Topic

Population

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Demographics

For all of human history most people lived off the land. That ended in 2007.

In 1960 about a third of humanity lived in towns and cities. In 2007 the share passed half for the first time, and it is now 58%. It is a threshold our species crosses only once.

Chartive EditorialSep 11, 2026

Two stacked panels covering 1990 to 2024. The upper panel is a bar chart of international migrants in millions, rising from 154 million in 1990 to 303 million in 2024. The lower panel is a line chart of the same population as a share of world population, on a zero to five percent scale, which is nearly flat: 2.88% in 1990, dipping slightly to 2.83% in 2000, then rising gently to 3.73% in 2024.

Society

The number of migrants has doubled. Their share of humanity has barely moved.

There were 154 million people living outside their country of birth in 1990. By 2024 there were 303 million — almost exactly double. But because the world's population grew too, the share living abroad rose only from 2.88% to 3.73%.

Chartive EditorialSep 7, 2026

Line chart of children per woman from 1960 to 2024. South Korea's line falls steeply from 6.0 in 1960 to 0.72 in 2023, crossing below the dashed 2.1 replacement line in the mid-1980s, then ticks up to 0.75 in 2024. Context lines end at 2.19 for the world, 1.63 for the United States and 1.15 for Japan. An inset panel magnifies the 2010s, marking the 0.721 low point in 2023 and the rise to 0.748 in 2024.

Demographics

South Korea went from six children per woman to fewer than one — then turned

In 1960 the average South Korean woman had 6.0 children. By 2023 the figure had fallen 88% to 0.72 — the lowest rate ever recorded for a country. In 2024 it rose for the first time in nine years.

Chartive EditorialAug 31, 2026

Pictogram of 117 dots, each representing 1 billion people ever born. Eight dots are highlighted as the roughly 8 billion people alive today — about 7% of the 117 billion humans who have ever lived.

Demographics

117 billion humans have ever lived

Demographers estimate about 117 billion members of our species have ever been born. The 8 billion alive today are only about 7% of them — the other 93% came before us.

Chartive EditorialAug 26, 2026

Stacked area chart of world population by region from 1950 to 2024, rising from 2.5 to 8.2 billion. In 2024 Asia is 59%, Africa 19%, the Americas 13%, Europe 9% and Oceania under 1%.

Demographics

From 2.5 to 8 billion in 74 years

World population by region, 1950 to 2024. Humanity more than tripled in under three generations — Asia is still home to most people, while Africa has become the fastest-growing region.

Mara EllisonAug 25, 2026

Infographic comparing the world's megacities in 1975 (8 cities, led by Tokyo) and 2025 (33 cities, led by Jakarta at 41.9 million), showing a shift toward Asia and the Global South.

Demographics

The world's biggest cities moved east — and south

50 years of change in the world's megacities: from 8 in 1975 to 33 in 2025, most of them now in Asia.

Chartive EditorialAug 14, 2026

Table and bars showing the share of population aged 0–14 in 1960 vs 2025 for selected countries; South Korea falls from 41.3% to 10.2%.

Demographics

Where did all the children go?

Children made up 37.4% of the world in 1960. In 2025, they make up 24.4%. Population ages 0–14 as a share of total population, selected countries.

Chartive EditorialAug 14, 2026

Comparison bar charts of the most common milestone combinations for U.S. adults ages 25–34 in 1975 versus 2024.

Society

The path to adulthood looks very different now

The most common combinations of four traditional milestones among U.S. adults ages 25–34, 1975 vs. 2024.

Chartive EditorialAug 14, 2026