Demographics
Verified dataFrom 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.
CSV · 78,536 rows · 1950–2024
World population grew from about 2.5 billion in 1950 to 8.2 billion in 2024, a 3.3-fold rise. Asia holds roughly 59% of people, and Africa's share has doubled to about 19%, making it the fastest-growing region.
Key findings
- World population more than tripled between 1950 and 2024, from 2.5 to 8.2 billion.
- Asia is home to about 59% of people; Africa's share has roughly doubled to 19% since 1950.
- Europe's share fell from about 22% in 1950 to 9% today as its population grew far more slowly.
Explore the data
Coverage: Jan 1, 1950 – Dec 31, 2024 · World
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Sources
Primary source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024)
via Our World in Data
Population by world region
Accessed Aug 22, 2026
Mid-year population by continent, 1950–2024; continents sum to the world total.
Methodology
Mid-year population by continent (Our World in Data's continental groupings), 1950 to 2024, in billions. “Americas” combines North and South America. Data are from the UN World Population Prospects (2024), distributed via Our World in Data.
What this does not show
Regions are Our World in Data's continental groupings; the “Americas” band combines North and South America. Figures from 1950 onward are UN estimates and are rounded, and the continents sum to the world total to within rounding (Antarctica is negligible).
Creator
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License: CC BY 4.0
Embed code
<figure style="margin:0;max-width:1600px">
<a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/world-population-by-region-1950-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
<img src="https://chartive.org/infographics/world-population-by-region-1950-2024.png" alt="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%." width="1600" height="2133" style="max-width:100%;height:auto" />
</a>
<figcaption style="font:14px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#57534e;margin-top:8px">
Graphic by Mara Ellison, using data from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) — via <a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/world-population-by-region-1950-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chartive</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Reuse is welcome — the embed keeps a link back to the source.
