World Population

The world population was 7.349 billion as of 1 July 2015, according to the UN Population Prospects: 2017 Revision report. This estimate is based on the de-facto definition of population counting all residents of countries regardless of their legal status or citizenship.

The global population has almost tripled during the last 65 years, but because of the declining population growth rate since 1970 it will take more than 200 years for the population to triple again. By 2100, the global population is expected to be only half as much as it is now.

The world’s population is currently made up by the residents of 196 independent countries plus about 60 dependent territories. However, nearly 60 percent of the world's population (58%) live in the 10 most populated countries. Among them, the largest country by population in the world is China, which accounts for 19 percent of the total global population. China is followed by India (18%) and the United States (4%).