Demographics ofEarth
Population pyramid of the world in 2022 by the UN
Population	Over 8,293,077,269 (estimated 2025)
Fertility rate	2.24 (2025)

Earth has a human population of over 8.2 billion as of 2025, with an overallpopulation density of 50 people per km² (130 per sq. mile). Nearly 60% of the world's population lives inAsia, with more than 2.8 billion in the countries ofIndia andChina combined. The percentage shares of China, India and rest of South Asia of the world population have remained at similar levels for the last few thousand years of recorded history.^[1][2]

The world's population is predominantly urban and suburban,^[3] and there has been significant migration toward cities and urban centers. The urban population jumped from 29% in 1950 to 55.3% in 2018.^[4][5] Interpolating from the United Nations prediction that the world will be 51.3% urban by 2010, Ron Wimberley, Libby Morris and Gregory Fulkerson estimated 23 May 2007 would have been the first time the urban population was more populous than the rural population in history.^[6]India andChina are the most populous countries,^[7] as thebirth rate has consistently dropped in wealthy countries and until recently remained high in poorer countries.Jakarta is thelargest urban agglomeration in the world.^[5]

As of 2024, thetotal fertility rate of the world is estimated at 2.25 children per woman,^[8] which is slightly below the global average for thereplacement fertility rate of approximately 2.33 (as of 2003).^[9] However, worldpopulation growth is unevenly distributed, with the total fertility rate ranging from the world's lowest of 0.8 inSouth Korea,^[10] to the highest of 6.7 inNiger.^[11] TheUnited Nations estimated an annual population increase of 1.14% for the year of 2000.^[12]The current world population growth is approximately 1.09%.^[5] People under 15 years of age made up over a quarter of the world population (25.18%), and people age 65 and over made up nearly ten percent (9.69%) in 2021.^[5] The world'sliteracy rate has increased dramatically in the last 40 years, from 66.7% in 1979 to 86.3% today.^[13] Lowerliteracy levels are mostly attributable topoverty^[14] and are found mostly inSouth Asia andSub-Saharan Africa.^[15]

The world population more than tripled during the 20th century from about 1.65 billion in 1900 to 5.97 billion in 1999.^[16][17][18] It reached the 2 billion mark in 1927, the 3 billion mark in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, and 5 billion in 1987.^[19] The overall population of the world is approximately 8 billion as of November 2022. Currently, population growth is fastest among low wealth,least developed countries.^[20] The UN projects a world population of 9.15 billion in 2050, a 32.7% increase from 6.89 billion in 2010.^[16]

Historical migration of human populations begins with the movement ofHomo erectus out of Africa acrossEurasia about a million years ago.Homo sapiens appear to have occupied all of Africa about 300,000 years ago, moved out of Africa 50,000 – 60,000 years ago, and had spread acrossAustralia,Asia andEurope by 30,000 years BC.Migration to the Americas took place 20,000 to 15,000 years ago, and by 2,000 years ago, most of thePacific Islands were colonized.

Until c. 10,000 years ago, humans lived ashunter-gatherers. They generally lived in small nomadic groups known asband societies. The advent of agriculture prompted theNeolithic Revolution, when access to food surplus led to the formation of permanenthuman settlements. About 6,000 years ago, the first proto-states developed inMesopotamia,Egypt'sNile Valley and theIndus Valley. Early human settlements were dependent on proximity towater and, depending on thelifestyle, othernatural resources used forsubsistence. But humans have a great capacity for altering theirhabitats by means of technology.

Since 1800, thehuman population has increased from one billion^[22] to over eight billion.^[23] In 2004, some 2.5 billion out of 6.3 billion people (39.7%) lived inurban areas. In February 2008, the U.N. estimated that half the world's population would live inurban areas by the end of the year.^[24] Problems for humans living incities include various forms of pollution andcrime,^[25] especially in inner city and suburbanslums. Both overall population numbers and the proportion residing in cities are expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.^[26]

Source: Maddison and others. (University of Groningen).^[27]

Source: Maddison and others. (University of Groningen).^[27]

The following estimates of global trends in various demographic indicators from 1950 to 2021 are fromUN DESA'sWorld Population Prospects 2022. In July 2022, UN DESA published its 2022 World Population Prospects, a biennially-updated database where key demographic indicators are estimated and projected worldwide and on the country and regional level.^[29]

Notable events in World demography:

• 1958–1961–Great Chinese Famine
• 1989 -Fall of the Berlin Wall,Revolutions of 1989
• 2020–2022–COVID-19

The world has hundreds of cities across it with most being in coastal regions. According to the latest official data, the world population is 8,209,580,000 people.[2]

As of 2010^[update], about 3 billion people live in or around urban areas.^[5]

The following table shows the populations of the top thirteen conglomerations.

