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Top 20 Largest Countries by Population (live)

1 China 2 India 3 United States 4 Indonesia 5 Brazil 6 Pakistan 7 Nigeria 8 Bangladesh 9 Russia 10 Japan 11 Mexico 12 Philippines 13 Ethiopia 14 Vietnam 15 Egypt 16 Germany 17 Iran 18 Turkey 19 Congo 20 Thailand

The world population (the total number of living humans on Earth) was 7.349 billion as of July 1, 2015 according to the medium fertility estimate by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

World Population: Past, Present, and Future

At the dawn of agriculture, about 8000 B.C., the population of the world was approximately 5 million. Over the 8,000-year period up to 1 A.D. it grew to 200 million (some estimate 300 million or even 600, suggesting how imprecise population estimates of early historical periods can be), with a growth rate of under 0.05% per year.

A tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history until around 1800 for world population to reach one billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in less than 30 years (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987).

During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.

In 1970, there were roughly half as many people in the world as there are now.

Because of declining growth rates, it will now take over 200 years to double again.

The chart above illustrates how world population has changed in history.

At the dawn of agriculture, about 8000 B.C., the population of the world was approximately 5 million. Over the 8,000-year period up to 1 A.D. it grew to 200 million (some estimate 300 million or even 600, suggesting how imprecise population estimates of early historical periods can be), with a growth rate of under 0.05% per year.

A tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history until around 1800 for world population to reach one billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in less than 30 years (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987).

During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.

In 1970, there were roughly half as many people in the world as there are now.

Because of declining growth rates, it will now take over 200 years to double again.

World Population Milestones

8 Billion (2024)

7 Billion (2011)

6 Billion (1999)

Previous Milestones

5 Billion : 1987

: 1987 4 Billion : 1974

: 1974 3 Billion : 1960

: 1960 2 Billion : 1927

: 1927 1 Billion: 1804

Summary Table

1 - 1804 (1803 years): 0.2 to 1 bil. 1804 - 2011 (207 years): from 1 billion to 7 billion Year 1 1000 1500 1650 1750 1804 1850 1900 1927 1950 1960 1974 1980 1987 1999 2011 2020 2024 2030 2038 2050 2056 2100 Pop, (billions) 0.2 0.275 0.45 0.5 0.7 1 1.2 1.6 2 2.55 3 4 4.5 5 6 7 7.7 8 8.4 9 9.5 10 11.2





According to the most recent United Nations estimates, the human population of the world is expected to reachAccording to the United Nations, world population reachedThe US Census Bureau made a lower estimate, for which the 7 billion mark was only reached on March 12, 2012 According to the United Nations, the(celebrated as the Day of 6 Billion ). According to the U.S. Census Bureau instead, the six billion milestone was reached on July 22, 1999, at about 3:49 AM GMT. Yet, according to the U.S. Census web site , the date and time of when 6 billion was reached will probably change because the already uncertain estimates are constantly being updated.

Wonder how big was the world's population when you were born?

Check out this simple wizard or this more elaborated one to find out.

Growth Rate

Population in the world is currently (as of 2015-2016) growing at a rate of around 1.13% per year. The average population change is currently estimated at around 80 million per year.

Annual growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at 2% and above. The rate of increase has therefore almost halved since its peak of 2.19 percent, which was reached in 1963.

The annual growth rate is currently declining and is projected to continue to decline in the coming years. Currently, it is estimated that it will become less than 1% by 2020 and less than 0.5% by 2050.

This means that world population will continue to grow in the 21st century, but at a slower rate compared to the recent past. World population has doubled (100% increase) in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion). It is now estimated that it will take a further 39 years to increase by another 50%, to become 9 billion by 2038.

The latest United Nations projections indicate that world population will reach 10 billion persons in the year 2056 (six years earlier than previously estimated).

Top 20 Countries 2013-2100

In the year 2022, India's population is expected to surpass China's, to become the largest country in the world.

Nigeria's population is expected to surpass the U.S. population in 2049 to become the third-most populous country in the world after China (in 2100, Nigeria's population is projected at 750 million, while China will be stable at over 1 billion).

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World Population by Region

World Population Density (people/km2)

Population density map of the world showing not only countries but also many subdivisions (regions, states, provinces).



