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Mapped: The World’s Population Density by Latitude

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A map of the world population by latitude.

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Mapped: The World’s Population Density by Latitude

When you think about areas with high population densities, certain regions spring to mind. This could be a populous part of Asia or a cluster of cities in North America or Europe.

Usually density comparisons are made using cities or countries, but this map from Alasdair Rae provides another perspective. This world map depicts population density by latitude, going from the densest populated coordinates in deep red to the sparsest in light blue.

Why Certain Latitudes (and Regions) Are More Densely Populated

Numerous factors affect an area’s population density. These can range from topography, or the physical terrain characteristics of the place, to more direct factors like an area’s climate, which can impact both the survivability and agricultural potential.

Political, economic, and social factors are also at play⁠—for example, there is a natural lack of livelihood opportunities in sparse areas such as the Amazon rainforest or the Himalayas.

Breaking down the population by latitude, we see the population becomes more concentrated near the equator. In particular, the 25th and 26th parallel north are the most densely populated latitude circles. Around 279 million people reside in these latitude lines, which run through large countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, the United States, Mexico, and others.

Despite their large landmasses, many of these countries do not themselves have very high population densities. Since density measures the ratio of people to physical space, countries with vast but sparse regions like China and India are less dense than imagined.

Out of the top 10 most densely populated countries in the world, only a couple can be found on the 25th and 26th parallel north⁠—Bangladesh and Bahrain. For a size comparison, Bangladesh is 1.55% the size of China, and Bahrain is only 0.01%.

The Future of Population Density Near the Equator

Looking ahead to 2100, the UN projects that the global population will rise to almost 11 billion. This would increase global population density from 59.11 people per square kilometer in 2022 to 80.82 per square kilometer in 2100.

However, the projections show that Asia will not be the biggest contributor to this growth. Instead, the most considerable jump in population is predicted for Africa, set to grow by almost 200% from almost 1.5 billion people today to 4.3 billion in 2100.

The equator runs right through the middle of Africa and crisscrosses countries like the Congo (both the Republic and DRC), Kenya, Gabon, Uganda, and Somalia.

As Africa’s population expands, this means that at latitudes near the equator, there could be even higher population densities coming. Or course, this largely depends on how the world’s fastest growing cities⁠—most of which are in Africa⁠—shape up over the coming decades.

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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.

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Healthcare

Charted: Average Years Left to Live by Age

Visualizing the number of years left to live for Americans at every age, reveals the broader trends in American life expectancy.

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Chart showing the average years left to live at every age for men and women.

How Many Years Do You Have Left to Live?

At the start of the 19th century, when there fewer than 1 billion humans on the earth, global life expectancy at birth stood at roughly 29 years.

This is a startlingly low figure—because life expectancy is a statistical projection of how many more years a person can expect to live, based on the mortality rates at the time. And since the infant mortality rate in particular was so high, life expectancies accurately summarized the low likelihood of many babies living to adulthood.

However, since the 1920s, life expectancy across all ages has improved leaps and bounds, thanks to rapid advancements in nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation.

We visualized the current American life expectancy by age and gender, using data from the Office of Social Security, which bases their current projections on 2020 mortality rates.

American Life Expectancy at Every Age

A key takeaway with life expectancy is that it increases as one gets older. This is easily seen in the table below, which lists the remaining years left to live at a given age for an American male and the projected life expectancy.

AgeYears Remaining (Men)Life Expectancy (Men)
074.1274.12
173.5574.55
272.5874.58
371.6074.60
470.6274.62
569.6374.63
668.6474.64
767.6574.65
866.6574.65
965.6674.66
1064.6774.67
1163.6874.68
1262.6974.69
1361.7074.70
1460.7174.71
1559.7374.73
1658.7674.76
1757.7974.79
1856.8474.84
1955.9074.90
2054.9774.97
2154.0475.04
2253.1275.12
2352.2175.21
2451.3075.30
2550.3975.39
2649.4875.48
2748.5775.57
2847.6675.66
2946.7675.76
3045.8675.86
3144.9775.97
3244.0776.07
3343.1876.18
3442.2976.29
3541.3976.39
3640.5076.50
3739.6276.62
3838.7376.73
3937.8576.85
4036.9776.97
4136.0977.09
4235.2177.21
4334.3477.34
4433.4677.46
4532.5977.59
4631.7377.73
4730.8777.87
4830.0178.01
4929.1778.17
5028.3378.33
5127.5078.50
5226.6778.67
5325.8678.86
5425.0679.06
5524.2779.27
5623.4879.48
5722.7179.71
5821.9579.95
5921.2180.21
6020.4780.47
6119.7480.74
6219.0381.03
6318.3281.32
6417.6381.63
6516.9481.94
6616.2682.26
6715.5882.58
6814.9182.91
6914.2483.24
7013.5983.59
7112.9483.94
7212.3084.30
7311.6784.67
7411.0585.05
7510.4685.46
769.8885.88
779.3286.32
788.7786.77
798.2587.25
807.7487.74
817.2588.25
826.7788.77
836.3189.31
845.8889.88
855.4790.47
865.0791.07
874.7091.70
884.3592.35
894.0293.02
903.7293.72
913.4494.44
923.1895.18
932.9695.96
942.7596.75
952.5797.57
962.4298.42
972.2899.28
982.15100.15
992.04101.04
1001.93101.93
1011.83102.83
1021.73103.73
1031.63104.63
1041.54105.54
1051.45106.45
1061.36107.36
1071.27108.27
1081.18109.18
1091.10110.10
1101.02111.02
1110.95111.95
1120.88112.88
1130.82113.82
1140.76114.76
1150.70115.70
1160.65116.65
1170.60117.60
1180.56118.56
1190.52119.52
1200.48120.48