Rank	City	Population	Country	Statistical concept[32]	Area (km2)[a]	Density (p/km2)
1	Tokyo	37,500,000	Japan	Metropolitan area[b]	13,500	2,777.78
2	Shanghai	24,180,000	China	Urban agglomeration[c]	3,920	6,168
3	New York City	23,600,000[33]	United States	Urban agglomeration	21,483[34]	1,098
4	Mexico City	22,460,000	Mexico	Metropolitan area (zona metropolitana)	7,815	2,490
5	Delhi	22,157,000	India	Urban agglomeration[d]	33,578	659
6	São Paulo	22,048,504[35]	Brazil	Metropolitan Area	7,946.96	2,714.45
7	Moscow	21,534,777	Russia	Metropolitan area	26,000	770
8	Lagos	21,000,000	Nigeria	Metropolitan area	1,171	17,933
9	Cairo	20,901,000	Egypt	Metropolitan area	1,709[36]	10,400
10	Karachi	20,382,881[37]	Pakistan	Metropolitan area (megacity)	3,530	4,224
11	Mumbai	20,041,000	India	Urban agglomeration	1,097[e]	18,268
12	Kolkata	15,552,000	India	Urban agglomeration	1,026[38]	15,158
13	Dhaka	14,648,000	Bangladesh	Metropolitan area (megacity)	1,600	9,155

Theworld's population is over 8 billion^[40] andEarth's total surface area (including land and water) is 510 million square kilometres (197 million square miles).^[5] Therefore, the worldwide human population density is 8 billion ÷ 510 million km² (197 million sq mi) = 15.7 people/km² (41 people/sq mi). If only the Earth's land area of 150 million km² (58 million sq mi) is taken into account, then human population density increases to 53.3 people/km² (138 people/sq mi).^[41][42]

Several of the most densely populated territories in the world arecity-states,microstates ordependencies.^[43][44] These territories share a relatively small area and a highurbanization level, with an economically specializedcity population drawing also on rural resources outside the area, illustrating the difference between high population density andoverpopulation.

The table below lists religions classified by philosophy; however, religious philosophy is not always the determining factor in local practice. Please note that this table includes heterodox movements as adherents to their larger philosophical category, although this may be disputed by others within that category. For example,Cao Đài is listed because it claims to be a separate category from Buddhism, whileHòa Hảo is not, even though they are similarnew religious movements.

The population numbers below are computed by a combination of census reports, random surveys (in countries where religion data is not collected in census, for example United States or France), and self-reported attendance numbers, but results can vary widely depending on the way questions are phrased, the definitions of religion used and the bias of the agencies or organizations conducting the survey. Informal or unorganized religions are especially difficult to count. Some organizations may wildly inflate their numbers.

Since the late 19th century, the demographics of religion have changed a great deal. Somecountries with a historically large Christian population have experienced a significant decline in the numbers of professed active Christians: seedemographics of atheism. Symptoms of the decline in active participation in Christian religious life include declining recruitment for thepriesthood andmonastic life, as well as diminishingattendance at church. On the other hand, since the 19th century, large areas ofsub-Saharan Africa have been converted to Christianity, and this area of the world has the highest population growth rate. In the realm ofWestern civilization, there has been an increase in the number of people who identify themselves assecular humanists. Despite the decline,Christianity remains the dominant religion in theWestern world, where 70% of the population is Christian.^[68] In many countries, such as the People's Republic of China, communist governments have discouraged religion, making it difficult to count the actual number of believers. However, after the collapse of communism in numerous countries of Eastern Europe and the formerSoviet Union, religious life has been experiencing resurgence there, in the form of traditionalEastern Christianity.^[69] While, Islam however has gained considerably in the Soviet Unions former republics inCentral Asia.

Following is some available data based on the work of theWorld Christian Encyclopedia:^[70]

^{[needs update]}

The annual growth in the world population over the same period is 1.41%.