Courtesy of Junuxx at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

World Population by Religion

According to a recent study (based on the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion) by The Pew Forum, there are:

2,173,180,000 Christians ( 31% of world population), of which 50% are Catholic, 37% Protestant, 12% Orthodox, and 1% other.

( of world population), of which 50% are Catholic, 37% Protestant, 12% Orthodox, and 1% other. 1,598,510,000 Muslims (23%) , of which 87-90% are Sunnis, 10-13% Shia.

, of which 87-90% are Sunnis, 10-13% Shia. 1,126,500,000 No Religion affiliation (16%) : atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion. One-in-five people (20%) in the United States are religiously unaffiliated.

: atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion. One-in-five people (20%) in the United States are religiously unaffiliated. 1,033,080,000 Hindus (15%) , the overwhelming majority (94%) of which live in India.

, the overwhelming majority (94%) of which live in India. 487,540,000 Buddhists (7%) , of which half live in China.

, of which half live in China. 405,120,000 Folk Religionists (6%) : faiths that are closely associated with a particular group of people, ethnicity or tribe.

: faiths that are closely associated with a particular group of people, ethnicity or tribe. 58,110,000 Other Religions (1%) : Baha’i faith, Taoism, Jainism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, Zoroastrianism and many others.

: Baha’i faith, Taoism, Jainism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, Zoroastrianism and many others. 13,850,000 Jews (0.2%), four-fifths of which live in two countries: United States (41%) and Israel (41%).