At birth, an average American baby boy can expect to live till just past 74. But if the boy reaches adulthood, then at 21 he might live to a full year more, past 75. This trend persists even towards the end of life when the years we have left drop rapidly, influenced by the higher likelihood of death.

American women, on the other hand, have a higher life expectancy than men. At birth the gap is close to six years, narrowing steadily to around one year by 85.

AgeYears Remaining
(Women)
Life Expectancy
(Women)
079.7879.78
179.1780.17
278.1980.19
377.2180.21
476.2280.22
575.2380.23
674.2480.24
773.2580.25
872.2580.25
971.2680.26
1070.2780.27
1169.2780.27
1268.2880.28
1367.2980.29
1466.3080.30
1565.3180.31
1664.3280.32
1763.3480.34
1862.3680.36
1961.3880.38
2060.4180.41
2159.4480.44
2258.4780.47
2357.5080.50
2456.5480.54
2555.5880.58
2654.6180.61
2753.6680.66
2852.7080.70
2951.7480.74
3050.7980.79
3149.8480.84
3248.8980.89
3347.9480.94
3447.0081.00
3546.0681.06
3645.1281.12
3744.1881.18
3843.2481.24
3942.3181.31
4041.3881.38
4140.4581.45
4239.5281.52
4338.6081.60
4437.6881.68
4536.7681.76
4635.8581.85
4734.9481.94
4834.0482.04
4933.1482.14
5032.2482.24
5131.3582.35
5230.4782.47
5329.5982.59
5428.7282.72
5527.8682.86
5627.0183.01
5726.1683.16
5825.3283.32
5924.4983.49
6023.6783.67
6122.8583.85
6222.0484.04
6321.2484.24
6420.4584.45
6519.6684.66
6618.8884.88
6718.1085.10
6817.3485.34
6916.5885.58
7015.8285.82
7115.0886.08
7214.3686.36
7313.6486.64
7412.9486.94
7512.2687.26
7611.6087.60
7710.9587.95
7810.3188.31
799.7088.70
809.1089.10
818.5389.53
827.9889.98
837.4490.44
846.9390.93
856.4491.44
865.9991.99
875.5592.55
885.1593.15
894.7693.76
904.4194.41
914.0895.08
923.7895.78
933.5196.51
943.2797.27
953.0598.05
962.8598.85
972.6899.68
982.52100.52
992.37101.37
1002.23102.23
1012.09103.09
1021.96103.96
1031.84104.84
1041.72105.72
1051.61106.61
1061.51107.51
1071.41108.41
1081.32109.32
1091.24110.24
1101.16111.16
1111.09112.09
1121.02113.02
1130.96113.96
1140.90114.90
1150.85115.85
1160.80116.80
1170.75117.75
1180.70118.70
1190.66119.66
1200.62120.62

Interestingly, women outlive men in nearly every country in the world, due to a mix of sociological, behavioral, and biological reasons.

COVID-19: Reversing A Decade of Increasing American Life Expectancy

While the current American life expectancy at birth seems reasonably high, it is nearly two years lower than the 2022 figure which used the 2019 mortality rate. It is also lower than the life expectancy at birth in 2009, which used 2005 mortality rate.

YearLife Expectancy
at Birth (Men)
Life Expectancy
at Birth (Women)
200974.1279.95
201476.1080.94
201976.0480.99
202374.1279.78

American mortality rates went up 17% between 2019–2020, in part because of COVID-19, in turn affecting life expectancy. The U.S. also had a higher COVID-19 mortality rate compared to its peers two years after the pandemic first struck.

Thus, American life expectancy may not improve immediately to 2019 levels, which can affect insurance premiums, pension benefits, and plans.

Where Does This Data Come From?

Source: Office of Social Security, U.S. Government.

Note: The life expectancy at a given age is the average remaining number of years expected prior to death for a person at that exact age, born on January 1, using the mortality rates for 2020 over the course of their remaining life.

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