Quiz of the Day
World Population Day
Saturday, 11 July 2026
8 billion humans and counting — the demographics, records, and surprises behind global population
1. The United Nations designated July 11 as World Population Day to mark which milestone reached on that date in 1987?
- 5 billion people on Earth
- The establishment of the UN Population Fund
- The first global census
- 3 billion births since 1945
The '5 billion' milestone prompted the creation of World Population Day by the UN Development Programme in 1989. It took all of human history until 1804 to reach 1 billion people, then just 123 more years to reach 2 billion — and the pace has only accelerated since.
2. Approximately when did the world's population reach 8 billion people?
- 2021
- 2019
- 2025
- 2022
The 8 billion milestone was marked by the UN on November 15, 2022. Demographers project the population will peak somewhere between 9 and 11 billion later this century before potentially declining, as fertility rates drop across much of the developing world.
3. Which country surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation in 2023?
- United States
- Indonesia
- Nigeria
- India
India overtook China in early 2023 to become the world's most populous country with over 1.4 billion people. While India's population continues growing, China's has begun to shrink — a historic shift partly driven by the legacy of the one-child policy introduced in 1980.
4. What percentage of the world's population lives in Asia (roughly)?
- 40%
- 50%
- 70%
- 60%
About 4.7 billion of Earth's 8 billion people live in Asia — roughly 60%. China and India alone account for over a third of all humans alive. By contrast, the entire continent of Oceania (including Australia) is home to less than 1% of the global population.
5. The total fertility rate needed to maintain a stable population (without migration) is approximately how many children per woman?
- 3.2
- 1.5
- 2.1
- 2.8
The 2.1 figure accounts for childhood mortality — slightly more than 2 children per woman are needed to replace both parents because some children won't survive to reproduce. More than half the world's countries now have fertility rates below this replacement level, including much of Europe, East Asia, and Latin America.
6. Which continent has the world's fastest-growing population?
- South America
- Asia
- North America
- Africa
Africa's population of about 1.4 billion is expected to double by 2050, reaching nearly 3 billion. Nigeria alone is projected to overtake the United States as the world's third most populous country. By 2100, Africa could hold 40% of all humans on Earth.
7. What is the most populous city in the world by urban agglomeration?
- Shanghai
- Beijing
- Delhi
- Tokyo
Greater Tokyo is home to about 37-38 million people — roughly equivalent to the entire population of Canada. Despite this, Japan's overall population is shrinking, and Tokyo itself faces a looming depopulation crisis as young Japanese increasingly delay or forgo marriage and children.
8. In which year did the global average life expectancy at birth first exceed 70 years?
- 1995
- 2000
- 2013
- 1980
Global life expectancy crossed 70 in 2013, a staggering achievement given that global average life expectancy was under 50 as recently as 1950. The improvement is driven by reductions in child mortality, better nutrition, vaccines, and improvements in managing infectious diseases.
9. What proportion of the world's population currently has access to the internet?
- Around 55%
- Around 65%
- Around 80%
- Around 40%
Internet access crossed 5 billion users around 2022-2023, representing roughly 65% of the global population. The remaining unconnected population is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and rural Asia. Mobile internet has been the primary driver of connection in the developing world, leapfrogging fixed broadband entirely.
10. The 'demographic dividend' refers to the economic boost a country can receive when what happens?
- Birth rates and death rates equalise
- A large working-age population outweighs dependents
- Population doubles rapidly
- High migration improves skills mix
The demographic dividend occurs during the transition period when falling birth rates mean fewer children to support while the large generation born earlier is still of working age. East Asia's economic miracle in the 1980s-2000s was partly fuelled by this dividend — economists estimate it contributed 25-40% of the growth.
11. Which country has the world's highest population density among nations with a population over 1 million?
- South Korea
- Singapore
- Netherlands
- Bangladesh
Bangladesh packs about 170 million people into an area roughly the size of England — one of the most extraordinary population densities on Earth. Despite this, Bangladesh has made remarkable development gains over the past 30 years, dramatically reducing poverty and child mortality.
12. What is the world's least populous independent country?
- Vatican City
- Liechtenstein
- San Marino
- Nauru
Vatican City has a population of around 800 people, making it by far the world's smallest country by population. It's notable that most 'citizens' aren't born there — citizenship is typically granted to those who work for the Holy See, and revoked if they leave service.
13. Approximately how many people are born on Earth every day?
- 250,000
- 385,000
- 500,000
- 100,000
About 385,000 babies are born every day — roughly 4.5 per second. About 150,000 people die each day, giving a net gain of around 235,000 people per day. At this rate, the global population grows by nearly 80 million people per year — more than the entire population of Germany.
14. Which US state has the highest population?
- New York
- Florida
- Texas
- California
California has about 39 million people — more than Canada. If California were an independent country, its economy would rank as the world's 5th largest, ahead of the UK and India. Texas is growing fastest and could overtake California in population within a few decades.
15. Thomas Malthus, the 18th-century clergyman who wrote about population limits, warned that what would ultimately check population growth?
- Technological stagnation
- Environmental exhaustion
- War and political collapse
- Disease, famine, and moral restraint
Malthus's 1798 Essay on Population argued that population grows exponentially while food production grows arithmetically, inevitably leading to catastrophic 'positive checks' like famine and disease. He was largely wrong — technological innovation massively outpaced his predictions — but Malthusian thinking still influences population debates today.