World Population by Country

Rank Country Population (2014) Share of

World Pop 1 Year Change Area (Km²) Density

(P/Km²) 1 China 1,393,783,836 19.24% 0.59% 9,596,947 145 2 India 1,267,401,849 17.50% 1.22% 3,287,265 386 3 U.S.A. 322,583,006 4.45% 0.79% 9,629,056 34 4 Indonesia 252,812,245 3.49% 1.18% 1,904,567 133 5 Brazil 202,033,670 2.79% 0.83% 8,514,209 24 6 Pakistan 185,132,926 2.56% 1.64% 796,096 233 7 Nigeria 178,516,904 2.46% 2.82% 923,766 193 8 Bangladesh 158,512,570 2.19% 1.22% 143,998 1,101 9 Russia 142,467,651 1.97% -0.26% 17,076,310 8 10 Japan 126,999,808 1.75% -0.11% 377,873 336 11 Mexico 123,799,215 1.71% 1.20% 1,958,198 63 12 Philippines 100,096,496 1.38% 1.73% 300,000 334 13 Ethiopia 96,506,031 1.33% 2.56% 1,104,302 87 14 Vietnam 92,547,959 1.28% 0.95% 331,689 279 15 Egypt 83,386,739 1.15% 1.62% 1,001,450 83 16 Germany 82,652,256 1.14% -0.09% 357,021 232 17 Iran 78,470,222 1.08% 1.32% 1,648,188 48 18 Turkey 75,837,020 1.05% 1.21% 783,562 97 19 Congo 69,360,118 0.96% 2.73% 2,344,832 30 20 Thailand 67,222,972 0.93% 0.32% 513,113 131 21 France 64,641,279 0.89% 0.54% 551,500 117 22 U. K. 63,489,234 0.88% 0.56% 242,900 261 23 Italy 61,070,224 0.84% 0.13% 301,318 203 24 Burma 53,718,958 0.74% 0.86% 676,578 79 25 South Africa 53,139,528 0.73% 0.69% 1,221,037 44 26 Tanzania 50,757,459 0.70% 3.05% 945,081 54 27 South Korea 49,512,026 0.68% 0.51% 99,538 497 28 Colombia 48,929,706 0.68% 1.26% 1,138,907 43 29 Spain 47,066,402 0.65% 0.30% 505,992 93 30 Kenya 45,545,980 0.63% 2.69% 580,366 78 31 Ukraine 44,941,303 0.62% -0.66% 603,701 74 32 Argentina 41,803,125 0.58% 0.86% 2,780,387 15 33 Algeria 39,928,947 0.55% 1.84% 2,381,685 17 34 Uganda 38,844,624 0.54% 3.37% 241,037 161 35 Sudan 38,764,090 0.54% 2.11% 1,861,510 21 36 Poland 38,220,543 0.53% 0.01% 323,251 118 37 Canada 35,524,732 0.49% 0.98% 9,970,455 4 38 Iraq 34,768,761 0.48% 2.97% 438,319 79 39 Morocco 33,492,909 0.46% 1.47% 446,548 75 40 Afghanistan 31,280,518 0.43% 2.39% 652,085 48 41 Venezuela 30,851,343 0.43% 1.47% 912,060 34 42 Peru 30,769,077 0.42% 1.30% 1,285,204 24 43 Malaysia 30,187,896 0.42% 1.58% 329,847 92 44 Saudi Arabia 29,369,428 0.41% 1.88% 2,149,717 14 45 Uzbekistan 29,324,920 0.40% 1.35% 447,401 66 46 Nepal 28,120,740 0.39% 1.16% 147,181 191 47 Mozambique 26,472,977 0.37% 2.47% 801,580 33 48 Ghana 26,442,178 0.37% 2.08% 238,534 111 49 North Korea 25,026,588 0.35% 0.53% 120,538 208 50 Yemen 24,968,508 0.34% 2.30% 527,965 47 51 Australia 23,630,169 0.33% 1.23% 7,739,983 3 52 Madagascar 23,571,962 0.33% 2.82% 587,039 40 53 Cameroon 22,818,632 0.32% 2.54% 475,438 48 54 Angola 22,137,261 0.31% 3.10% 1,246,678 18 55 Syria 21,986,615 0.30% 0.40% 185,180 119 56 Romania 21,640,168 0.30% -0.27% 238,391 91 57 Sri Lanka 21,445,775 0.30% 0.81% 65,610 327 58 Côte d'Ivoire 20,804,774 0.29% 2.41% 322,465 65 59 Niger 18,534,802 0.26% 3.95% 1,266,990 15 60 Chile 17,772,871 0.25% 0.87% 756,614 23 61 Burkina Faso 17,419,615 0.24% 2.86% 274,001 64 62 Malawi 16,829,144 0.23% 2.85% 118,484 142 63 Netherlands 16,802,463 0.23% 0.26% 41,528 405 64 Kazakhstan 16,606,878 0.23% 1.01% 2,725,119 6 65 Ecuador 15,982,551 0.22% 1.55% 283,560 56 66 Guatemala 15,859,714 0.22% 2.53% 108,889 146 67 Mali 15,768,227 0.22% 3.05% 1,240,225 13 68 Cambodia 15,408,270 0.21% 1.80% 181,035 85 69 Zambia 15,021,002 0.21% 3.32% 752,631 20 70 Zimbabwe 14,599,325 0.20% 3.18% 390,753 37 71 Senegal 14,548,171 0.20% 2.94% 196,722 74 72 Chad 13,211,146 0.18% 3.01% 1,284,007 10 73 Rwanda 12,100,049 0.17% 2.75% 26,338 459 74 Guinea 12,043,898 0.17% 2.54% 245,859 49 75 South Sudan 11,738,718 0.16% 3.92% 644,312 18 76 Cuba 11,258,597 