Studies conducted by thePew Research Center have found that, generally, poorer nations had a larger proportion of citizens who found religion to be very important than richer nations, with the exceptions of the United States^[75] and Kuwait.^[76]

In the bookShall the Religious Inherit the Earth?,Eric Kaufmann argues that demographic trends point to religious fundamentalists greatly increasing as a share of the population over the next century.^[77][78] Other scholars have argued that this may be a form of "cultural selection" that will affect future demographics due to certain religious groups having high fertility that is unexplained by other factors such as income.^[79][80][81]

The average age of marriage varies greatly from country to country and has varied through time. Women tend to marry earlier than men and currently varies from 17.6 for women inNiger, to 32.4 for women inDenmark while men range from 22.6 inMozambique to 35.1 inSweden.^[82]

In 2021, 13.3 million babies, or about 10 per cent of the total worldwide, were born to mothers under 20 years old.^[30]

According to the 2021CIA World Factbook, around 25% of the world's population is below 15 years of age.^[84]

• 0–14 years: 25.2% (male 1,010,373,278/female 946,624,579)^[5]
• 15–64 years: 65.1% (male 2,562,946,384/female 2,498,562,457)^[5]
• 65 years and over: 9.7% (male 337,244,947/female 415,884,753) (2021 est.)^[5]
• Median Age – 31 years (male: 30.3 years, female: 31.8 years, 2021 est.)

According to a report by theGlobal Social Change Research Project, worldwide, the percent of the population age 0–14 declined from 34% in 1950 to 27% in 2010. The elderly population (60+) increased during the same period from 8% to 11%.^[85]

Globally, thegrowth rate of thehuman population has been declining since peaking in 1962 and 1963 at 2.20% per annum. In 2009, the estimated annual growth rate was 1.1%.^[87] TheCIA World Factbook gives the world annual birthrate, mortality rate, and growth rate as 1.915%, 0.812%, and 1.092% respectively^[5] The last one hundred years have seen a rapid increase in population due tomedical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity^[88] made possible by theGreen Revolution.^[89][90][91]

The actual annual growth in the number of humans fell from its peak of 88.0 million in 1989, to a low of 73.9 million in 2003, after which it rose again to 75.2 million in 2006. Since then, annual growth has declined. In 2009, the human population increased by 74.6 million, which is projected to fall steadily to about 41 million per annum in 2050, at which time the population will have increased to about 9.2 billion.^[87] Each region of the globe has seen great reductions in growth rate in recent decades, though growth rates remain above 2% in some countries of theMiddle East andSub-Saharan Africa, and also inSouth Asia,Southeast Asia, andLatin America.^[87]

Some countries experiencednegative population growth, especially inEastern Europe mainly due to lowfertility rates, high death rates andemigration. InSouthern Africa, growth is slowing due to the high number ofHIV-related deaths. SomeWestern Europe countries might also encounter negative population growth.^[92]Japan's population began decreasing in 2005.^[93]

Population in the world increased from 1990 to 2008 with 1,423 billion and 27% growth. Measured by persons, the increase was highest inIndia (290 million) and China (192 million). Population growth was highest inQatar (174%) andUnited Arab Emirates (140%).^[94]

In 2022, the world population reached 8 billion. The latest projections by theUnited Nations suggest that the global population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100.^[30]

More than half of the projected increase in global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just eightcountries:Democratic Republic of the Congo,Egypt,Ethiopia,India,Nigeria,Pakistan,Philippines andTanzania.^[30]

Rank	Country	Population (thousands)[31]			Growth (%) 1990–2010
		1990	2010	2023
	World	5,306,425	6,895,889	8,035,118	30.0%
1	India	873,785	1,224,614	1,428,627	40.2%
2	China	1,145,195	1,341,335	1,425,671	17.1%
3	United States	253,339	310,384	331,002	22.5%
4	Indonesia	184,346	239,871	273,523	30.1%
5	Pakistan	111,845	173,593	220,892	55.2%
6	Brazil	149,650	194,946	212,559	30.3%
7	Nigeria	97,552	158,423	206,139	62.4%
8	Bangladesh	105,256	148,692	164,689	41.3%
9	Russia	148,244	142,958	145,934	−3.6%
10	Mexico	86,007	114,092	128,932	32.7%

In 2021, most births worldwide occurred in two regions:sub-Saharan Africa(29 per cent of global births), the region with the highest fertility level, Central andSouthern Asia (28 per cent of global births) and Eastern andSouth-Eastern Asia (18 per cent).^[30]

The 10 countries with the highest estimated number of births in 2021 according to theWorld Population Prospects 2022 of theUnited Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.^[95]

Rank	Country	Number of births (2021)
1	India	23,114,000
2	China	10,881,567
3	Nigeria	7,923,294
4	Pakistan	6,374,741
5	Indonesia	4,496,383
6	Democratic Republic of the Congo	4,034,953
7	Ethiopia	3,895,734
8	United States	3,722,822
9	Bangladesh	3,019,672
10	Brazil	2,760,958

As of 2009, the average birth rate (unclear whether this is the weighted average rate per country [with each country getting a weight of 1], or the unweighted average of the entire world population) for the whole world is 19.95 per year per 1000 total population, a 0.48% decline from 2003's world birth rate of 20.43 per 1000 total population.

