Demographics
The World’s 7.5 Billion People, in One Chart
Which countries do people live in, globally?
It’s a very simple question, but it’s also hard to get an accurate sense of the answer by browsing through a lengthy table of country-level population data.
That’s because there are close to 200 countries spread around the globe, with populations ranging from near 1.4 billion (China or India) to countries a mere 0.001% of that size. How is it possible to do the mental math in interpreting such a wide range of data points simultaneously?
Visualizing the World’s Population
Today’s data visualization comes to us from PopulationPyramid.net, a fantastic resource for data on global population numbers.
It allows us to see the location of the world’s 7.5 billion people by resizing countries based on their populations and then coloring and organizing them by region.
This simple application of data visualization makes it more intuitive to comprehend where people live around the globe, as well as how different countries compare in size.
Regional Populations
The first thing you might notice on the graphic is the relative size of regions, with Asia taking up a whopping 60% of the visual space.
Here are those numbers by region broken down further:
| Rank | Region | Share of Global Population (%) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Asia | 60% | 4.5 billion |
| #2 | Africa | 16% | 1.2 billion |
| #3 | Europe | 10% | 729 million |
| #4 | North America | 7% | 534 million |
| #5 | South America | 6% | 424 million |
| #6 | Central America | 1% | 47 million |
| #7 | Oceania | 1% | 42 million |
When you look at it this way, you can really see how the math breaks down.
About 75% of people reside in Asia or Africa. Meanwhile, the regions of Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania just total together to 25% of the mix.
The 10 Most Populous Countries
There are some countries that are clear standouts on the data visualization.
For example, China and India combine to 2.7 billion people, together accounting for 36% of the total global population.
Those heavyweights aside, there are other notable countries that take up significant amounts of real estate on the visualization as well:
| Rank | Country | Population (2017) | % of global total |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 🇨🇳 China | 1,388,232,693 | 18.5% |
| #2 | 🇮🇳 India | 1,342,512,706 | 17.9% |
| #3 | 🇺🇸 United States | 326,474,013 | 4.3% |
| #4 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 263,510,146 | 3.5% |
| #5 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 211,243,220 | 2.8% |
| #6 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 196,744,376 | 2.6% |
| #7 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 191,835,936 | 2.6% |
| #8 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 164,827,718 | 2.2% |
| #9 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 143,375,006 | 1.9% |
| #10 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 130,222,815 | 1.7% |
| Top 10 Total | 4,358,978,629 | 58.0% |
The United States, Indonesia, Brazil, and Pakistan rank between #3 and #6, and have about a billion people between them.
Nigeria, which is #7 on the list, has the world’s fastest growing megacity within its borders. Further, Bangladesh is also a noteworthy entry since it is one of the densest populations globally, with 1,138.9 people per square kilometer of land.
A Final Look at Global Population
This isn’t the first time we’ve shown you a data visualization that organizes the global population – here’s one we previously published that shows each country in a bubble chart:
While this uses slightly older data, it is still interesting to see how data visualization can help us understand a complex and wide-ranging set of data that is relevant to everyday life.
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China
Animated Chart: China’s Aging Population (1950-2100)
See why China is facing a demographic crisis in this animated chart.
Creator Program
China’s Aging Population Problem
The one-child policy defined China’s demographic transition for over three decades.
But to combat an aging population and declining birthrates, the government scrapped the policy for a new two-child policy in 2016. Despite this massive change, China still faces a growing demographic crisis.
The above animated population pyramid from James Eagle looks at the distribution of China’s population by age group since 1950, with projections up to the year 2100.
How the One-Child Policy Created a Gender Imbalance
Until 2016, the Chinese government strictly enforced the one-child policy since 1979 with hefty fines for any breach of rules. According to the government, the policy reduced 400 million births over the years.
However, it also led to sex-selective abortions due to a deep-rooted cultural preference for boys. As a result, China’s gender balance tilted, with a sex ratio of 111 males to 100 females in the population aging from 0 to 4 years old in 2020.
Often termed “the missing women of China”, this shortage of women is expected to worsen over time. According to the U.N.’s World Population Prospects, China is projected to have around 244 million fewer women than men in 2050.
Additionally, the country faces another impending consequence of the one-child policy—a rapidly aging population.
Why China’s Population is Aging
In 2020, China’s fertility rate—the number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime—stood at 1.3.
Generally, fertility rates drop as economies develop. However, China’s fertility rate is now lower than that of the U.S. (1.64 in 2020) and on par with countries like Japan and Italy, both of which are facing aging populations. Consequently, fewer newborns are entering the population, while many in the workforce approach retirement.
Most Chinese workers retire by age 60. Here’s how China’s retirement-age population is expected to shape up by the year 2100:
| Year | 60+ Population | % of Total Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 74,899,385 | 7.5% |
| 2000 | 129,460,648 | 10.0% |
| 2021 | 258,371,810 | 17.9% |
| 2050 | 485,489,066 | 34.6% |
| 2070 | 454,270,458 | 36.1% |
| 2100 | 402,780,972 | 37.8% |
In 2021, people aged 60 and over made up nearly one-fifth of the Chinese population. As the country’s population begins declining around 2030, over 30% of all Chinese people are expected to be in this age group.
China’s aging population threatens long-term economic growth as its workforce shrinks and low fertility rates result in fewer newborns that would later enter the working-age population. Fewer working people means lower overall consumption, a higher burden on elderly care, and slowing economic growth.
So, how will China respond to the oncoming crisis?
The Three-child Policy
According to the 2020 national census, Chinese mothers gave birth to 12 million children in 2020—the lowest number of births since 1949.
In response to these results, the government passed a new law allowing each couple to have up to three children. Despite the change, the high cost of raising a child may deter couples from having a third child.
It remains to be seen how the three-child policy helps combat China’s demographic crisis and which other policies the government chooses to deploy.
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