 60 + 55 + 50 + 45 + 40 - 40 The average number of hospital beds per 1,000 population is 2.94. Compare to Switzerland ( 18.3 ) and Mexico ( 1.1 ) 96 % of the urban population has access to improved drinking water, while only 78 % of rural inhabitants have improved drinking water. A total average of 87 % of urban and rural have access to improved drinking water. 4 % of the urban population does not have access to improved drinking water, leaving 22 % of rural people without improved drinking water with a total world population of 13 % not having access to drinking water. 76 % of the urban population has access to sanitation facilities, while only 45 % of the rural population has access. A total world average of 39 % do not have access to sanitation facilities. As of 2009, there are an estimated 33.3 million people living with HIV / AIDS, which is approximately 0.8 % of the world population, and there have been an estimated 1.8 million deaths attributed to HIV / AIDS. As of 2010, 925 million people are undernourished. Life Expectancy at Birth : total population : 67.07 years male : 65.21 years female : 69.05 years ( 2011 est. ) Infant Mortality total : 41.61 deaths / 1,000 live births male : 43.52 deaths / 1,000 live births female : 39.55 deaths / 1,000 live births ( 2011 est. ) Demographic statistics The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated. Age structure Median age by country. A youth bulge is evident for Africa, and to a lesser extent for West Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of the Americas. Main articles : Population pyramid and List of countries by median age According to the 2006 CIA World Factbook, around 27 % of the world 's population is below 15 years of age. 0 -- 14 years : 26.3 % ( male 944,987,919 / female 884,268,378 ) 15 -- 64 years : 65.9 % ( male 2,234,860,865 / female 2,187,838,153 ) 65 years and over : 7.9 % ( male 227,164,176 / female 289,048,221 ) ( 2011 est. ) Median Age - 28.4 years ( male : 27.7 years, female : 29 years, 2009 est. ) According to a report by the Global Social Change Research Project, worldwide, the percent of the population age 0 - 14 declined from 34 % in 1950 to 27 % in 2010. On the other hand, the percent elderly ( 60 + ) increased during the same period from 8 % to 11 %. Population growth rate Growth rate of world population ( 1950 -- 2000 ) The sharp decline in world population growth in the early 1960s caused primarily by the Great Chinese Famine Main article : Population growth Globally, the growth rate of the human population has been declining since peaking in 1962 and 1963 at 2.20 % per annum. In 2009, the estimated annual growth rate was 1.1 %. The CIA World Factbook gives the world annual birthrate, mortality rate, and growth rate as 1.915 %, 0.812 %, and 1.092 % respectively The last one hundred years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity made possible by the Green Revolution. 2010 - 2015 net population increase rate, per 1000 people The actual annual growth in the number of humans fell from its peak of 88.0 million in 1989, to a low of 73.9 million in 2003, after which it rose again to 75.2 million in 2006. Since then, annual growth has declined. In 2009, the human population increased by 74.6 million, which is projected to fall steadily to about 41 million per annum in 2050, at which time the population will have increased to about 9.2 billion. Each region of the globe has seen great reductions in growth rate in recent decades, though growth rates remain above 2 % in some countries of the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, and also in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Some countries experienced negative population growth, especially in Eastern Europe mainly due to low fertility rates, high death rates and emigration. In Southern Africa, growth is slowing due to the high number of HIV - related deaths. Some Western Europe countries might also encounter negative population growth. Japan 's population began decreasing in 2005. Population in the world increased from 1990 to 2008 with 1,423 million and 27 % growth. Measured by persons, the increase was highest in India ( 290 million ) and China ( 192 million ). Population growth was highest in Qatar ( 174 % ) and United Arab Emirates ( 140 % ). Rank Country Population ( thousands ) Population ( thousands ) Growth ( % ) 1990 - 2010 World 5,306,425 6,895,889 30.0 % China 1,145,195 1,341,335 17.1 % India 873,785 1,224,614 40.2 % United States 253,339 310,384 22.5 % Indonesia 184,346 239,871 30.1 % 5 Brazil 149,650 