The emergence of humans accounts for just a blink in the timeline of our planet – but in the short period that humans have lived on Earth, populations have risen to staggering numbers.

A new animation from the American Museum of Natural History shows the growth of our species, from less than a million people when modern humans began migrating out of Africa about 100,000 years ago, to more than 7.2 billion alive today.

The most dramatic increase has occurred only recently; while it took humans roughly 200,000 years to reach a population of 1 billion, it took just 200 years beyond that to get to where we are now.

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A new animation from the American Museum of Natural History shows the exponential growth of our species, from less than a million people when modern humans began migrating out of Africa about 100,000 years ago to more than 7.2 billion alive today

WHERE POPULATION HAS SPIKED IN THE LAST 50 YRS From 1960 to 2015, certain regions have experienced a startling rise in inhabitants, data from the World Bank reveals. This includes: Afghanistan - from 8.9m to 32m Bangladesh - 48m to 160m Brazil - 72m to 207m Egypt - 27m to 91m Ethiopia - 22m to 99m Indonesia - 87m to 257m Iraq - 7m to 26m Mexico - 38m to 127m Pakistan - 44.8m to 188m Syria - 4.5m to 18.5m Source: World Bank Advertisement

The animation shared to YouTube by the AMNH cites data from Population Connection, the UN World Population Prospects, Worldometer’s real-time population counter, and NASA, and raises numerous questions on the future of humanity and our home planet.

As the video points out, human populations likely remained below 1 million people between the evolution of modern humans in Africa about 200,000 years ago and the early migrations across the globe about 100,00 years ago.

Growth then accelerated with the advent of farming, and by AD 1, there were roughly 170 million people on the planet.

The video then moves through the emergence of the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty, totalling about 176 million people before the year 100.

Then came the Silk Road, the Golden Age of India, peak Maya Civilization, and the birth of Islam, bringing the world to 190 million people by 700.

Once the navigational compass was invented, numbers began to pick up, reaching 210 million around the year 1100.

Mid-way between 1300 and 1400, the world experienced a rare population decline – the bubonic plague.

Still, by the year 1700, the human population was just 590 million people.

Soon after, however, ‘modern technology and medicine bring faster growth,’ the video explains, causing the population to skyrocket with the industrial revolution.

Just after the year 1800, the population hit 1 billion.

There are now over 7.2 billion people on Earth, just 200 years after reaching this milestone.

It’s thought that the global population will peak at 11 billion people around the year 2100 if the current trends continue.

Human populations likely remained below 1 million people during early migrations across the globe about 100,00 years ago. Growth then accelerated with the advent of farming, and by AD 1, there were roughly 170 million people on the planet

The most dramatic increase has occurred only recently; while it took humans roughly 200,000 years to reach a population of 1 billion, it took just 200 years beyond that to get to where we are now

But, fertility rates are falling in nearly every country, AMNH says, and growth is slowing.

Still, with a projected 11 billion people set to live on Earth in the foreseeable future, there are major implications for the planet’s dwindling resources, even if the growth rate levels off.

‘If fertility forecasts are slightly off, our peak population will peak lower or higher,’ the video explains.

‘As our population has grown, so has our use of Earth’s resources.

‘Choices we make today [including] family planning, reduced consumption, pollution controls, habitat protection, affect the future of our species – and all life on Earth.’