How many people are in the world?

The global population reached 1 billion only around 1804, but it has grown dramatically since, hitting 7 billion in 2011 and 8 billion in late 2022. Growth is now slowing as families have fewer children; the global fertility rate has fallen to about 2.2 births per woman, down from about 5 in the 1960s. The UN projects the population will peak at around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s before slowly declining. India and China together account for over a third of humanity, and more than half of all people now live in cities. Around 130 million babies are born each year, roughly four every second.