Information is provided by a table which shows the total population and its regional distribution in 1950, 2000 and projections for 2050.
Overall, the global population increases significantly, and Asia stands out as the region with the highest population across the 100-year period while Oceania has the least. Also, Africa is expected to see it population grow significantly whereas Europe will see its population share fall.
In 1950 the world population stood at 2.5 billion inhabitants. By 2000, this figure had more than doubled to 6 billion. This increasing trend is set to continue, and by 2050, the global population is estimated to reach 9 billion people.
In 1950, Asia was home to more than half the global population (56%), and by the turn of the century, its share of world population had reached 60%. This figure is set to only drop slightly to 59% by 2050. Another noticeable feature is that Africa is set to more than double its percentage of global population across the period, going from just 9% in 1950 to 20% by 2050. This is largely at the expense of Europe which will fall from 22% to only 7%. North America’s share of global population is expected to see a moderate decline from 7% in 1950 to only 4% by 2050. In contrast, Latin America’s share will increase over the period going from 6% to 9%. Oceania, which will have the lowest population, accounts for approximately 1% in all three given years.