The Americas' Population: 12,000 Years (10,000 BC – 2100)

The most populous countries of the Americas race across 12,000 years while the map fills with dots, one for every 500,000 people: from a single dot in 10,000 BC to more than 2,100 today. The Americas here are North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Greenland: 56 countries and territories. Mexico leads for almost the whole time before 1800 apart from the 1600s, when HYDE puts Peru ahead, and the United States leads from 1800. HYDE's reconstruction also shows the collapse after European contact, from about 60 million people in 1500 to about 10 million in 1600. 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 500,000 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 6:18 1900 8:35 1950: UN estimates begin 10:51 2000 11:57 2024: UN projection begins 13:08 2050 14:17 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. Music: "Heaven and Hell" by Jeremy Blake (YouTube Audio Library) A new data video every day. Subscribe to Cat-alytics 🐱 #UnitedStates #Mexico #Brazil #Peru #Americas #Population #BarChartRace