194,946 30.3 % 6 Pakistan 111,845 173,593 55.2 % 7 Nigeria 97,552 158,423 62.4 % 8 Bangladesh 105,256 148,692 41.3 % 9 Russia 148,244 142,958 - 3.6 % 10 Japan 126,536 122,251 - 3.5 % Birth count Data required on total number of births per year, and distribution by country. Birth rate Main article : List of sovereign states and dependent territories by birth rate Countries by birth rate in 2008 As of 2009, the average birth rate ( unclear whether this is the weighted average rate per country ( with each country getting a weight of 1 ), or the unweighted average of the entire world population ) for the whole world is 19.95 per year per 1000 total population, a 0.48 % decline from 2003 's world birth rate of 20.43 per 1000 total population. World historical and predicted crude birth rates ( 1950 -- 2050 ) UN, medium variant, 2008 rev. Years CBR Years CBR 1950 -- 1955 37.2 2000 -- 2005 21.2 1955 -- 1960 35.3 2005 -- 2010 20.3 1960 -- 1965 34.9 2010 -- 2015 19.4 1965 -- 1970 33.4 2015 -- 2020 18.2 1970 -- 1975 30.8 2020 -- 2025 16.9 1975 -- 1980 28.4 2025 -- 2030 15.8 1980 -- 1985 27.9 2030 -- 2035 15.0 1985 -- 1990 27.3 2035 -- 2040 14.5 1990 -- 1995 24.7 2040 -- 2045 14.0 1995 -- 2000 22.5 2045 -- 2050 13.4 According to the CIA - The World Factbook, the country with the highest birth rate currently is Niger at 51.26 births per 1000 people. The country with the lowest birth rate is Japan at 7.64 births per 1000 people. Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, is at 7.42 births per 1000 people. As compared to the 1950s, birth rate was at 36 births per 1000 in the 1950s, birth rate has declined by 16 births per 1000 people. In July, 2011, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced that the adolescent birth rate continues to decline. Birth rates vary even within the same geographic areas. In Europe, as of July 2011, Ireland 's birth rate is 16.5 per cent, which is 3.5 per cent higher than the next - ranked country, the UK. France has a birth rate of 12.8 per cent while Sweden is at 12.3 per cent. In July, 2011, the UK 's Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) announced a 2.4 % increase in live births in the UK in 2010 alone. This is the highest birth rate in the UK in 40 years. By contrast, the birth rate in Germany is only 8.3 per 1,000, which is so low that both the UK and France, which have significantly smaller populations, produced more births in 2010. Birth rates also vary within the same geographic area, based on different demographic groups. For example, in April 2011, the U.S. CDC announced that the birth rate for women over the age of 40 in the U.S. rose between 2007 and 2009, while it fell among every other age group during the same time span. In August 2011, Taiwan 's government announced that its birth rate declined in the previous year, despite the fact that it implemented a host of approaches to encourage its citizens to have babies. Birth rates ranging from 10 - 20 births per 1000 are considered low, while rates from 40 - 50 births per 1000 are considered high. There are problems associated with both an extremely high birth rate and an extremely low birth rate. High birth rates can cause stress on the government welfare and family programs to support a youthful population. Additional problems faced by a country with a high birth rate include educating a growing number of children, creating jobs for these children when they enter the workforce, and dealing with the environmental effects that a large population can produce. Low birth rates can put stress on the government to provide adequate senior welfare systems and also the stress on families to support the elders themselves. There will be less children or working age population to support the constantly growing aging population. Death rate World historical and predicted crude death rates ( 1950 -- 2050 ) UN, medium variant, 2008 rev. Years CDR Years CDR 1950 -- 1955 19.5 2000 -- 2005 8.6 1955 -- 1960 17.3 2005 -- 2010 8.5 1960 -- 1965 15.5 2010 -- 2015 8.3 1965 -- 1970 13.2 2015 -- 2020 8.3 1970 -- 1975 11.4 2020 -- 2025 8.3 1975 -- 1980 10.7 2025 -- 2030 8.5 1980 -- 1985 10.3 2030 -- 2035 8.8 1985 -- 1990 9.7 2035 -- 2040 9.2 1990 -- 1995 9.4 2040 -- 2045 9.6 1995 -- 2000 8.9 2045 -- 2050 10 The ten countries with the highest crude death rate, according to the 2015 CIA World Factbook estimates, are : Rank Country Death rate ( annual deaths / 1000 persons ) Lesotho 14.89 Ukraine 14.46 Bulgaria 14.44 Guinea - Bissau 14.33 5 Latvia 14.31 6 Chad 14.28 7 Lithuania 14.27 8 Namibia 13.91 9 Afghanistan 13.89 