2.5 million years ago, there were an estimated 100 000 humans on Earth. The population increased dramatically to 15 million people 10 000 years ago when humans adopted agriculture, creating greater access to food and increasing life expectancy.
Over the last century, the population has increased even more rapidly, partly due to better sanitation and health care. From 1900 to 2020, the population more than quadrupled, from 1.65 billion to 7.8 billion people.
But how are people distributed around the world? Where are the major population centres? At the beginning of the 21st century, did more people live in cities or in rural areas? In developed or developing countries? This concept sheet will answer all these questions.
How can we understand the demographic changes in our world? To better understand demographic changes, it is important to understand the concepts of fertility, birth rate, mortality, life expectancy, migration, natural growth and total growth. What are the demographic characteristics of developing and developed countries? The following concept sheet can help you further explore this topic.
Demographic Changes