The Harvest Fields • Statistics 2023
compiled by Stephen Ross


Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest. Luke 10:2

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. John 4:35

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:20a

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15b

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 1 John 4:14

Harvest Fields Index
Population Statistics: Country Statistics:
World's Total Largest Countries
Continent/Region Largest Urban Areas
Birth Rate 40%+ Under 15 Years Old
Death Rate Lowest Life Expectancy
Average Life Expectancy Muslim Countries
Age Structure Roman Catholic Countries
Major Religions    Languages References

Population Statistics

World Population Estimate5
8,010,406,088

For most up-to-date estimate, see U.S. and World Population Clock, United States Census Bureau.

The United Nations (U.N.) Population Division estimates that in 1 AD, there were 300 million people in the world; in 1250, 400 million; in 1500, 500 million. According to UN estimates, the world population reached 1 billion in 1804; rose to 2 billion 123 years later, in 1927; to 3 billion 33 years after that, in 1960; to 4 billion in 1975; to 5 billion in 1987; to 6 billion in 1999; and to 7 billion in 2011.2

The UN put the world population in mid-2022 at about 7.9 billion. It projects that the population will reach 8 billion in 2023 and 9 billion in 2037 and 10 billion in 2058.2

Between 2022 and 2050, eight countries are expected to account for more than half the increase in the world population: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tanzania.2

"To give a point of reference for the magnitude of one billion, it would require forty thousand trips around the world to equal one billion miles."4

Population by Continent/Region (2022 est.)2
Asia 4,668,124,353
Africa 1,412,334,123
Europe (incl. Russia) 748,900,859
Latin America* 655,989,894
North America** 375,709,933
Oceania (incl. Australia) 44,278,734
Antarctica no indigenous inhabitants
*Includes South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
**Includes the United States and Canada.
Note: Asia is home to about 60 percent of the global population.
China and India account for more than half of Asia's total population.

World Birth/Death Rates (2020 est.)1
Birth Rate: Death Rate:
18 births/1,000 population 8 deaths/1,000 population
135 million births each year 56.8 million people die each year
368,600 births each day 155,500 people die each day
15,360 births each hour 6480 people die each hour
259 births each minute 108 people die each minute
4.3 births each second 1.8 people die each second

Average Life Expectancy at Birth is 70.5 years
(male: 68.4 years; female: 72.6 years)1

Age Structure of World's Population
2.639 billion people age 0-19 years (33%)
4.509 billion people age 20-64 years (57%)
761 million people are 65 years and over (10%)
Source: United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Population Division 2022. World Population Prospects 2022.

Country Statistics

Ten Largest Countries in Population (July 2022 est.)1

There are approximately 228 inhabited countries and territories in the world. China is the most populous nation with 1/5 of the world's people. About half the world's people live in the first six largest countries listed below.

China 1,410,540,000
India 1,389,370,000
United States 337,340,000
Indonesia 277,330,000
Pakistan 242,920,000
Nigeria 225,080,000
Brazil 217,240,000
Bangladesh 165,650,000
Russia 142,020,000
Mexico 129,150,000

The 20 Largest Built-Up Urban Areas in the World3
Urban Area Population*
1. Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan 37,732,000
2. Jakarta, Indonesia 33,756,000
3. Delhi, DL-UP-HR, India 32,226,000
4. Guangzhou-Foshan, China 26,940,000
5. Mumbai (Bombay), India 24,973,000
6. Manila, Philippines 24,922,000
7. Shanghai, China 24,073,000
8. São Paulo, Brazil 23,086,000
9. Seoul-Incheon, South Korea 23,016,000
10. Mexico City, Mexico 21,804,000
11. New York, NY-NJ-CT, U.S. 21,509,000
12. Cairo, Egypt 20,296,000
13. Dhaka, Bangladesh 18,627,000
14. Beijing, BJ-HEB, China 18,522,000
15. Kolkata, India 18,502,000
16. Bangkok, Thailand 18,007,000
17. Shenzhen, China 17,619,000
18. Moscow, Russia 17,332,000
19. Buenos Aires, Argentina 16,710,000
20. Lagos, Nigeria 16,637,000

Note: Population figures for the world's largest cities differ from one statistical source to another because of the different concepts used (i.e. urban area, urban agglomerations, metropolitan areas, etc.)
In 2022, 57% of the world's popoulation lived in an urban area.


Countries With 40% or More of the Population 0-14 Years of Age1
Country Population
0-14 Years of Age (%)
Afghanistan 40%
Angola 47
Benin 45
Burkina Faso 42
Burundi 43
Cameroon 42
Chad 46
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 46
Congo, Republic of the 40
Gaza Strip 40
Guinea 41
Guinea-Bissau 43
Liberia 43
Mali 47
Mozambique 45
Niger 50
Nigeria 41
Senegal 41
Sierra Leone 41
Somalia 42
South Sudan 42
Sudan 40
Tanzania 42
Togo 40
Uganda 47
Zambia 42

Note: The age structure of a population affects a nation's key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while countries with older populations (high percentage ages 65 and over) need to invest more in the health sector.