10 Central African Republic 13.80 See list of countries by death rate for worldwide statistics. According to the World Health Organization, the 10 leading causes of death in 2002 were : 12.6 % Ischaemic heart disease 9.7 % Cerebrovascular disease 6.8 % Lower respiratory infections 4.9 % HIV / AIDS 4.8 % Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 3.2 % Diarrhoeal diseases 2.7 % Tuberculosis 2.2 % Trachea / bronchus / lung cancers 2.2 % Malaria 2.1 % Road traffic accidents Causes of death vary greatly between first and third world countries. According to Jean Ziegler ( the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food for 2000 to March 2008 ), mortality due to malnutrition accounted for 58 % of the total mortality in 2006 : `` In the world, approximately 62 millions people, all causes of death combined, die each year. In 2006, more than 36 millions died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies in micronutrients ''. Of the roughly 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, about two thirds -- 100,000 per day -- die of age - related causes. In industrialized nations, the proportion is much higher, reaching 90 %. Sex ratio Map indicating the human sex ratio by country. Countries with more females than males. Countries with the same number of males and females. Countries with more males than females. No data The Northern Mariana Islands have the highest female ratio with 0.77 males per female. Qatar has the highest male ratio, with 2.87 males / female. For the group aged below 15, Sierra Leone has the highest female ratio with 0.96 males / female, and the Republic of Georgia and the People 's Republic of China are tied for the highest male ratio with 1.13 males / female ( according to the 2006 CIA World Factbook ). The value for the entire world population is 1.01 males / female, with 1.07 at birth, 1.06 for those under 15, 1.02 for those between 15 and 64, and 0.78 for those over 65. The `` First World '' G7 members all have a sex ratio in the range of 0.95 -- 0.98 for the total population, of 1.05 -- 1.07 at birth, of 1.05 -- 1.06 for the group below 15, of 1.00 -- 1.04 for the group aged 15 -- 64, and of 0.70 -- 0.75 for those over 65. Countries on the Arabian Peninsula tend to have a ' natural ' ratio of about 1.05 at birth but a very high ratio of males for those over 65 ( Saudi Arabia 1.13, United Arab Emirates 2.73, Qatar 2.84 ), indicating either an above - average mortality rate for females or a below - average mortality for males, or, more likely in this case, a large population of aging male guest workers. Conversely, countries of Eastern Europe ( the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia ) tend to have a ' normal ' ratio at birth but a very low ratio of males among those over 65 ( Russia 0.46, Latvia 0.48, Ukraine 0.52 ) ; similarly, Armenia has a far above average male ratio at birth ( 1.17 ), and a below - average male ratio above 65 ( 0.67 ). This effect may be caused by emigration and higher male mortality as result of higher Soviet era deaths ; it may also be related to the enormous ( by western standards ) rate of alcoholism in the former Soviet states. Another possible contributory factor is an aging population, with a higher than normal proportion of relatively elderly people : we recall that due to higher differential mortality rates the ratio of males to females reduces for each year of age. Total fertility rate World historical and predicted total fertility rates ( 1950 -- 2100 ) UN, medium variant, 2012 rev. Years TFR Years TFR Years TFR 1950 -- 1955 4.95 2000 -- 2005 2.60 2050 -- 2055 2.21 1955 -- 1960 4.89 2005 -- 2010 2.53 2055 -- 2060 2.18 1960 -- 1965 4.91 2010 -- 2015 2.50 2060 -- 2065 2.15 1965 -- 1970 4.85 2015 -- 2020 2.45 2065 -- 2070 2.13 1970 -- 1975 4.45 2020 -- 2025 2.41 2070 -- 2075 2.10 1975 -- 1980 3.84 2025 -- 2030 2.37 2075 -- 2080 2.07 1980 -- 1985 3.59 2030 -- 2035 2.34 2080 -- 2085 2.05 1985 -- 1990 3.39 2035 -- 2040 2.31 2085 -- 2090 2.03 1990 -- 1995 3.04 2040 -- 2045 2.27 2090 -- 2095 2.01 1995 -- 2000 2.73 2045 -- 2050 2.24 2095 -- 2100 1.99 There is an inverse correlation between income and fertility, wherein developed countries usually have a much lower fertility rate. Various fertility factors may be involved, such as education and urbanization. Mortality rates are low, birth control is understood and easily accessible, and costs are often deemed very high because of education, clothing, feeding, and social amenities. With wealth, contraception becomes affordable. However, in countries like