According to theCIA – The World Factbook, the country with the highest birth rate currently is Niger at 51.26 births per 1000 people. The country with the lowest birth rate is Japan at 7.64 births per 1000 people. Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, is at 7.42 births per 1000 people. As compared to the 1950s, birth rate was at 36 births per 1000 in the 1950s,^[97] birth rate has declined by 16 births per 1000 people. In July 2011, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced that the adolescent birth rate continues to decline.^[98]

Birth rates vary even within the same geographic areas. In Europe, as of July 2011, Ireland's birth rate is 16.5 percent, which is 3.5 percent higher than the next-ranked country, the UK. France has a birth rate of 12.8 per cent while Sweden is at 12.3 percent.^[99] In July 2011, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced a 2.4% increase in live births in the UK in 2010 alone.^[100] This is the highest birth rate in the UK in 40 years.^[100] By contrast, the birth rate in Germany is only 8.3 per 1,000, which is so low that both the UK and France, which have significantly smaller populations, produced more births in 2010.^[101] Birth rates also vary within the same geographic area, based on different demographic groups. For example, in April 2011, the U.S. CDC announced that the birth rate for women over the age of 40 in the U.S. rose between 2007 and 2009, while it fell among every other age group during the same time span.^[102] In August 2011, Taiwan's government announced that its birth rate declined in the previous year, despite the fact that it implemented a host of approaches to encourage its citizens to have babies.^[103]

Birth rates ranging from 10 to 20 births per 1000 are considered low, while rates from 40 to 50 births per 1000 are considered high. There are problems associated with both an extremely high birth rate and an extremely low birth rate. High birth rates can cause stress on the government welfare and family programs to support a youthful population. Additional problems faced by a country with a high birth rate include educating a growing number of children, creating jobs for these children when they enter the workforce, and dealing with the environmental effects that a large population can produce. Low birth rates can put stress on the government to provide adequate senior welfare systems and also the stress on families to support the elders themselves. There will be less children or working age population to support the constantly growing aging population.

The ten countries with the highest and lowest crude birth rate, according to the 2018 and 2022CIA World Factbook estimates, are:^[104]

(These lists include independent countries only, not regions.)^{[But St Pierre & Miquelon is not a country.]}

Rank (2022) Country Highest (2022) 1 Niger 47.08 2 Angola 41.80 3 Benin 41.15 4 Mali 41.07 5 Uganda 40.94 6 Chad 40.45 7 DRC 40.08 8 Somalia 37.98 9 South Sudan 37.69 10 Mozambique 37.47		Rank (2022) Country Lowest (2022) 1 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 6.47 2 Monaco 6.66 3 Andorra 6.88 4 South Korea 6.92 5 Japan 6.95 6 Italy 6.95 7 Spain 7.13 8 Taiwan 7.39 9 Greece 7.61 10 Puerto Rico 7.87
Rank (2018) Country Highest (2018) 1 Angola 43.7 2 Niger 43.6 3 Mali 43.2 4 Chad 43.0 5 Uganda 42.4 6 Zambia 41.1 7 Burundi 40.9 8 Malawi 40.7 9 Somalia 39.3 10 Liberia 37.9		Rank (2018) Country Lowest (2018) 1 Monaco 6.5 2 Andorra 7.3 3 Japan 7.5 4 Portugal 8.2 5 Taiwan 8.2 6 Greece 8.3 7 South Korea 8.3 8 Bulgaria 8.5 9 Italy 8.5 10 Germany 8.6

The ten countries with the highest and lowest crude death rate, according to the 2018 and 2022CIA World Factbook estimates, are:^[105]

Rank (2022) Country Highestdeath rates (2022) (annual deaths/1000 persons) 1 Serbia 16.39 2 Romania 15.26 3 Lithuania 15.12 4 Latvia 14.65 5 Bulgaria 14.41 6 Ukraine 13.77 7 Russia 13.36 8 Estonia 13.10 9 Belarus 12.88 10 Croatia 12.88