Countries With Lowest Life Expectancy1
(under 60 yrs.)
Country Life Expectancy (yrs.)
Afghanistan 52.5 yrs.
Central African Republic 55.9
Chad 59.6
Lesotho 59.9
Mozambique 57.7
Sierra Leone 59.1
Somalia 56.1
South Sudan 59.7

Countries with the Largest Muslim Populations1
Rank Country Muslim Population % of Country's Population
1 Pakistan 225,899,000 96.6%
2 Indonesia 224,059,000 79.5
3 India 211,324,000 14.9
4 Bangladesh 150,497,000 88.8
5 Nigeria 103,464,000 46.6
6 Egypt 97,553,000 90.3
7 Iran 85,683,000 98.5
8 Turkey 84,509,000 98.3
9 Algeria 45,23z8,000 98.2
10 Sudan 44,434,000 92.2
11 Ethiopia 42,402,000 34.3
12 Iraq 42,157,000 97.7
13 Afghanistan 41,628,000 99.9
14 Morocco 38,073,000 99.7
15 Uzbekistan 33,408,000 96.0
16 Saudi Arabia 32,812,000 90.3
17 Yemen 31,570,000 99.2
18 Niger 26,096,000 96.4
19 China 25,893,000 1.8
20 Tanzania 21,050,000 32.3
21 Mali 19,674,000 89.0
22 Syria 19,672,000 95.3
23 Malaysia 18,808,000 56.0
24 Russia 18,227,000 12.5
25 Somalia 17,314,000 99.9

Countries with Largest Percentage of Muslims1
Country % of Muslims
Afghanistan 99.7% (predominantly Sunni)
Albania 57
Algeria 99 (official; predominantly Sunni)
Azerbaijan 97 (predominantly Shia)
Bahrain 74
Bangladesh 88
Brunei 82 (official)
Burkina Faso 63
Djibouti 94
Egypt 90 (predominantly Sunni)
Gambia, The 96
Gaza Strip 98-99 (predominantly Sunni)
Guinea 89
Indonesia 87
Iran 99.6 (official; predominantly Shia)
Iraq 95-98 (official)
Jordan 97 (official; predominantly Sunni)
Kazakhstan 70
Kosovo 96
Kuwait 75 (official)
Kyrgyzstan 90 (majority Sunni)
Lebanon 68
Libya 97 (official; Sunni)
Malaysia** 61 (official)
Maldives Sunni Muslim (official)
Mali 94
Mauritania 100 (official)
Morocco 99 (official; Sunni)
Niger 99
Nigeria* 54
Oman 86
Pakistan 97 (official)
Qatar 65
Saudi Arabia 95-100 (official)
Senegal 97
Sierra Leone 77
Somalia Sunni Muslim (official)
Sudan Sunni Muslim
Syria 87 (official)
Tajikistan 98 (predominantly Sunni)
Tunisia 99 (official, Sunni)
Turkey 99.8
Turkmenistan 93
United Arab Emirates 76 (official)
Uzbekistan 88 (mostly Sunni)
West Bank 80-85 (predominantly Sunni)
Yemen 99 (official)

*5th Largest Muslim Population in World; **23rd Largest Muslim Population in World.


Countries with Largest Percentage of Roman Catholics1
Country % of Roman Catholics
Argentina 63%
Aruba 75
Austria 55
Belgium 57
Bolivia 70
Brazil 65
Burundi 59
Chile 60
Colombia 92
Croatia 86
Ecuador 69
Equatorial Guinea 88
Ireland 78
Italy 81
Liechtenstein 74
Lithuania 77
Luxembourg 71
Malta 90 (official)
Mexico 78
Paraguay 90
Peru 60
Philippines 80
Poland 85
Portugal 80
Sao Tome and Principe 58
Seychelles 76
Slovakia 56
Slovevnia 58
Spain 58
Timor-Leste 98
Venezuela 96

Major Religions of the World (July 2022)2
Christians 2,585,944,000
  Roman Catholics 1,264,378,000
  Protestants 608,488,000
  Independents* 408,985,000
  Orthodox 297,140,000
Muslims** 1,998,744,000
Hindus 1,081,142,000
Buddhists 552,387,000
Chinese folk-religionists 481,380,000
Sikhs 28,470,000
Jews 15,003,000

*This term denotes members of Christian churches and networks that regard themselves as postdenominationalist and neo-apostolic and thus independent of historic, mainstream, organized, institutionalized, confessional, denominationalist Christianity.
**Sunnis—1,781,594,000; Shiites—199,661,000.

Languages of the World

1. There are 7,168 known living languages in the world.
2. About 40% of the world's people speak one of the eight most common languages: Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian as their first language.
3. "Approximately 80% of the languages are spoken by less than 100,000 people; about 150 languages are spoken by less then 10 people; communities that are isolated from each other in mountainous regions often develop multiple languages; Papua New Guinea, for example, boasts about 840 separate languages." (2018)
4. Roughly 40% of languages are now endangered, often with fewer than 1,000 users remaining. Meanwhile, just 23 languages account for more than half the world's population.
4. Approximately 2,300 languages are spoken in Asia, 2,140 in Africa, 1,310 in the Pacific, 1,060 in the Americas, and 290 in Europe (2020).
5. "Asia has the most indigenous languages, closely followed by Africa. Combined, they account for nearly 2/3 of the world's languages."
Sources: The World Factbook (CIA); Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 26th ed.; The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2023.

References

1. The World Factbook (CIA).
2. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2023, ©2022.
3. Demographia World Urban Areas. 18th edition. July, 2022.
4. Biblical Missions: History, Principles, Practice by Roy F. Dearmore. Garland, Tex.: Rodgers Baptist Church, ©1997.
5. U.S. and World Population Clock, United States Census Bureau.



about | contact us | terms of use | store

©1996-2023 WholesomeWords.org
"...to the glory of God."