Iran where contraception was made artificially affordable before the economy accelerated, birth rate also rapidly declined. Further, longer periods of time spent getting higher education often mean women have children later in life. Female labor participation rate also has substantial negative impact on fertility. However, this effect is neutralized among Nordic or liberalist countries. In undeveloped countries on the other hand, families desire children for their labour and as caregivers for their parents in old age. Fertility rates are also higher due to the lack of access to contraceptives, generally lower levels of female education, and lower rates of female employment in industry. Unemployment rate 8.7 % ( 2010 est. ) 8.2 % ( 2009 est. ) note : 30 % combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries ; developed countries typically 4 % - 12 % unemployment ( 2007 est. ) Demonym The Demonym for Earth 's inhabitants, as either a noun or adjective, is Terran. Languages A color - coded map of Europe showing the geographic distribution of languages. Main article : Language family Worldwide, English is used widely as a lingua franca and can be seen to be the dominant language at this time. The world 's largest language by native speakers is Mandarin Chinese which is a first language of around 960 million people, or 12.44 % of the population, predominantly in the Greater China. Spanish is spoken by around 330 to 400 million people, predominantly in the Americas and Spain. Arabic is spoken by around 280 million people. Hindi is spoken by about 200 million speakers, mostly in India. Bengali is spoken by around 230 million people, predominantly in India and Bangladesh. Portuguese is spoken by about 230 million speakers in Portugal, Brazil, East Timor, and Southern Africa. There are numerous other languages, grouped into nine major families : Indo - European languages 46 % ( Europe, Western Asia, South Asia, North Asia, North America, South America, and Oceania ) Sino - Tibetan languages 21 % ( East Asia ) Niger -- Congo languages 6.4 % ( Sub-Saharan Africa ) Afro - Asiatic languages 6.0 % ( North Africa to Horn of Africa, and Western Asia ) Austronesian languages 5.9 % ( Oceania, Madagascar, and Maritime Southeast Asia ) Dravidian languages 3.7 % ( South Asia ) Altaic languages ( controversial combination of Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic families ) 2.3 % ( Central Asia, North Asia ( Siberia ), and Anatolia ) Austroasiatic languages 1.7 % ( Mainland Southeast Asia ) Tai -- Kadai languages 1.3 % ( Southeast Asia ) There are also hundreds of non-verbal sign languages. Education Total population : 83.7 % over the age of 15 can read and write, 88.3 % male and 79.2 % female note : over two - thirds of the world 's 793 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries ( Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan ) ; of all the illiterate adults in the world, two - thirds are women ; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, the Arab states, South and West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, where around one - third of the men and half of all women are illiterate ( 2005 - 09 est. ) As of 2008, the school life expectancy ( primary to tertiary education ) for a man or woman is 11 years. See also Demographics of North America Demographics of South America Demographics of Asia Demographics of Africa Demographics of Oceania Demographics of Europe Demographics of Antarctica References This article has an unclear citation style. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. ( September 2016 ) ^ Jump up to : CIA.gov World Factbook - World Statistics Archived February 1, 2010, at WebCite Jump up ^ World Population Becomes More Urban That Rural Jump up ^ `` Country Comparison : : Population ''. U.S. Census Bureau. 2008. Retrieved 2011 - 09 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Cities : largest ( without surrounding suburban areas ) ''. Geohive. Archived from the original on 2016 - 12 - 05. Jump up ^ Espenshade TJ, Guzman JC, Westoff CF ( 2003 ). `` The surprising global variation in replacement fertility ''. Population Research and Policy Review. 22 ( 5 / 6 ) : 575. doi : 10.1023 / B : POPU. 0000020882.29684. 8e., Introduction and Table 1, p. 580 Jump up ^ `` Census.gov ''. Census.gov. 2009 - 01 - 07. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 01. ^ Jump up to : World Population Prospects : The 2008 Revision Population Database Archived April 7, 2006, at WebCite Jump up ^ `` The World at ''. Un.org. 1999 - 10 - 12. