Demographics

Mapped: The World Divided Into 4 Regions With Equal Populations

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2019

Jeff Desjardins

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World Map: Divided Into 4 Regions With Equal Populations

View the full-size version of the infographic by clicking here

At the most basic level, a standard world map tells us almost nothing about human population.

While the borders on a map may give us an idea of political boundaries or even aspects of continental geography, in reality they have little to do with showing population density.

That said, it is possible to apply one simple alteration to the world map so that we can make it more interesting from a population perspective – and it turns out that doing so can help us gain insight on where regional population density is the greatest.

Splitting Up the Map

Today’s map comes from Reddit user /u/OrneryThroat and it breaks up the world by grouping countries into four equally populated regions.

While both simple and crude, this mechanism does have some profound results:

Region	Population
North America, South America, and West/Central Africa	1.9 billion
Europe, East Africa, Middle East, and Northern Asia	1.9 billion
South Asia	1.9 billion
Most of Southeast Asia, China, and Oceania	1.9 billion

More specifically, there is one area that stands out from a visual standpoint, and it resides clearly in the southern portion of Asia.

Home to 1.34 billion people, it’s well-known that India already holds roughly 20% of the global population – but add Pakistan (195 million) and Bangladesh (165 million) into the mix, and you’re already closing in on one quarter of the global total.

Meanwhile, to get to a similar number, you’d need to add the entire populations of North America, South America, Europe, and Oceania together to even come close.

Shown Another Way

While splitting it into four equal portions is one way to transform the world map, here is another geometric route to conveying a similar idea about the world’s population density:

Circle population

On a previous Chart of the Week, we showed that 22 of the world’s 37 megacities are located in the small circle above, putting into perspective the region’s population density in a similar but different way.

These simple transformations of the world map are not only memorable, but they also give our brain an easy heuristic to better understand the planet we live on.

Related Topics:map population distribution

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Demographics

Ranked: The Most Populous Cities in the World

Where are the world’s largest cities in terms of population? This graphic looks at the top 20 most populous cities in the world.

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2021

Avery Koop

Ranked: The Most Populous Cities in the World

More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities—and as time goes on, it’s clear that more urban dwellers will find themselves living in megacities.

Megacities are defined as urban areas with a population of more than 10 million people. This means that the world’s top 20 most populous cities are all megacities.

This visualization, using data from Macrotrends, shows the 20 most populous cities in the world.

Rapid Urbanization

Today, more than 80% of people in higher income countries find themselves living in urban areas, and in upper-middle income countries the number lies between 50-80%.

Rural-to-urban migration is an increasingly relevant trend in the 21st century. Prospects of better job opportunities and higher wages, along with shifts from agrarian to industrial and service-based economies, are causing mass movement to cities.

How much have the world’s five most populous cities grown in just the last decade?

Rank	City	2010 Population	2020 Population	Percentage Change
#1	🇯🇵 Tokyo	36,834,000	37,393,000	+1.5%
#2	🇮🇳 Delhi	21,935,000	30,291,000	+38.1%
#3	🇨🇳 Shanghai	19,980,000	27,058,000	+35.4%
#4	🇧🇷 São Paulo	19,660,000	22,043,000	+12.1%
#5	🇲🇽 Mexico City	20,132,000	21,782,000	+8.2%

While Tokyo only gained 559,000 people between 2010 and 2020, Delhi gained over 8 million people in the same time frame.

Shanghai grew by over 7 million people. Meanwhile, São Paulo grew by more than 2 million, and Mexico City gained just over 1.6 million people.

Interestingly, Mexico City placed third on the top largest cities list in 2010, but has since experienced slower growth compared to its competitors, Shanghai and São Paulo.

The Most Populous Cities Today

While Tokyo is the world’s most populous city with 37,393,000 people, this number is leveling out due to declining birth rates and an aging population.

Indian and Chinese cities, on the other hand, will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years. In fact, it’s expected that Delhi’s population could surpass Tokyo’s by 2028.

Here’s a closer look at the top 20 most populous cities.

