Chapter 2 Global Population Trends
Jan 04, 2016
Chapter 2
Global Population Trends
Chapter Outline• World Population Growth• Geographic Distribution Of The
World’s Population• Global Variation In Population Size
And Growth• Global Demographic Contrasts
Cartogram of Countries of the World by Population Size
Cartogram of Countries of the World by Population Size
World Population Growth• During the first 90% of human existence,
the population of the world had grown only to the size of today’s New York City.
• Between 1750 and 1950, the world’s population grew from 800 million to 2.5 billion.
• Since 1950 it has expanded to more than six billion.
Population Growth
YearPopulation (Millions)
Average Annual Growth Rate
Doubling Time
–8000 4
–2000 27 0.07 1,051
–500 100 0.14 498
500 198 -0.01 -5,414
1000 290 0.08 906
Population Growth
YearPopulation (Millions)
Average Annual Growth Rate
Doubling Time
1500 473 0.27 258
1800 945 0.42 163
1900 1,654 0.59 118
1920 1,860 0.61 113
1940 2,300 1.05 65
Population Growth
YearPopulation (Millions)
Average Annual Growth Rate
Doubling Time
1960 3,039 1.33 52
1980 4,454 1.69 41
2000 6,071 1.25 55
2020 7,524 1.00 69
2040 8,492 0.65 106
Doubling Time• The time required for a population to
double if the current rate of growth continues.
• The doubling time is approximately equal to 69 divided by the growth rate.
• Estimate the world’s rate of growth in the year 2003 to be 1.2% per year, the doubling time is 58 years.
Why Was Early Growth Slow?
• During the first 99% of human history death rates were high.
• During the hunting-gathering phase, life expectancy averaged 20 years. More than half of children born will died
before 5. The average woman who survived the
reproductive years would have to bear nearly 7 children to assure 2 survived to adulthood.
Why Are More Recent Increases so Rapid?• Acceleration in population after 1750 was
due to declines in the death rate that accompanied the Industrial Revolution. People were eating better, wearing
warmer clothes, bathing more often and drinking cleaner water.
• Continuing population increases are due to dramatic declines in mortality without a commensurate decline in fertility.
Redistribution of the World’s Population through Migration
• Migration streams flow from rapidly growing areas into less rapidly growing ones: Latin America and Asia to the United
States Asia to Canada Africa and Asia to Europe
• In earlier decades, as population grew dense in a region, people moved to less populated areas.
European Expansion • Europeans began to stake out the less
developed areas of the world in the 15th and 16th centuries.
• Before this expansion, Europeans represented 18% of the world’s population.
• By the 1930s, people of European origin in Europe, North America, and Oceania accounted for 35% of the world’s population.
The Urban Revolution• As recently as 1800, less than 1% of the
world’s population lived in cities of 100,000 or more.
• More than 1/3 of all humans now live in cities of that size.
• Urban populations grew in some countries even without industrialization, as places sprang up where goods and services were exchanged.
World Population Increase
Time Period Births DeathsNatural Increase
Year 132,594,000 56,826,000 75,768,000
Day 363,271 155,688 207,584
Hour 15,136 6,487 8,649
Minute 252 108 144
Second 4 2 2
Future Population GrowthMore
Developed Nations
LessDeveloped
NationsWorld
Population in 2000(millions)
1,194 4,877 6,071
Medium fertility- Projection to 2050
1,220 7,699 8,919
Low fertility -Projection to 2050
1,084 6,3257,409
High fertility- Projection to year
20501,370 9,263
10,633
How Many People Have Ever Lived?
Historical Period
# Born During the Period (billions)
Cumulative Total Born (billions)
200,000 BC to 8,000 BC
2.1 2.1
8,001 BC to AD 0 16.7 18.8
AD 1 to 1799 29.4 48.2
1800 to 1899 3.6 51.8
1900 to 1949 2.6 54.4
1950 to 2003 6.5 60.9
World’s 10 Most Populous Countries
1. People’s Republic of China
2. India3. United States4. Indonesia5. Brazil
6. Russia7. Bangladesh8. Russia9. Japan10.Nigeria