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Population Growth over Human History ''. Globalchange.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 24. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 01. Jump up ^ World Population Milestones Jump up ^ Population growth and poverty Jump up ^ Figures include the former Soviet Union in Europe. Caselli, Graziella ; Gillaume Wunsch ; Jacques Vallin ( 2005 - 12 - 20 ). Demography : Analysis and Synthesis, Four Volume Set : A Treatise in Population. Academic Press. p. 42. ISBN 978 - 0 - 12 - 765660 - 1. Jump up ^ `` UN report 2004 data '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2016 - 01 - 01. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 01. Jump up ^ `` World 's population reaches six billion ''. BBC News. August 5, 1999. Retrieved February 5, 2008. Jump up ^ `` UN population estimates ''. Population Division, United Nations. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ Whitehouse, David ( May 19, 2005 ). `` Half of humanity set to go urban ''. BBC News. Jump up ^ Urban, Suburban, and Rural Victimization, 1993 -- 98 U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics,. Accessed 29 Oct 2006 Jump up ^ `` World Urbanization Prospects, the 2011 Revision ''. Population Division, United Nations. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ 2005 World City Populations Jump up ^ `` World Urbanization Prospects : The 2009 Revision Population Database ''. United Nations. Retrieved 2011 - 09 - 11. Jump up ^ The area figures are taken from individual national censuses according to the criteria and statistical concepts noted in the World Urbanization Prospects. Jump up ^ As defined by the Statistics Bureau of Japan ; refers to Kanto major metropolitan area ( M.M.A. ) Jump up ^ Based on a definition of urban agglomeration that is not restricted to state boundaries Jump up ^ ( 1 ). Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 18. Jump up ^ The Greater Mumbai urban agglomeration is defined by the municipal corporations of Greater Mumbai, Kalyan - Dombivali, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Ulhasnagar, plus the municipal councils of Ambarnath, Badlapur and Mira - Bhayandar. Not to be confused with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which includes some additional urban and rural units. Jump up ^ The population of the city is composed of population in all City Districts meeting the criteria such as `` contiguous built - up area, '' being the location of the local government, being a Street or Having a Resident Committee. Jump up ^ Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal ; Kolkata District. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 03. Jump up ^ U.S. & World Population Clocks Jump up ^ CIA - The World Factbook Archived February 1, 2010, at WebCite Jump up ^ About.com Jump up ^ Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division ( 2009 ). `` World Population Prospects, Table A. 1 '' ( PDF ). 2008 revision. United Nations. Retrieved 2009 - 03 - 12. Jump up ^ The Monaco government uses a smaller surface area figure resulting in a population density of 18,078 per km Jump up ^ `` China : People ''. The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 2010 - 07 - 23. Jump up ^ World Christian Database Gordon -- Conwell Theological Seminary Centre for the Study of Global Christianity Jump up ^ The Big Religion Comparison Chart : Compare World Religions - ReligionFacts Jump up ^ Kettani, H. ( 2014 ). The World Muslim Population, History & Prospect. Singapore : Research Publishing Service Jump up ^ `` Mapping the Global Muslim Population ''. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` World distribution of muslim population ''. Pew Centre. October 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2009. Jump up ^ Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents, adherents.com. Archived January 17, 2010, at WebCite Jump up ^ Clarke, Peter B. ( editor ), The Religions of the World : Understanding the Living Faiths, Marshall Editions Limited : USA ( 1993 ) ; pg. 125 ^ Jump up to : `` World ''. CIA World Factbook, 2010 Archived February 1, 2010, at WebCite Jump up ^ Fischer - Schreiber, Ingrid, et al. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy & Religion : Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala : Boston ( English : pub. 1994 ; orig. German : 1986 ) ; pg. 50. Jump up ^ BBC Jump up ^ Asia Sentinel - How Now Tao ? Jump up ^ Japanese government Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Indian Registrar General & Census Commissioner. `` Religious Composition ''. Census of India, 2001 Jump up ^ `` World Religions ( 2005 ) ''. QuickLists > The World > Religions. