Human Population Through Time (Updated in 2023) #datavisualization

TEXT: Modern

human

s evolved in Africa about 300,000 years ago. TEXT: About 100,000 years ago, we began to migrate around the world. TEXT: Our

population

remained low: probably less than 1 million people. TEXT: With the arrival of agriculture, growth accelerated. TEXT: In the year 1 AD. C., the world

population

reached approximately 170 million people. TEXT: Year, 1 AD. Human population: 170 million. TEXT: Han Dynasty, Roman Empire. Human population 170M TEXT: Silk Road. Human population: 177 million TEXT: Golden Age of India. Human Population: 180M TEXT: Peak of the Mayan Civilization. Human population: 177 million TEXT: Birth of Islam. Human population 178M TEXT: Smallpox in Japan. Human population 194M TEXT: Gunpowder was invented.

Human population: 214M TEXT: Navigation compass. Human population: 277 million TEXT: Mongol Empire. Human population: 361M TEXT: Bubonic plague. Human population: 370 million TEXT: The Europeans arrive. Human population: 399 million TEXT: Transatlantic slave trade. Human Population: 436M TEXT: Industrial Revolution. Human population: 759 million Modern technology and medicine lead to faster growth. TEXT: World Wars. Human population: 1.9 billion TEXT: Stabilization. At the current rate, world populations will peak this century. TEXT: Growth is slowing because average fertility rates are falling in almost all countries. TEXT: 1950: 5 babies/woman. 2100 (projected): 2 babies/woman TEXT: If fertility forecasts are slightly off, our population will peak lower... or higher.

TEXT: It took most of

human

history for our population to reach one billion. TEXT: And just over 200 years to reach 8 billion. TEXT: As our population has grown, so has our use of the Earth's resources. TEXT: The decisions we make today— TEXT: —family planning, consumption reduction, pollution control, habitat protection— TEXT: will affect the future of our species and all life on Earth.