0.16% -0.06% 110,861 102 77 Belgium 11,144,420 0.15% 0.36% 30,528 365 78 Greece 11,128,404 0.15% 0.00% 131,956 84 79 Tunisia 11,116,899 0.15% 1.09% 163,609 68 80 Bolivia 10,847,664 0.15% 1.65% 1,098,609 10 81 Somalia 10,805,651 0.15% 2.95% 637,652 17 82 Czech Republic 10,740,468 0.15% 0.36% 78,866 136 83 Portugal 10,610,304 0.15% 0.02% 91,982 115 84 Benin 10,599,510 0.15% 2.67% 112,622 94 85 Dominican Republic 10,528,954 0.15% 1.20% 48,511 217 86 Burundi 10,482,752 0.14% 3.15% 27,834 377 87 Haiti 10,461,409 0.14% 1.40% 27,750 377 88 Hungary 9,933,173 0.14% -0.22% 93,032 107 89 Sweden 9,631,261 0.13% 0.63% 449,954 21 90 Azerbaijan 9,514,887 0.13% 1.08% 86,600 110 91 Serbia 9,468,378 0.13% -0.44% 88,361 107 92 United Arab Emirates 9,445,624 0.13% 1.06% 83,600 113 93 Belarus 9,307,609 0.13% -0.52% 207,602 45 94 Austria 8,526,429 0.12% 0.37% 83,858 102 95 Tajikistan 8,408,947 0.12% 2.45% 143,099 59 96 Honduras 8,260,749 0.11% 2.01% 112,088 74 97 Switzerland 8,157,896 0.11% 0.99% 41,284 198 98 Israel 7,822,107 0.11% 1.15% 22,145 353 99 Jordan 7,504,812 0.10% 3.18% 89,342 84 100 Papua New Guinea 7,476,108 0.10% 2.12% 462,831 16 101 Hong Kong 7,259,569 0.10% 0.77% 1,099 6,606 102 Bulgaria 7,167,998 0.10% -0.76% 110,912 65 103 Togo 6,993,244 0.10% 2.59% 56,785 123 104 Paraguay 6,917,579 0.10% 1.69% 406,749 17 105 Laos 6,894,098 0.10% 1.84% 236,797 29 106 Eritrea 6,536,176 0.09% 3.21% 117,599 56 107 El Salvador 6,383,752 0.09% 0.68% 21,041 303 108 Libya 6,253,452 0.09% 0.84% 1,759,553 4 109 Sierra Leone 6,205,382 0.09% 1.86% 71,740 86 110 Nicaragua 6,169,269 0.09% 1.46% 130,000 47 111 Denmark 5,640,184 0.08% 0.38% 43,094 131 112 Kyrgyzstan 5,625,015 0.08% 1.40% 199,901 28 113 Singapore 5,517,102 0.08% 1.95% 683 8,078 114 Slovakia 5,454,154 0.08% 0.07% 49,033 111 115 Finland 5,443,497 0.08% 0.32% 338,147 16 116 Turkmenistan 5,307,171 0.07% 1.28% 488,105 11 117 Norway 5,091,924 0.07% 0.98% 385,168 13 118 Lebanon 4,965,914 0.07% 2.99% 10,400 477 119 Costa Rica 4,937,755 0.07% 1.35% 51,100 97 120 Central African Republic 4,709,203 0.07% 2.01% 622,993 8 121 Ireland 4,677,340 0.06% 1.08% 70,273 67 122 Congo 4,558,594 0.06% 2.49% 342,006 13 123 New Zealand 4,551,349 0.06% 1.01% 270,527 17 124 State of Palestine 4,436,411 0.06% 2.55% 6,020 737 125 Liberia 4,396,873 0.06% 2.39% 111,370 39 126 Georgia 4,322,842 0.06% -0.42% 69,700 62 127 Croatia 4,272,044 0.06% -0.41% 56,538 76 128 Mauritania 3,984,457 0.06% 2.43% 1,025,600 4 129 Oman 3,926,492 0.05% 8.10% 309,489 13 130 Panama 3,926,017 0.05% 1.60% 75,516 52 131 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,824,746 0.05% -0.12% 51,197 75 132 Puerto Rico 3,683,601 0.05% -0.13% 8,875 415 133 Kuwait 3,479,371 0.05% 3.29% 17,818 195 134 Moldova 3,461,380 0.05% -0.74% 33,851 102 135 Uruguay 3,418,694 0.05% 0.34% 175,012 20 136 Albania 3,185,413 0.04% 0.38% 28,748 111 137 Lithuania 3,008,287 0.04% -0.29% 65,300 46 138 Armenia 2,983,990 0.04% 0.25% 29,800 100 139 Mongolia 2,881,415 0.04% 1.49% 1,566,838 2 140 Jamaica 2,798,837 0.04% 0.54% 10,991 255 141 Namibia 2,347,988 0.03% 1.94% 824,434 3 142 Qatar 2,267,916 0.03% 4.58% 11,000 206 143 Macedonia 2,108,434 0.03% 0.06% 25,713 82 144 Lesotho 2,097,511 0.03% 1.11% 30,355 69 145 Slovenia 2,075,592 0.03% 0.17% 20,256 102 146 Latvia 2,041,111 0.03% -0.45% 64,600 32 147 Botswana 2,038,587 0.03% 0.86% 581,789 4 148 Gambia 1,908,954 0.03% 3.23% 11,295 169 149 Guinea-Bissau 1,745,798 0.02% 2.44% 36,125 48 150 Gabon 1,711,294 0.02% 2.37% 267,682 6 151 Trinidad and Tobago 1,344,235 0.02% 0.23% 5,130 262 152 Bahrain 1,344,111 0.02% 0.90% 694 1,937 153 Estonia 1,283,771 0.02% -0.27% 