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 04. Jump up ^ `` World : People : Religions ''. CIA World Factbook. 2007. ISSN 1553 - 8133. Retrieved 2009 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ Encyclopædia Britannica ( 2002 ). `` Worldwide Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-2002 ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica. ISBN 978 - 0 - 85229 - 555 - 7. Jump up ^ MacEoin, Denis ( 2000 ). `` Baha'i Faith ''. In Hinnells, John R. The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions : Second Edition. Penguin. ISBN 978 - 0 - 14 - 051480 - 3. Jump up ^ `` Most Baha'i Nations ( 2005 ) ''. QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions >. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 04. Jump up ^ Sergei Blagov. `` Caodaism in Vietnam : Religion vs Restrictions and Persecution Archived 2011 - 10 - 09 at the Wayback Machine. ''. IARF World Congress, Vancouver, Canada, July 31st, 1999. Jump up ^ Self - reported figures from 1999 ; North Korea only ( South Korean followers are minimal according to self - reported figures ). In The A to Z of New Religious Movements by George D. Chryssides. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8108 - 5588 - 5 ^ Jump up to : Self - reported figures printed in Japanese Ministry of Education 's 宗教 年間 Shuukyou Nenkan, 2003 Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa ( Detroit : Thompson Gale, 2004 ) p. 82 Jump up ^ Clarke, Peter B. ( editor ), The Religions of the World : Understanding the Living Faiths, Marshall Editions Limited : USA ( 1993 ) ; pg. 208. `` Sekai Kyuseikyo has about one million members, a growing number of them in the west and the third world, especially Brazil and Thailand. '' Jump up ^ Leonard E. Barrett. The Rastafarians : Sounds of Cultural Dissonance. Beacon Press, 1988. p. viii. Jump up ^ American Religious Identification Survey Archived April 16, 2011, at WebCite Jump up ^ The results have been studied and found `` highly correlated with other sources of data '', but `` consistently gave a higher estimate for percent Christian in comparison to other cross-national data sets. '' Hsu, Becky ; Reynolds, Amy ; Hackett, Conrad ; Gibbon, James ( 2008 - 07 - 09 ). `` Estimating the Religious Composition of All Nations '' ( PDF ). Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1468 - 5906.2008. 00435. x. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on March 26, 2010. Jump up ^ International Community, Bahá'í ( 1992 ). `` How many Bahá'ís are there ? ''. The Bahá'ís. p. 14. Jump up ^ Barrett, David A. ( 2001 ). World Christian Encyclopedia. p. 4. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 507963 - 0. Archived from the original on 2011 - 04 - 16. Jump up ^ Barrett, David ; Johnson, Todd ( 2001 ). `` Global adherents of the World 's 19 distinct major religions '' ( PDF ). William Carey Library. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2008 - 02 - 28. Retrieved 2006 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ `` The List : The World 's Fastest - Growing Religions ''. Foreign Policy. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. May 2007. Jump up ^ Pew Research Center ( 2002 - 12 - 19 ). `` Among Wealthy Nations U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion ''. Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 2006 - 10 - 08. Retrieved 2006 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ Pew Research Center ( 2008 - 01 - 01 ). `` Income and Religiosity ''. Retrieved 2009 - 09 - 14. Jump up ^ United Nations Economic Commission for Europe `` Mean age at first marriage by sex ''. Accessed 21 May 2011. Jump up ^ Hospital Bed Statistics by Country Jump up ^ 2010 World Hunger Jump up ^ `` CIA - The World Factbook ''. CIA. Archived from the original on 2010 - 02 - 01. