Demographics

The World’s 7.5 Billion People, in One Chart

Published

4 years ago

March 28, 2019

Jeff Desjardins

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:

The Population of Every Country is Shown on this 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.

Related Topics:demographics population world global

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Demographics

Comparing Population Pyramids Around the World

Population pyramids can show a country’s demographic advantages and challenges at a glance. See how different parts of the world stack up.

Published

1 day ago

June 1, 2023

Niccolo Conte

Visualization of population pyramids of China, India, U.S., and Japan compared

Understanding and Comparing Population Pyramids

Demographic data can reveal all kinds of insights about a population, from the country’s fertility and mortality rates to how certain events and policies have shaped the makeup of a population.

Population pyramids are one of the best ways to visualize population data, and comparing the pyramids of various countries and regions side-by-side can reveal unexpected insights and differences between groups.

This graphic uses population data from the United Nations to compare the demographics of some select nations and regions of the world, showcasing how much age distributions can vary.

Three Types of Population Pyramids

Although population pyramids can come in all shapes and sizes, most generally fall into three distinct categories:

Expansive Pyramids: Recognized by their traditional “pyramid-like” shape with a broad base and narrow top, expansive pyramids reflect a population with a high birth rate along with a high mortality rate which is most common in developing countries.
Constrictive Pyramids: With a narrow base and thicker middle and top sections of the pyramid, constrictive pyramids often occur in developed economies whose populations have low birth rates and long life expectancies.
Stationary Pyramids: These pyramids showcase an evenly distributed population across age groups, often found in newly-developed countries which have stable birth and mortality rates.

Each population pyramid is essentially a visual snapshot of a nation’s current demographic breakdown, shaped by fluctuating birth and mortality rates as well as changes to immigration and social policies.

Understanding the inherent risks associated with different pyramid types can help give insight into the challenges these populations face.

The Risks of Different Population Pyramid Types

Each type of population pyramid structure has unique challenges and advantages often characterized by the country or region’s current stage of economic development.

Populations with expansive pyramids, such as the one representing the continent of Africa, have the advantage of a larger youth and working-aged population, however this advantage can be rendered null if job growth, education, and health care aren’t prioritized.

Countries with constrictive pyramids like Japan face the challenge of supporting their outsized aging population with a diminishing working-aged population. While immigration and increasing birth rates can help in both the short and long term, due to the working population being outnumbered, countries with constrictive pyramids must find ways to increase their productivity to avoid potential declines in economic growth.

China and India’s Demographics Compared

After the world’s population reached eight billion people last year, 2023 brought a new population milestone as India overtook China as the world’s most populous country.

When you compare the two nations’ population pyramids, you can see how India’s population has a strong base of young and working-aged people compared to China’s more constrictive population pyramid that also features a higher median age.

This demographic difference is largely shaped by China’s one-child policy which since 2021 was loosened to be a three-child policy. As a result, China’s total fertility rate is around 1.2 today, in contrast to India’s total fertility rate of 2.0.

While India is set to ride the productivity boom of its large working-age population, the country will have to ensure it can keep its population pyramid stable as the majority of the population ages and total fertility rates continue to decline.