How many people have ever lived?

Around 8 billion people are alive today. Now count everyone ever born since modern humans first appeared, roughly 190,000 BCE. How many is that?

Reveal the answer

About 117 billion, by the Population Reference Bureau's estimate. So roughly 7% of all the people who have ever been born are alive right now.

— Toshiko Kaneda and Carl Haub, How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth? — Population Reference Bureau

One credited idea per card. No filler. Swipe the rest in Savvy.

Keep swiping — it's free Works right in your browser. No app store needed.

More Politics & Society

All Politics & Society cards →

Five ideas worth knowing, every week

The week's best cards and a puzzle, credited as always. Free, unsubscribe any time.