Total and urban population

In 2017, the world population grew at an annual rate of 1.1 per cent - half the rate of 50 years ago. The year 1969 marked a peak in population growth, when the growth rate was 2.1 per cent. Population growth dropped considerably during the 1970s and 1990s. From 2003 to 2008, it remained almost unchanged, staying between 1.2 and 1.3 per cent, and since then has fallen slightly again. Population growth is forecast to continue decreasing, falling to an annual rate of only 0.5 per cent by 2050.

Geographic distribution

Many Asian economies are home to particularly large populations relative to the geographic space available. One third of the world population lives, in almost equal proportions, in China and India. Among the ten most populated economies worldwide, the population of Nigeria, the seventh largest, is the fastest growing.

Around the world, slightly more people live in urban than in rural areas. The proportion of urban population is growing and is forecast to increase from 55 per cent in 2017 to 68 per cent by 2050.

Africa has a particularly small share of urban population. In 2017, 42 per cent of African people lived in cities. In many Eastern African economies, the share was less than 30 per cent. Large parts of Southern and South-Eastern Asia are also predominantly rural, with an urban population share of less than 50 per cent for developing economies in Asia and Oceania on average. By contrast, in American developing economies, urban populations are as high as in developed economies, accounting for, on average, 80 per cent in 2017.