Human Population Grew Slowly Until Past Few Hundred Years

Total population by region

Chart shows the historical estimates for human populations by region over time. The total population remained fairly stable until the 1700s, when population growth started to increase dramatically.

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Data relies on historical estimates for years before 1950 and uses UN population records for 1950 and later.

Source: Gapminder (2022), Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency HYDE (2025), UN World Population Prospects (2024) via Our World in Data.Get the data