Rank	City	Population
1	🇯🇵 Tokyo	37,393,000
2	🇮🇳 Delhi	30,291,000
3	🇨🇳 Shanghai	27,058,000
4	🇧🇷 São Paulo	22,043,000
5	🇲🇽 Mexico City	21,782,000
6	🇧🇩 Dhaka	21,006,000
7	🇪🇬 Cairo	20,901,000
8	🇨🇳 Beijing	20,463,000
9	🇮🇳 Mumbai	20,411,000
10	🇯🇵 Osaka	19,165,000
11	🇺🇸 New York City	18,804,000
12	🇵🇰 Karachi	16,094,000
13	🇨🇳 Chongqing	15,872,000
14	🇹🇷 Istanbul	15,190,000
15	🇦🇷 Buenos Aires	15,154,000
16	🇮🇳 Calcutta	14,850,000
17	🇳🇬 Lagos	14,368,000
18	🇨🇩 Kinshasa	14,342,000
19	🇵🇭 Manila	13,923,000
20	🇨🇳 Tianjin	13,580,000

By 2035, two new cities are expected to crack the top 20 list. Specifically, it’s projected that Bangalore (India) and Lahore (Pakistan) will boot out Tianjin and Buenos Aires. In addition, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chennai are all expected to meet the megacity definition by 2035.

Urban growth will continue mainly in Asia and Africa, as some cities in regions such as Europe actually begin to shrink in population due to aging citizens and declining birth rates. Since 2012, deaths in the EU have actually been outpacing births—and in 2019, there were 4.7 million deaths compared to 4.2 million births, though net migration kept population numbers from falling.

Life in the City

While there are certainly downsides to mass urbanization, like pollution and overcrowding, the upsides clearly outweigh the negatives for most people. Convenience, better jobs, easier access to social services, and higher wages are among the many reasons people are likely to continue to move to cities, even in the post-COVID era.

With the emergence of smart and green cities, the quality of life for many urban dwellers will likely continue to improve, and more large urban areas will morph into megacities.

Misc

Visualizing the U.S. Population by Race

America is a cultural mosaic—nearly 40% identify as a visible minority today. Here we break down the U.S. population by race by state.

Published

4 weeks ago

December 28, 2020

Iman Ghosh

Visualizing the U.S. Population by Race

The American population is a unique mosaic of cultures—and almost 40% of people identify as racial or ethnic minorities today.

In this treemap, we use data for 2019 from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which bases its analysis on the latest American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Then we break down the same data on a state-by-state basis.

Growing Diversity in America

As of 2019, here is the current distribution of the U.S. population by race and ethnicity:

White: 60.1% (Non-Hispanic)
Hispanic: 18.5%
Black: 12.2%
Asian: 5.6%
Multiple Races: 2.8%
American Indian/Alaska Native: 0.7%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.2%

Note that the U.S. totals do not include Puerto Rico.

However, these race and ethnicity projections are expected to change over the coming years. By the year 2060, it’s expected that the distribution of Non-Hispanic Whites as a percentage of total population will fall from 60.1% to 44.3% of Americans.

Year	White*	Black	Hispanic	Asian	Multiple Races	Other**
2020	59.7%	12.5%	18.7%	5.8%	2.3%	0.9%
2025	57.7%	12.7%	19.9%	6.3%	2.6%	0.9%
2030	55.8%	12.8%	21.1%	6.7%	2.8%	0.9%
2035	53.8%	12.9%	22.3%	7.1%	3.1%	0.9%
2040	51.7%	13.0%	23.5%	7.5%	3.4%	0.9%
2045	49.7%	13.1%	24.6%	7.9%	3.8%	0.9%
2050	47.8%	13.3%	25.7%	8.2%	4.1%	0.9%
2055	46.0%	13.4%	26.6%	8.5%	4.5%	0.9%
2060	44.3%	13.6%	27.5%	8.9%	4.9%	0.9%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. *Excludes Hispanics **Other includes American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (0.2%). Both proportions remain unchanged in these projections.

Interestingly, the proportion of those from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds will more than double, from 2.3% to 4.9% alongside rising patterns of interracial marriage.

Over time, the U.S. Census has been vastly expanded to reflect the true diversity that the country holds. In fact, it was only from 1960 onwards that people could select their own race—and only from 2020 can those who chose White or Black provide further information on their roots.

A State-by-State Breakdown

Of course, racial diversity in the United States differs widely from region to region.

In the Northeast—particularly the states Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire—the Non-Hispanic White population accounts for 90% or more of the total. In contrast, Black populations are highest in the District of Columbia (45%) and several Southern states.

