Animation: The Global Population Over 300 Years, by Country
Connect with us

Demographics

Animation: The Global Population Over 300 Years, by Country

Published

on

Animation: The Global Population Over 300 Years, by Country

Since the 1800s, our global population has grown from 984 million people to almost 8 billion—an increase of more than 700%.

Which regions around the world have led this growth, and what’s expected for the rest of the century? This animated visualization by James Eagle shows 300 years of population growth, including historical figures as well as projections up to the year 2100.

Asia’s Current Dominance

For centuries, more than half of the world’s population has been concentrated in Asia. At certain points throughout history, the region has made up nearly 70% of the world’s population.

Here’s a look at 2021 figures, and how large each region’s population is relative to each other:

RankRegion% of Global Population (2021)
1Asia59.2%
2Africa17.9%
3Europe9.3%
4North America7.5%
5South America5.5%
6Oceania0.6%

China and India have been Asia’s largest population hubs, with China historically leading the front. In the 1950s China’s population was nearly double the size of India’s, but the gap has fluctuated over the years.

As China’s population growth continued, it was causing problems for the country as it struggled to scale up food production and infrastructure. By 1979, the Chinese government rolled out a one-child policy in an attempt to control the situation.

The program, which ended in 2016, had a number of unintended ramifications, but ultimately, it did succeed in slowing down the country’s population growth. And now, India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country as early as 2023.

Africa’s Growing Piece of the Pie

Although Asia dominates the charts when it comes to overall population numbers currently, Africa’s growing population numbers are often overlooked.

While the continent’s total population is smaller than Asia’s, it will soon be home to the world’s largest working-age population, which could have a significant impact on the global economy in the years ahead.

This growth is being led by Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. With megacities like Lagos (metro population: 21 million) and over 217 million inhabitants in total, Nigeria is projected to be the world’s third most populous country by the year 2050. Nigeria’s rapid growth is largely thanks to its high birth rate, which is nearly double the global average.

green check mark icon

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

Click for Comments

China

U.S. vs. China: Mapping Trade Dominance in Africa (2003-2023)

As of 2023, 52 out of the 54 African countries trade more with China than with the U.S., compared to just 18 countries in 2003.

Published

on

Two maps comparing African trade with the U.S. vs China in 2003 vs 2023

Trade With Africa: China vs. U.S.

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

China has steadily expanded its global trade footprint and now surpasses the U.S. as the leading trading partner in many regions around the world.

In Africa, for instance, China overtook the U.S. as the continent’s top trading partner back in 2009—a position it continues to hold today.

This graphic visualizes whether each African country trades with the U.S. or China more in 2003 versus 2023.

Data comes from the Observatory of Economic Complexity and UN Comtrade via the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 2023 or the latest data available was used.

African Countries Are Choosing China over the States

Below, we show which country (U.S. or China) each African country traded with more in 2003 versus 2023.

CountryTrades more with? (2003)Trades more with? (2023)
🇩🇿 Algeria🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇦🇴 Angola🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇧🇯 Benin🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇧🇼 Botswana🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇧🇮 Burundi🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇨🇲 Cameroon🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇨🇻 Cape Verde🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇨🇫 Central African Republic🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇹🇩 Chad🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇰🇲 Comoros🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇩🇯 Djibouti🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇪🇬 Egypt🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇪🇷 Eritrea🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇸🇿 Eswatini🇨🇳 China🇺🇸 United States
🇪🇹 Ethiopia🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇬🇦 Gabon🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇬🇲 The Gambia🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇬🇭 Ghana🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇬🇳 Guinea🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇰🇪 Kenya🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇱🇸 Lesotho🇺🇸 United States🇺🇸 United States
🇱🇷 Liberia🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇱🇾 Libya🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇲🇬 Madagascar🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇲🇼 Malawi🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇲🇱 Mali🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇲🇷 Mauritania🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇲🇺 Mauritius🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇲🇦 Morocco🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇲🇿 Mozambique🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇳🇦 Namibia🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇳🇪 Niger🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇳🇬 Nigeria🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇷🇼 Rwanda🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇸🇳 Senegal🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇸🇨 Seychelles🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇸🇴 Somalia🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇿🇦 South Africa🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇸🇸 South Sudan🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇸🇩 Sudan🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇹🇿 Tanzania🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇹🇬 Togo🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇹🇳 Tunisia🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇺🇬 Uganda🇺🇸 United States🇨🇳 China
🇿🇲 Zambia🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe🇨🇳 China🇨🇳 China

In 2003, China was the preferred trading partner over the U.S. for 18 African countries or 35% of the continent.

Fast forward 20 years, 52 out of the 54 African countries (97%) trade more with China than with the U.S. as of 2023.

China-Africa trade climbed to $295 billion in 2024, marking a 6% year-on-year increase.

Beyond trade, China has also increased its foreign direct investment (FDI) into the continent, with annual FDI flows rising from about $75 million in 2003 to nearly $4 billion in 2023, focusing on sectors like agriculture, light manufacturing, and services.

China has proactively sought to improve China-Africa relations through major initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which are designed to boost trade by investing in infrastructure, streamlining trade processes, and strengthening African value chains.

However, China has also faced criticism for alleged “debt-trap diplomacy,” a practice in which it is accused of providing loans to countries that may struggle to repay them, including many of Africa’s poorest countries.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about China’s trade relations, check out this graphic that visualizes the country’s exports by region from 2000 to 2022.

Continue Reading

Discover more visuals with Voronoi by Visual Capitalist Logo

China is Shelling Out on American Pistachios

Popular