45,100 28 154 Swaziland 1,267,704 0.02% 1.46% 17,364 73 155 Mauritius 1,249,151 0.02% 0.38% 2,040 612 156 Cyprus 1,153,058 0.02% 1.04% 9,251 125 157 Timor-Leste 1,152,439 0.02% 1.73% 14,874 77 158 Fiji 887,027 0.01% 0.68% 18,274 49 159 Djibouti 886,313 0.01% 1.53% 23,200 38 160 Réunion 885,328 0.01% 1.14% 2,510 353 161 Guyana 803,677 0.01% 0.51% 214,944 4 162 Equatorial Guinea 778,061 0.01% 2.78% 28,051 28 163 Bhutan 765,552 0.01% 1.54% 47,001 16 164 Comoros 752,438 0.01% 2.38% 1,861 404 165 Montenegro 621,542 0.01% 0.03% 13,812 45 166 Western Sahara 585,646 0.01% 3.23% 265,961 2 167 Macau 575,481 0.01% 1.61% 26 22,134 168 Solomon Islands 572,865 0.01% 2.07% 28,896 20 169 Suriname 543,925 0.01% 0.86% 163,833 3 170 Luxembourg 536,761 0.01% 1.20% 2,586 208 171 Cape Verde 503,637 0.01% 0.95% 4,033 125 172 Guadeloupe 468,016 0.01% 0.48% 1,705 274 173 Malta 430,146 0.01% 0.27% 316 1,361 174 Brunei 423,205 0.01% 1.30% 5,765 73 175 Martinique 404,705 0.01% 0.25% 1,102 367 176 Bahamas 382,571 0.01% 1.38% 13,878 28 177 Maldives 351,572 0.00% 1.90% 298 1,180 178 Belize 339,758 0.00% 2.37% 22,966 15 179 Iceland 333,135 0.00% 1.09% 103,010 3 180 Barbados 286,066 0.00% 0.50% 430 665 181 French Polynesia 279,835 0.00% 1.09% 4,000 70 182 New Caledonia 259,824 0.00% 1.30% 18,575 14 183 Vanuatu 258,301 0.00% 2.19% 12,189 21 184 French Guiana 255,455 0.00% 2.50% 90,012 3 185 Mayotte 228,070 0.00% 2.66% 374 610 186 Sao Tome and Principe 197,882 0.00% 2.53% 964 205 187 Samoa 191,831 0.00% 0.77% 2,831 68 188 Saint Lucia 183,598 0.00% 0.73% 539 341 189 Guam 167,546 0.00% 1.47% 549 305 190 Channel Islands 162,778 0.00% 0.47% 195 835 191 Curaçao 161,836 0.00% 1.94% 444 364 192 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 109,371 0.00% 0.00% 388 282 193 United States Virgin Islands 106,792 0.00% 0.15% 347 308 194 Grenada 106,303 0.00% 0.38% 344 309 195 Tonga 105,782 0.00% 0.44% 650 163 196 Kiribati 103,942 0.00% 1.55% 726 143 197 Micronesia 103,903 0.00% 0.34% 702 148 198 Aruba 103,431 0.00% 0.51% 180 575 199 Seychelles 93,306 0.00% 0.50% 455 205 200 Antigua and Barbuda 90,903 0.00% 1.02% 442 206 201 Isle of Man 86,475 0.00% 0.68% 572 151 202 Andorra 80,153 0.00% 1.18% 468 171 203 Dominica 72,341 0.00% 0.47% 751 96 204 Bermuda 65,461 0.00% 0.18% 53 1,235 205 Cayman Islands 59,226 0.00% 1.35% 264 224 206 Greenland 57,164 0.00% 0.31% 2,198,615 0 207 American Samoa 55,320 0.00% 0.28% 199 278 208 Saint Kitts and Nevis 54,789 0.00% 1.10% 261 210 209 Northern Mariana Islands 54,531 0.00% 1.26% 464 118 210 Marshall Islands 52,772 0.00% 0.26% 181 292 211 Faeroe Islands 49,460 0.00% -0.02% 1,399 35 212 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 46,085 0.00% 1.88% 34 1,355 213 Monaco 38,066 0.00% 0.62% 1 25,548 214 Liechtenstein 37,194 0.00% 0.73% 160 232 215 Turks and Caicos Islands 33,736 0.00% 1.93% 430 78 216 San Marino 31,637 0.00% 0.60% 61 519 217 Gibraltar 29,335 0.00% 0.09% 6 4,889 218 British Virgin Islands 28,562 0.00% 0.78% 151 189 219 Palau 21,097 0.00% 0.86% 459 46 220 Cook Islands 20,732 0.00% 0.50% 236 88 221 Caribbean Netherlands 19,525 0.00% 2.06% 328 60 222 Anguilla 14,460 0.00% 1.12% 91 159 223 Wallis and Futuna Islands 13,206 0.00% -0.50% 200 66 224 Nauru 10,081 0.00% 0.30% 21 480 225 Tuvalu 9,894 0.00% 0.18% 26 381 226 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 6,046 0.00% 0.05% 242 25 227 Montserrat 5,135 0.00% 0.86% 102 50 228 Saint Helena 4,120 0.00% -0.22% 122 34 229 Falkland Islands (Malvinas) 3,052 0.00% 0.26% 12,159 0 230 Niue 1,307 0.00% -2.75% 260 5 231 Tokelau 1,222 0.00% 2.26% 12 102 232 Holy See 799 0.00% 0.00% 0 1,816

