China
Animation: Human Population Growth Over All of History
Imagine that for every million people on Earth, there was a single dot on a map.
In total, that would be about 7,600 dots – representing today’s global population of 7.6 billion.
But, what if we went back in time, and watched those dots accumulate over human history? When and where do the first dots appear, and when does population growth ramp up to get to the billions of people that are alive today?
The History of Population Growth
Today’s animation comes from the American Museum of Natural History, and it shows over 200,000 years of population growth and the major events along the way.
If you consider yourself on the more impatient side of things, we suggest starting at 1:50 which will zoom you to 400 AD – the time of India’s Golden Age. Alternatively, go to 3:25 to witness the Bubonic Plague’s rare negative impact on population growth, as well as the ensuing age of European exploration.
It took 200,000 years of human history to get to one billion people – and just 200 years to reach seven billion.
That’s partly how the exponential “hockey stick” growth curve works, but it is also a factor of improvements in living standards, sanitation, and medicine that came after the Industrial Revolution.
Key Population Moments
Here are a few moments that stood out to us in the video, that we think represent particularly interesting moments in human population history:
Agriculture
The impact of farming cannot be emphasized enough. For many thousands of years, the human population dwindled until we learned how to plant crops to provide a scalable and sustainable food supply for a hungry population.
As you can see, after agriculture starts spreading, the human population quickly skyrockets. It is estimated to have reached roughly 170 million by the year 1 AD.
East vs. West
The Greeks and Romans were interesting cultures to us in many ways – but one thing that is sometimes missed with a Western education is the sheer size of Indian and Chinese civilizations.
The above screenshot is from close to the territorial peak of the Roman Empire – notice its size in comparison to the Han Dynasty in China, as well as the area that is modern-day India.
Bubonic Plague
The Black Death, which started in 1347, didn’t do much to increase Europe’s population.
In fact, this was one of the rare times that global human population growth went backwards for multiple decades.
Post-Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution brought innovations to food and medicine, and kickstarted an era that would be usher in the birth of many new technologies.
This screenshot is from close to 1900, when these innovations started to make rapid global population growth a reality.
Over the next century, the population would more than quadruple to today’s seven billion plus people.
The Future of Population Growth
Naturally, this leads to thinking about the future of the human population.
For that, we recommend visiting these two prior animations: The 20 Most Populous Megacities in 2100 and The World’s Population by Region in 2100.
China
Ranked: The Cities with the Most Skyscrapers in 2023
We rank the world’s leading cities with the most skyscrapers, highlighting China’s remarkable dominance in building vertically.

Ranked: The Cities with the Most Skyscrapers in 2023
When it comes to soaring skylines and architectural marvels, no country has embraced the vertical revolution quite like China.
In this graphic, which uses data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), we reveal the 25 cities with the most skyscrapers and supertall buildings globally.
Unsurprisingly, China’s cities dominate the list, solidifying the country’s reputation as a global powerhouse of tall buildings.
The 25 Top Cities by Skyscraper Count
Topping the charts is Hong Kong, with an impressive 657 skyscrapers, including six supertalls (buildings over 300 meters tall).
Rank | City | Country | Skyscrapers (>150m) | Supertalls (>300m) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hong Kong | ๐จ๐ณ China | 657 | 6 |
2 | Shenzhen | ๐จ๐ณ China | 513 | 16 |
3 | New York City | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 421 | 16 |
4 | Dubai | ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates | 395 | 28 |
5 | Guangzhou | ๐จ๐ณ China | 254 | 11 |
6 | Shanghai | ๐จ๐ณ China | 250 | 5 |
7 | Kuala Lumpur | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | 211 | 5 |
8 | Chongqing | ๐จ๐ณ China | 205 | 5 |
9 | Tokyo | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 200 | 0 |
10 | Wuhan | ๐จ๐ณ China | 183 | 5 |
11 | Chicago | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 178 | 7 |
12 | Jakarta | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 160 | 1 |
13 | Chengdu | ๐จ๐ณ China | 150 | 0 |
14 | Bangkok | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | 133 | 3 |
15 | Shenyang | ๐จ๐ณ China | 129 | 3 |
16 | Singapore | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | 128 | 0 |
17 | Nanning | ๐จ๐ณ China | 122 | 6 |
18 | Mumbai | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 114 | 0 |
19 | Tianjin | ๐จ๐ณ China | 109 | 3 |
20 | Nanjing | ๐จ๐ณ China | 108 | 7 |
21 | Toronto | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 106 | 0 |
22 | Busan | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | 106 | 4 |
23 | Seoul | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | 104 | 2 |
24 | Changsha | ๐จ๐ณ China | 97 | 5 |
25 | Melbourne | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 94 | 1 |
Hong Kong, along with Shenzhen (#2), and Guangzhou (#5) are part of the burgeoning megacity known as the Pearl River Delta, which is home to over 1,500 skyscrapers. This is even more impressive when considering that Shenzhen was a small fishing village until the 1970s.
New York City secures the third position on the list, boasting an impressive tally of 421 skyscrapers. Although it may have relinquished its title to Chinese cities, the city’s skyline endures as a globally renowned symbol, prominently featuring the iconic Empire State Building. Notably, while the Empire State Building enjoys widespread familiarity, it no longer ranks among the world’s 50 tallest structures.
Rounding out the top five is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which grabs the fourth position with 395 skyscrapers, a staggering 28 of which are supertalls. This desert oasis has become synonymous with grandiose architecture and record-breaking structures, exemplified by the Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s current tallest building at 828 meters (2,715 ft).
China’s Numbers in Context
Looking at this data from another perspective, China actually has more skyscrapers on this list than the rest of the world combined.
Country | Cities in Top 25 | Skyscrapers | Supertalls |
---|---|---|---|
๐จ๐ณ China | 12 | 2777 | 72 |
๐ Rest of World | 13 | 2350 | 67 |
China’s rapid urbanization, economic growth, and ambitious construction projects have fueled this impressive feat. There’s no doubt that the country’s relentless pursuit of vertical development, coupled with its booming population and thriving cities, has positioned China as the unrivaled leader in the global skyscraper race.
The Future of the Global Skyline
As the world continues to reach new heights in architectural marvels, there are even more supertall skyscrapers in the pipeline that will reshape skylines across the globe.
From the soaring Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, poised to surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building, to the remarkable Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, which is set to claim the title of the world’s second-tallest structure when it opens in June 2023, these projects will captivate city dwellers for years to come.
Even as these new monumental buildings rise, China’s prominence in the world of skyscrapersโwith three cities in the top five globallyโis likely to remain unchallenged.
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