Location	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	Multiple Races	American Indian /Alaska Native	Native Hawaiian /Other Pacific Islander
Alabama	65%	27%	4%	1%	2%	0%	-
Alaska	60%	2%	7%	6%	8%	15%	2%
Arizona	54%	4%	32%	3%	2%	4%	0%
Arkansas	72%	15%	8%	2%	2%	1%	0%
California	36%	5%	40%	15%	3%	0%	0%
Colorado	68%	4%	22%	3%	3%	1%	0%
Connecticut	66%	10%	17%	5%	3%	0%	-
Delaware	61%	22%	10%	4%	3%	0%	-
District of Columbia	37%	45%	11%	4%	3%	0%	-
Florida	53%	15%	27%	3%	2%	0%	0%
Georgia	52%	31%	10%	4%	3%	0%	0%
Hawaii	20%	1%	10%	39%	18%	0%	10%
Idaho	82%	1%	13%	1%	3%	1%	-
Illinois	61%	14%	18%	6%	2%	0%	<.01
Indiana	79%	9%	7%	2%	2%	0%	-
Iowa	85%	4%	6%	2%	2%	0%	<.01
Kansas	76%	6%	12%	3%	3%	1%	-
Kentucky	85%	8%	4%	2%	2%	0%	-
Louisiana	59%	32%	5%	2%	2%	1%	-
Maine	93%	1%	2%	1%	2%	1%	-
Maryland	50%	30%	11%	6%	3%	0%	-
Massachusetts	71%	7%	12%	7%	3%	0%	<.01
Michigan	75%	13%	5%	3%	3%	1%	-
Minnesota	79%	6%	6%	5%	3%	1%	-
Mississippi	57%	38%	3%	1%	1%	0%	-
Missouri	79%	11%	4%	2%	3%	0%	0%
Montana	86%	1%	4%	1%	3%	6%	-
Nebraska	79%	5%	11%	2%	2%	1%	-
Nevada	48%	9%	29%	9%	4%	1%	1%
New Hampshire	90%	1%	4%	3%	2%	-	-
New Jersey	55%	12%	21%	10%	2%	0%	-
New Mexico	37%	2%	50%	2%	2%	9%	-
New York	55%	14%	19%	9%	3%	0%	-
North Carolina	63%	21%	10%	3%	3%	1%	<.01
North Dakota	84%	2%	4%	1%	3%	5%	-
Ohio	79%	12%	4%	2%	3%	0%	-
Oklahoma	65%	7%	11%	2%	7%	8%	0%
Oregon	75%	2%	13%	5%	4%	1%	0%
Pennsylvania	76%	10%	8%	4%	2%	0%	<.01
Puerto Rico	1%	0%	98%	-	0%	-	-
Rhode Island	71%	6%	17%	3%	3%	0%	-
South Carolina	64%	26%	6%	2%	2%	0%	-
South Dakota	82%	2%	4%	1%	2%	8%	-
Tennessee	74%	16%	6%	2%	2%	0%	-
Texas	41%	12%	40%	5%	2%	0%	0%
Utah	78%	1%	14%	2%	3%	1%	1%
Vermont	93%	1%	2%	2%	2%	1%	-
Virginia	61%	19%	10%	7%	3%	0%	<.01
Washington	68%	4%	13%	9%	5%	1%	1%
West Virginia	93%	3%	1%	1%	2%	0%	-
Wisconsin	81%	6%	7%	3%	2%	1%	-
Wyoming	84%	1%	10%	1%	2%	2%	-
U.S.	60.1%	12.2%	18.5%	5.6%	2.8%	0.7%	0.2%

Note: A dash (-) indicates estimates with relative standard errors greater than 30%, which were not included in the data

Of all the 50 states, Hawaii is home to the largest share of Asian populations at 39%. It also has one of the most diverse racial breakdowns in the nation overall, including the highest proportion of mixed race individuals.

Looking to another island, an overwhelming majority (98%) of Puerto Ricans are of Hispanic origins. While it’s not a state, its inhabitants are all considered U.S. citizens.

Charting the U.S. population by race is crucial for a number of reasons. This information can be used to better understand existing income and wealth gaps, track public health outcomes, and to aid in policy decision-making at higher levels.