World Population: Gender, Age, Fertility Rate, Immigration

How many people have ever lived on earth?

view full table (includes median age, population over 60, fertility rate, and urban population).It was written during the 1970s that 75% of the people who had ever been born were alive at that moment. This was grossly false.

Assuming that we start counting from about 50,000 B.C., the time when modern Homo sapiens appeared on the earth (and not from 700,000 B.C. when the ancestors of Homo sapiens appeared, or several million years ago when hominids were present), taking into account that all population data are a rough estimate, and assuming a constant growth rate applied to each period up to modern times, it has been estimated that a total of approximately 106 billion people have been born since the dawn of the human species, making the population currently alive roughly 6% of all people who have ever lived on planet Earth.

Others have estimated the number of human beings who have ever lived to be anywhere from 45 billion to 125 billion, with most estimates falling into the range of 90 to 110 billion humans.

World Population clock: sources and methodology

The world population counter displayed on Worldometers takes into consideration data from two major sources: the United Nations and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The United Nations Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs every two years calculates, updates, and publishes estimates of total population in its World Population Prospects series. These population estimates and projections provide the standard and consistent set of population figures that are used throughout the United Nations system.



The World Population Prospect: the 2015 Revision provides the most recent data available (released on July 29, 2015). Estimates and projected world population and country specific populations are given from 1950 through 2100 and are released every two years. The latest revision has revised upwards the world population projections.



Data underlying the population estimates are national and sub national census data and data on births, deaths, and migrants available from national sources and publications, as well as from questionnaires. For all countries, census and registration data are evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted for incompleteness by the Population Division as part of its preparations of the official United Nations population estimates and projections.



The International Programs Center at the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division also develops estimates and projections based on analysis of available data (based on census, survey, and administrative information) on population, fertility, mortality, and migration for each country or area of the world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, world population reached 7 billion on March 12, 2012.



For most countries adjustment of the data is necessary to correct for errors, omissions, and inconsistencies in the data. Finally, since most recent data for a single country is often at least two years old, the current world population figure is necessarily a projection of past data based on assumed trends. As new data become available, assumptions and data are reevaluated and past conclusions and current figures may be modified.



For information about how these estimates and projections are made by the U.S. Census Bureau, see the Population Estimates and Projections Methodology.

Why Worldometers clocks are the most accurate

The above world population clock is based on the latest estimates released on July 29, 2015 by the United Nations and will show the same number wherever you are in the world and whatever time you set on your PC. Worldometers is the only website to show live counters that are based on UN data and that do not follow the user's PC clock.



Visitors around the world visiting a PC clock based counter, such as the the United Nations' one on http://7billionactions.org and http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion see different numbers depending on where they are located, and therefore have seen the clock reaching 7 billion whenever their locally set PC clocks reached 4:21:10 AM on October 31, 2011. As a test, try changing the date to yesterday on your computer clock, and watch what happens to http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion. With 39 time zones around the world, every visitor is seeing a different number right now on the United Nations clock. Look instead at Worldometers.

Obviously, the UN data is based on estimates and can't be 100% accurate, so in all honesty nobody can possibly say with any degree of certainty on which day world population reaches 7 billion (or any other exact number), let alone at what time. But once an estimate is done (based on the best data and analysis available), the world population clock should be showing the same number at any given time anywhere around the world.