12,000 Years of World Population (10,000 BC – 2100)

The 15 most populous countries race from 10,000 BC to 2100 while a world map fills with dots, one for every million people: 199 dots in year 0, 8,194 today and more than 10,000 at the 2084 peak. In HYDE's 10,000 BC estimate the most populous territory is today's Mexico, with about 810,000 people; China leads from 5000 BC, India from 4000 BC, China again from 1760 and India since 2022. Everything before 1800 is a model estimate, not a count. Crimea is drawn as part of Ukraine, following UN General Assembly resolution 68/262, which is also how the UN's population figures count its people. Ireland before 1950 is rebuilt on today's borders from the CSO's censuses (1841–1946) and island-wide estimates scaled to the 26 counties, and the UK has Ireland taken out for 1810–1929, because the long-run series counts the whole island inside the UK in those years. The world total is Our World in Data's own world series, so it does not change. How it's built: the left side is a bar race of the 15 largest populations at each step, with exact figures and bars coloured by continent. On the map, every dot is one million people. Dots are placed around Natural Earth's cities and towns, weighted by their size and kept inside each country's borders, so they show roughly where people live today rather than exactly where they lived in a given century. Population comes from Our World in Data's long-run series: HYDE 3.3 model estimates up to 1799, Gapminder for 1800–1949 and, from 1950, the UN's World Population Prospects 2024, whose medium projection supplies the years 2024 to 2100. Every figure is for a country's present-day land. Before 1800 they are model estimates, so some countries share the same round number for centuries, and a few figures jump in 1800 and 1950, where the sources meet; places with fewer than 100 people, or with no estimate yet, are not listed. All 338 steps get the same screen time (1,000-year steps until year 0, then 100-year, 10-year from 1700 and yearly from 1800), and every country keeps today's borders and flag throughout. 0:00 10,000 BC: 1,000-year steps 0:30 Year 0: 100-year steps 1:17 1700: 10-year steps 1:44 1800: one year per step 6:17 1900 8:34 1950: UN estimates begin 10:51 2000 11:56 2024: UN projection begins 13:07 2050 14:16 2075 to 2100 Data sources: population, Our World in Data long-run series built from HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN World Population Prospects 2024 (accessed 2026-09-28); map, borders and city locations, Natural Earth; Ireland before 1950, Central Statistics Office census counts 1841–1946 plus Gapminder, Maddison and Dickson, Ó Gráda and Daultrey all-island estimates. Music: "Heaven and Hell" by Jeremy Blake (YouTube Audio Library) A new data video every day. Subscribe to Cat-alytics 🐱 #India #China #Mexico #Nigeria #WorldPopulation #Population #BarChartRace