World population: size, growth and distribution
Earth’s population passed 8 billion in 2022 and is now about 8.2 billion. For most of history numbers grew slowly because famine, disease and hard conditions kept deaths high. The Industrial Revolution and medicine cut mortality; especially in 1960–1980, deaths fell sharply in Asia, Africa and Oceania, causing a “demographic explosion”. Natural increase equals the birth rate minus the death rate (per 1,000 people). Today the highest natural increase is in Africa; in Europe, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China births are few, so populations are ageing and some countries show depopulation (deaths exceed births). City life, women’s education and employment, and higher living standards lower birth rates. Population is uneven: plains, river valleys and coasts are dense (Ganges valley, eastern China), while deserts, high mountains and cold lands are sparse (Mongolia, Namibia, Canada). Density = population ÷ area; the world average is roughly 60 people per km², and Asia is the densest continent. The most populous countries are India (ahead of China since 2023), China, the USA, Indonesia and Pakistan.
“Ranking game”: students calculate natural increase from cards with birth and death rates for 4 countries and line them up by growth rate.