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Changing Distribution of World Population

By Joseph Chamie

In contrast to the rapid growth of the high fertility countries like the DRC and Nigeria, some of the largest populations in 1950, such as Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, have grown relatively slowly during the recent past. Credit: Shutterstock.

PORTLAND, US, Mar 4 2025 (IPS) - As the world’s population increased five-fold since the start of the 20th century, the changes in the geographic distribution of the billions of people across the planet have been ongoing and significant.

Those continuing changes in the distribution of the world’s population have weighty economic, political, social and environmental consequences (Table 1).

 

Source: United Nations.

 Particularly noteworthy are the changing proportions of the world’s population living in Africa and Europe. At the start of the 20th century the proportions of the world’s population residing in Africa and Europe were 8% and 25%, respectively. By the end of that century, the proportions were similar, 13% for Africa and 12% for Europe. By 2050, however, the proportions of the world’s population residing in Africa and Europe are expected to be very different at 26% and 7%, respectively (Figure 1).

 

Source: United Nations.

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