Rank (2022) Country Lowest death rates (2022) (annual deaths/1000 persons) 1 Qatar 1.42 2 United Arab Emirates 1.56 3 Kuwait 2.25 4 Bahrain 2.82 5 Palestine,Gaza Strip 2.91 6 Oman 3.23 7 Palestine,West Bank 3.40 8 Saudi Arabia 3.42 9 Libya 3.45 10 Jordan 3.45

Rank (2018) Country Highestdeath rates (2018) (annual deaths/1000 persons) 1 South Sudan 19.30 2 Lesotho 15.10 3 Lithuania 14.80 4 Bulgaria 14.50 5 Latvia 14.50 6 Ukraine 14.30 7 Serbia 13.60 8 Russia 13.40 9 Afghanistan 13.20 10 Belarus 13.20

Rank (2018) Country Lowest death rates (2018) (annual deaths/1000 persons)[i] 1 Qatar 1.60 2 United Arab Emirates 1.70 3 Kuwait 2.30 4 Bahrain 2.80 5 Oman 3.30 6 Saudi Arabia 3.30 7 Jordan 3.40 8 Singapore 3.50 9 Brunei 3.70 10 Libya 3.70

Seelist of countries by mortality rate for worldwide statistics.

According to theWorld Health Organization, the 10 leadingcauses of death in 2002 were:

1. 12.6%Ischemic heart disease
2. 9.7%Cerebrovascular disease
3. 6.8%Lower respiratory infections
4. 4.9%HIV/AIDS
5. 4.8%Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
6. 3.2%Diarrhoeal diseases
7. 2.7%Tuberculosis
8. 2.2%Trachea/bronchus/lung cancers
9. 2.2%Malaria
10. 2.1%Road traffic accidents

Causes of death vary greatly between first and third world countries.

According toJean Ziegler (theUnited Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food for 2000 to March 2008), mortality due tomalnutrition accounted for 58% of the total mortality in 2006: "In the world, approximately 62 millions people, all causes of death combined, die each year. In 2006, more than 36 millions died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies inmicronutrients".^[107]

Of the roughly 150,000 people who died each day across the globe, about two-thirds—100,000 per day—died of age-related causes in 2001, according to an article which counts all deaths "due to causes that kill hardly anyone under the age of 40" as age-related.^{[108][better source needed]} In industrialized nations, the proportion was even higher according to that article, reaching 90%.^[108]

TheTotal fertility rate is the average number of children born per mother. In 2021, fertility levels high were found in sub-Saharan Africa (4.6 births per woman), Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand (3.1), Northern Africa and Western Asia(2.8), and Central and Southern Asia (2.3).^[30]

There is an inverse correlation betweenincome and fertility, whereindeveloped countries usually have a much lowerfertility rate. Variousfertility factors may be involved, such as education and urbanization.Mortality rates are low,birth control is understood and easily accessible, and costs are often deemed very high because of education, clothing, feeding, and social amenities. With wealth, contraception becomes affordable. However, in countries like Iran where contraception was made artificially affordable before the economy accelerated, birth rate also rapidly declined. Further, longer periods of time spent getting higher education often mean women have children later in life.^[109] Female labor participation rate also has substantial negative impact on fertility. However, this effect is neutralized among Nordic or liberalist countries.^{[110][further explanation needed]}

Inundeveloped countries on the other hand, families desire children for their labour and as caregivers for their parents in old age. Fertility rates are also higher due to the lack of access tocontraceptives, generally lower levels offemale education, patriarchal culture and lower rates of female employment in industry.

Total fertility rates by region, 2010–2015

Total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman.

The average number of hospital beds per 1,000 population is 2.94. It is highest in Switzerland (18.3) and lowest in Mexico (1.1)^[113]

96% of the urban population has access to improved drinking water, while only 78% of rural inhabitants have improved drinking water. A total average of 87% of urban and rural have access to improved drinking water.

76% of the urban population has access to sanitation facilities, while only 45% of the rural population has access. A total world average of 39% do not have access to sanitation facilities.

As of 2009, there are an estimated 33.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS, which is approximately 0.8% of the world population, and there have been an estimated 1.8 million deaths attributed to HIV/AIDS.

As of 2010, 925 million people are undernourished.^[114]

Life Expectancy at Birth:

• total population: 71.4 years
• male: 69.1 years
• female: 73.8 years (2015 est.)^[112]

The value for the entireworld population is 1.02 males/female,^[5] with 1.07 at birth, 1.06 for those under 15, 1.02 for those between 15 and 64, and 0.78 for those over 65.