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 16. Jump up ^ Age structure of the world -- 2006 CIA World Factbook Jump up ^ Shackman, Gene ; Wang, Xun ; Liu, Yalin. `` Brief Review of World Demographic Trends Trends in Age Distributions ''. The Global Social Change Research Project. Retrieved 23 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : U.S. Census Bureau, January 2010 Archived July 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ World Factbook Archived February 1, 2010, at WebCite Jump up ^ BBC NEWS The end of India 's green revolution ? Jump up ^ Food First / Institute for Food and Development Policy Archived 2009 - 07 - 14 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Rising food prices curb aid to global poor Jump up ^ Record rise in wheat price prompts UN official to warn that surge in food prices may trigger social unrest in developing countries Jump up ^ U.S. Census Bureau, June 2009 Archived July 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ UN population projections Archived October 28, 2010, at WebCite Jump up ^ Japan sees biggest population fall Jump up ^ CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion Population 1971 - 2008 IEA ( pdf pages 83 - 85 ) Jump up ^ UNdata : Crude birth rate ( per 1,000 population ) Jump up ^ Uneca.org : Crude Birth Rates - The World and its Major Regions, 1950 - 2050 Archived August 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Federal report shows drop in adolescent birth rate, July 7, 2011 News Release - National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Jump up ^ Ireland has one of highest birth and lowest death rates in EU TheJournal ^ Jump up to : Call for more midwives as birth rate reaches 40 - year high Society guardian.co.uk Jump up ^ Germany faces up to its kinder surprise - The Irish Times - Tue, Aug 09, 2011 Jump up ^ CDC records rise in birth rate for women over 40 - CNN.com Jump up ^ BBC News - Taiwanese birth rate plummets despite measures Jump up ^ UNdata : Crude death rate ( per 1,000 population ) Jump up ^ CIA World Factbook - Death Rate Jump up ^ Jean Ziegler, L'Empire de la honte, Fayard, 2007 ISBN 978 - 2 - 253 - 12115 - 2, p. 130. ^ Jump up to : Aubrey D.N.J, de Grey ( 2007 ). `` Life Span Extension Research and Public Debate : Societal Considerations '' ( PDF ). Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology. 1 ( 1, Article 5 ). doi : 10.2202 / 1941 - 6008.1011. Retrieved August 7, 2011. Jump up ^ `` CIA Fact Book ''. The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. Archived from the original on 2010 - 02 - 01. Jump up ^ Esa.un.org Archived April 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Graph Charts of TFR and FLR using Google Motion Chart using World Bank 's World Development Index. Jump up ^ Since the Mongolic and Tungusic language families have only a relatively small number of speakers, the majority of the Altaic percentage represents speakers of Turkic languages ^ Jump up to : The number of people who consider themselves party to a `` folk tradition '' is impossible to determine. Jump up ^ Figures for the population of Jains differ from just over six million to twelve million due to difficulties of Jain identity, with Jains in some areas counted as a Hindu sect. Many Jains do not return Jainism as their religion on census forms for various reasons such as certain Jain castes considering themselves both Hindu and Jain. Following a major advertising campaign urging Jains to register as such, the 1981 Census of India returned 3.19 million Jains. This was estimated at the time to still be half the true number. The 2001 Census of India had 8.4 million Jains. Jump up ^ Historically, the Bahá'í Faith arose in 19th century Persia, in the context of Shi'a Islam, and thus may be classed on this basis as a divergent strand of Islam, placing it in the Abrahamic tradition. However, the Bahá'í Faith considers itself an independent religious tradition, which draws from Islam but also other traditions. The Bahá'í Faith may also be classed as a new religious movement, due to its comparatively recent origin, or may be considered sufficiently old and established for such classification to not be applicable. Demographics by continent Africa Americas Antarctica Asia Europe Oceania Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_the_world&oldid=815942603 '' Categories : Demographics World Earth Global culture Hidden categories : Webarchive template webcite links Webarchive template wayback links Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2005 All articles containing potentially dated statements All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2012 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014 Wikipedia references cleanup from September 2016 All articles needing references cleanup Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from September 2016 All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages עברית Edit links This page was last edited on 18 December 2017, at 06 : 06. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what are the largest races in the world
Answer: Han Chinese