World population by year
Total world population from 200 CE to 2026 — annual figures from 1950, sparse milestones before. Includes yearly percentage change, net addition, and population density per km².
| Year | World population | Yearly % change | Net change | Density (P/km²) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8.301B 8,300,678,395 | 0.84% | +69.07M | 56 | |
| 2025 | 8.232B 8,231,613,070 | 0.85% | +69.64M | 55 | |
| 2024 | 8.162B 8,161,972,572 | 0.87% | +70.24M | 55 | |
| 2023 8 billion | 8.092B 8,091,734,930 | 0.88% | +70.33M | 54 | |
| 2022 8 billion | 8.021B 8,021,407,192 | 0.84% | +66.96M | 54 | |
| 2021 8 billion | 7.954B 7,954,448,391 | 0.86% | +67.45M | 53 | |
| 2020 8 billion | 7.887B 7,887,001,292 | 0.97% | +75.71M | 53 | |
| 2019 | 7.811B 7,811,293,698 | 1.05% | +81.39M | 52 | |
| 2018 | 7.73B 7,729,902,781 | 1.10% | +84.28M | 52 | |
| 2017 | 7.646B 7,645,617,954 | 1.15% | +87.06M | 51 | |
| 2016 | 7.559B 7,558,554,526 | 1.18% | +88.06M | 51 | |
| 2015 | 7.47B 7,470,491,872 | 1.20% | +88.88M | 50 | |
| 2014 | 7.382B 7,381,616,244 | 1.23% | +89.82M | 50 | |
| 2013 | 7.292B 7,291,793,585 | 1.26% | +90.59M | 49 | |
| 2012 | 7.201B 7,201,202,485 | 1.27% | +90.28M | 48 | |
| 2011 | 7.111B 7,110,923,765 | 1.27% | +89.19M | 48 | |
| 2010 7 billion | 7.022B 7,021,732,148 | 1.28% | +88.97M | 47 | |
| 2009 7 billion | 6.933B 6,932,766,416 | 1.29% | +88.31M | 47 | |
| 2008 | 6.844B 6,844,457,662 | 1.29% | +87.15M | 46 | |
| 2007 | 6.757B 6,757,308,781 | 1.29% | +85.86M | 45 | |
| 2006 | 6.671B 6,671,452,015 | 1.28% | +84.48M | 45 | |
| 2005 | 6.587B 6,586,970,132 | 1.29% | +83.59M | 44 | |
| 2004 | 6.503B 6,503,377,772 | 1.29% | +83.02M | 44 | |
| 2003 | 6.42B 6,420,361,634 | 1.30% | +82.63M | 43 | |
| 2002 | 6.338B 6,337,730,342 | 1.32% | +82.79M | 43 | |
| 2001 | 6.255B 6,254,936,459 | 1.35% | +83.23M | 42 | |
| 2000 | 6.172B 6,171,702,993 | 1.36% | +82.70M | 41 | |
| 1999 6 billion | 6.089B 6,089,006,339 | 1.36% | +81.94M | 41 | |
| 1998 6 billion | 6.007B 6,007,066,690 | 1.39% | +82.28M | 40 | |
| 1997 6 billion | 5.925B 5,924,787,816 | 1.42% | +82.73M | 40 | |
| 1996 | 5.842B 5,842,055,734 | 1.44% | +83.18M | 39 | |
| 1995 | 5.759B 5,758,878,982 | 1.47% | +83.33M | 39 | |
| 1994 | 5.676B 5,675,551,255 | 1.50% | +84.01M | 38 | |
| 1993 | 5.592B 5,591,544,797 | 1.55% | +85.55M | 38 | |
| 1992 | 5.506B 5,505,989,816 | 1.61% | +87.25M | 37 | |
| 1991 | 5.419B 5,418,735,891 | 1.71% | +90.93M | 36 | |
| 1990 | 5.328B 5,327,803,110 | 1.78% | +93.37M | 36 | |
| 1989 | 5.234B 5,234,431,732 | 1.80% | +92.44M | 35 | |
| 1988 | 5.142B 5,141,992,542 | 1.83% | +92.25M | 35 | |
| 1987 5 billion | 5.05B 5,049,746,397 | 1.85% | +91.67M | 34 | |
| 1986 5 billion | 4.958B 4,958,072,838 | 1.83% | +89.13M | 33 | |
| 1985 | 4.869B 4,868,943,465 | 1.81% | +86.77M | 33 | |
| 1984 | 4.782B 4,782,175,519 | 1.81% | +84.85M | 32 | |
| 1983 | 4.697B 4,697,327,573 | 1.84% | +84.65M | 32 | |
| 1982 | 4.613B 4,612,673,421 | 1.85% | +83.90M | 31 | |
| 1981 | 4.529B 4,528,777,306 | 1.83% | +81.17M | 30 | |
| 1980 | 4.448B 4,447,606,236 | 1.81% | +79.07M | 30 | |
| 1979 | 4.369B 4,368,539,528 | 1.78% | +76.44M | 29 | |
| 1978 | 4.292B 4,292,097,502 | 1.76% | +74.23M | 29 | |
| 1977 | 4.218B 4,217,863,796 | 1.78% | +73.62M | 28 | |
| 1976 | 4.144B 4,144,246,377 | 1.81% | +73.51M | 28 | |
| 1975 | 4.071B 4,070,735,277 | 1.86% | +74.32M | 27 | |
| 1974 4 billion | 3.996B 3,996,416,096 | 1.93% | +75.61M | 27 | |
| 1973 | 3.921B 3,920,805,042 | 1.97% | +75.89M | 26 | |
| 1972 | 3.845B 3,844,917,680 | 1.99% | +75.07M | 26 | |
| 1971 | 3.77B 3,769,847,865 | 2.03% | +75.16M | 25 | |
| 1970 | 3.695B 3,694,683,794 | 2.08% | +75.19M | 25 | |
| 1969 | 3.619B 3,619,491,579 | 2.10% | +74.30M | 24 | |
| 1968 | 3.545B 3,545,187,251 | 2.07% | +71.77M | 24 | |
| 1967 | 3.473B 3,473,412,880 | 2.04% | +69.37M | 23 | |
| 1966 | 3.404B 3,404,041,125 | 2.08% | +69.51M | 23 | |
| 1965 | 3.335B 3,334,533,703 | 2.15% | +70.05M | 22 | |
| 1964 | 3.264B 3,264,487,339 | 2.25% | +71.68M | 22 | |
| 1963 | 3.193B 3,192,807,828 | 2.22% | +69.43M | 21 | |