TheNorthern Mariana Islands have the highest female ratio with 0.77 males per female.Qatar has the highest male ratio, with 2.87 males/female. For the group aged below 15,Sierra Leone has the highest female ratio with 0.96 males/female, andGeorgia and China are tied for the highest male ratio with 1.13 males/female (according to the 2006CIA World Factbook).

The "First World"G7 members all have a gender ratio in the range of 0.95–0.98 for the total population, of 1.05–1.07 at birth, of 1.05–1.06 for the group below 15, of 1.00–1.04 for the group aged 15–64, and of 0.70–0.75 for those over 65.

Countries on theArabian Peninsula tend to have a "natural" ratio of about 1.05 at birth but a very high ratio of males for those over 65 (Saudi Arabia 1.13,United Arab Emirates 2.73,Qatar 2.84), indicating either an above-average mortality rate for females or a below-average mortality for males, or, more likely in this case, a large population of aging maleguest workers. Conversely, countries ofEastern Europe (theBaltic states,Belarus,Ukraine,Russia) tend to have a "normal" ratio at birth but a very low ratio of males among those over 65 (Russia 0.46, Latvia 0.48, Ukraine 0.52); similarly,Armenia has a far above average male ratio at birth (1.17), and a below-average male ratio above 65 (0.67). This effect may be caused byemigration and higher male mortality as result of higher post-Soviet era deaths; it may also be related to the enormous (by western standards) rate of alcoholism in the former Soviet states. Another possible contributory factor is an aging population, with a higher than normal proportion of relatively elderly people: we recall that due to higher differential mortality rates the ratio of males to females reduces for each year of age.

8.7% (2010 est.)8.2% (2009 est.)note: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%–12% unemployment (2007 est.)

Worldwide,English is used widely as alingua franca and can be seen to be the dominant language at this time. The world's largest language by native speakers isMandarin Chinese which is afirst language of around 1,100 million people, or 12.44% of the population, predominantly inGreater China.Spanish is spoken by around 330 to 400 million people, predominantly in theAmericas andSpain.Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) is spoken by about 370 to 420 million speakers, mostly inIndia andPakistan.

Arabic is spoken by around 350 million people predominantly inArab world.Bengali is spoken by around 250 million people worldwide, predominantly inBangladesh and India.Portuguese is spoken by about 230 million speakers inPortugal,Brazil,East Timor, andSouthern Africa.

There are numerous other languages, grouped into nine major families:

1. Indo-European languages 46% (Europe,Western Asia,South Asia,North Asia,North America,South America, andOceania)
2. Sino-Tibetan languages 21% (East Asia,Mainland Southeast Asia, andSouth Asia)
3. Niger–Congo languages 6.4% (Sub-Saharan Africa)
4. Afroasiatic languages 6.0% (North Africa toHorn of Africa, andWestern Asia)
5. Austronesian languages 5.9% (Oceania,Madagascar, andMaritime Southeast Asia)
6. Dravidian languages 3.7% (South Asia)
7. Altaic languages (controversial combination of Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic families) 2.3% (Central Asia,North Asia (Siberia), andAnatolia)^[j]
8. Austroasiatic languages 1.7% (Mainland Southeast Asia)
9. Kra–Dai languages 1.3% (Southeast Asia)

There are also hundreds ofnon-verbal sign languages.

Total population: 83.7% over the age of 15can read and write, 88.3% male and 79.2% female^{[citation needed]}note: over two-thirds of the world's 793 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, the Arab states, South and West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005–09 est.)^{[citation needed]}

As of 2008, the school life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) for a man or woman is 11 years.^{[citation needed]}

This articlehas an unclearcitation style. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style ofcitation andfootnoting.(September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Demography
• World
• Earth
• Global culture
• Population

• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with bare URLs for citations
• Articles with bare URLs for citations from August 2025
• CS1 errors: missing periodical
• CS1 errors: missing title
• CS1 errors: bare URL
• CS1 Vietnamese-language sources (vi)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2020
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2010
• All articles containing potentially dated statements
• Wikipedia articles in need of updating from January 2025
• All Wikipedia articles in need of updating
• All articles lacking reliable references
• Articles lacking reliable references from June 2018
• Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2012
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014
• Wikipedia references cleanup from September 2016
• All articles needing references cleanup
• Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from September 2016
• All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify