Demographic facts for the world population

This page presents demographic facts on the world population.

Developed and Developing Regions
Population size and density

Age distribution and life expectancy

The designation “developed countries” and “developing countries” follows the geographical definition of the United Nations Statistics Division, http://unstats.un.org (accessed May 2011). These definitions are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process.

Developed regions of the world comprise Europe, Northern America, Japan, Australia & New Zealand (which form part of Oceania). Oceania is a diverse group of countries (mainly islands) in the Pacific Ocean and its vicinity. There are four sub-regions: Australasia (including Australia and New Zealand), Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The latter three sub-regions comprise thousands of small islands in the Central, Southern and Western Pacific Ocean.

Developing regions comprise all of Africa, Asia (excluding Japan), Latin America & the Caribbean plus Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia in Oceania.

section updated 19/09/11

The estimated population of the world in 2008 was 6.75 billion people (Table 11.1), increasing by around 79 million people each year.1 The world population is forecast to reach 7 billion people by late 2011, and 9.1 billion by 2050. Around four-fifths of the world’s population live in the less developed regions of the world, and the vast majority of the world’s population growth is expected to occur in these areas. By 2050, some 87% of the world’s population are expected to reside in the developing countries.1

Table 11.1: Population Measures and Cancer Incidence and Mortality, Regions of the World, Estimates Between 2005 and 2010

	Population			Life Expectancy	Number of New Cancer Cases*		Number of Cancer Deaths*
	2008 Estimates [Total] 2010 Estimates [by Age]			2005-2010 estimates	2008 estimates		2008 estimates
	Total (1000's)	% Under 15	% Over 60	Years	Total	% of World Total	Total	% of World Total
Africa	987,092	40%	5%	54	715,571	6	541,779	7
Eastern Africa	310,570	44%	5%	53	221,076	2	173,676	2
Middle Africa	122,501	45%	5%	48	66,895	1	53,229	1
Northern Africa	205,814	31%	7%	68	164,350	1	120,801	2
Southern Africa	56,936	31%	7%	52	79,179	1	54,818	1
Western Africa	291,270	43%	5%	51	184,071	1	139,255	2
Asia	4,075,309	26%	10%	69	6,092,359	48	4,072,332	54
Eastern Asia	1,546,825	19%	14%	74	3,720,658	29	2,440,351	32
South-Central Asia	1,728,752	31%	7%	64	1,423,213	11	979,914	13
South-Eastern Asia	575,626	27%	9%	70	725,446	6	501,046	7
Western Asia	224,106	32%	7%	71	223,042	2	151,021	2
Europe	731,568	15%	22%	75	3,208,882	25	1,715,240	23
Central and Eastern Europe	293,488	15%	19%	69	983,408	8	626,007	8
Northern Europe	97,918	17%	23%	79	482,080	4	242,422	3
Southern Europe	152,316	15%	24%	80	713,401	6	382,773	5
Western Europe	187,846	16%	24%	80	1,029,993	8	464,038	6
Latin American and Caribbean	576,102	28%	10%	73	906,008	7	542,051	7
Caribbean	41,629	27%	12%	72	79,347	1	47,842	1
Central America	149,580	30%	9%	75	176,564	1	108,328	1
South America	384,892	27%	10%	73	650,097	5	385,881	5
Northern America	345,053	20%	18%	79	1,603,870	13	638,328	8
Oceania	34,937	24%	15%	76	135,864	1	55,072	1
More Developed Regions	1,229,219	17%	22%	77	5,555,281	44	2,744,840	36
Less Developed Regions	5,520,843	29%	9%	66	7,107,273	56	4,819,962	64
World	6,750,062	27%	11%	68	12,662,554	100	7,564,802	100

* All cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer. Kaposi sarcoma is included for Sub-Saharan Africa countries only.

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China and India are by far the most populated countries in the world, accounting for 20% and 18% of the world’s total population in 2008, respectively.1 Between 2003 and 2008, approximately a third (32%) of the world’s population growth of around 400 million people occurred in India and China, and India is expected to overtake China to become the world’s most populated country by 2030. The UK accounted for less than 1% of the world’s total population in 2008.1

section updated 19/09/11

The world population is ageing.1 Between 1970 and 2010, the world median age increased from 22 years to 29 years, and it is projected to reach 38 years by 2050. The number of people in the world aged 60 and over is expected to almost triple to 2 billion by 2050.1 Since cancer is predominantly a disease of the elderly, increases in the number of older people will inevitably lead to more cases of cancer, even if current incidence rates remain the same.

There are large differences in the distribution of age groups between the different regions of the world (Table 11.1).1 More than a fifth (22%) of the population living in the more developed regions of the world was aged 60 and over in 2010 and this is expected to rise to 33% by 2050. In contrast, just 9% of the population in the less developed regions of the world was aged 60 and over in 2010, rising to an expected 20% by 2050. The median age for individual countries ranges from around 45 years (for example, in Japan and Germany) to less than 16 years (for example, in Uganda and Niger).1

The world life expectancy at birth was predicted to be almost 68 years in 2005-2010 (Table 11.1), having increased considerably from almost 47 years in the early 1950s.1 By 2050, the world life expectancy is expected to exceed 76 years. There are large differences in life expectancy between men and women (65 and 70 years, respectively), and between the more and less developed regions of the world (77 and 66 years, respectively). Life expectancy for individual countries ranges from more than 80 years (for example, in Japan and parts of China) to less than 45 years (for example in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe).1

section updated 19/09/11