| 1962 | 3.123B 3,123,374,315 | 1.91% | +58.50M | 21 | |
| 1961 | 3.065B 3,064,869,675 | 1.64% | +49.40M | 21 | |
| 1960 3 billion | 3.015B 3,015,470,894 | 1.67% | +49.52M | 20 | |
| 1959 3 billion | 2.966B 2,965,950,351 | 1.88% | +54.70M | 20 | |
| 1958 | 2.911B 2,911,249,671 | 2.06% | +58.63M | 20 | |
| 1957 | 2.853B 2,852,618,337 | 2.05% | +57.21M | 19 | |
| 1956 | 2.795B 2,795,409,994 | 2.01% | +55.20M | 19 | |
| 1955 | 2.74B 2,740,213,792 | 2.02% | +54.32M | 18 | |
| 1954 | 2.686B 2,685,894,860 | 1.97% | +51.79M | 18 | |
| 1953 | 2.634B 2,634,106,235 | 1.94% | +50.02M | 18 | |
| 1952 | 2.584B 2,584,086,339 | 1.86% | +47.16M | 17 | |
| 1951 | 2.537B 2,536,927,035 | 1.76% | +43.83M | 17 | |
| Annual data ends · Historical estimates below (sparse) | |||||
| 1950 | 2.493B 2,493,092,848 | — | — | 17 | |
| 1927 2 billion | 2B 2,000,000,000 | — | — | 13 | |
| 1900 | 1.6B 1,600,000,000 | — | — | 11 | |
| 1850 | 1.2B 1,200,000,000 | — | — | 8 | |
| 1804 1 billion | 1B 1,000,000,000 | — | — | 7 | |
| 1760 | 770M 770,000,000 | — | — | 5 | |
| 1700 | 610M 610,000,000 | — | — | 4 | |
| 1650 | 500M 500,000,000 | — | — | 3 | |
| 1500 | 450M 450,000,000 | — | — | 3 | |
| 1400 | 350M 350,000,000 | — | — | 2 | |
| 1200 | 360M 360,000,000 | — | — | 2 | |
| 1100 | 320M 320,000,000 | — | — | 2 | |
| 1000 | 275M 275,000,000 | — | — | 2 | |
| 900 | 240M 240,000,000 | — | — | 2 | |
| 800 | 220M 220,000,000 | — | — | 1 | |
| 700 | 210M 210,000,000 | — | — | 1 | |
| 600 | 200M 200,000,000 | — | — | 1 | |
| 200 | 190M 190,000,000 | — | — | 1 | |
Data notes & methodology
Annual series (1950–2026)
Population figures are mid-year estimates from the UN World Population Prospects 2024. The WPP synthesises national census data, civil registration records, and household surveys (DHS, MICS) using Bayesian cohort-component models. 2025–2026 figures are WPP 2024 medium-variant projections.
Historical milestones (pre-1950)
Pre-1950 sparse figures draw on Gapminder v7 (1800–1949) and HYDE 3.3 (pre-1800). Uncertainty increases sharply before 1800; figures before 1000 CE should be treated as order-of-magnitude estimates only. The % change and net columns are omitted for sparse rows.
Growth rate colour coding
The rate badge and bar colour encode growth speed: dark teal ≥ 2.0% (peak growth era 1963–1972); medium ≥ 1.5%; light ≥ 1.0%; muted < 1.0% (current deceleration phase). The bar length scales net annual additions against the all-time peak of 93.4 million (1990).
Density calculation
Population density is total population divided by Earth's land area of approximately 148.9 million km². It counts the total number of persons per km² of land, regardless of habitability. For habitable land only (excluding deserts, ice caps, mountains) the effective density is roughly 2–3× higher. See the population density glossary entry for detail.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current world population in 2026?
The world population in 2026 is estimated at approximately 8.30 billion (8,300,678,395), growing at 0.84% per year — the slowest rate since the 1950s. The slowdown reflects the ongoing global fertility transition.
When did world population growth peak?
The peak annual growth rate was approximately 2.10% in 1969. The peak absolute net addition was approximately 93.4 million people in 1990 — both measures have been declining since. The lag between these two peaks reflects population momentum: a slowing rate applied to a larger base still produces large absolute additions for decades.
When did world population reach 8 billion?
The UN marked 8 billion on 15 November 2022. It took 11 years to add the last billion (from 7 billion in 2011), compared to 12 years for the billion before that — though growth is now slowing and the next billion is expected to take longer.
What data sources are used for historical population estimates?
Annual data from 1950 onward comes from UN WPP 2024. Pre-1950 sparse milestone figures draw on Gapminder v7 and HYDE 3.3. All three datasets are open-licensed. See the data sources glossary for full attribution.