Statistics Population, World, Countries, Cities, Religions, Roman Catholic, Muslims - Worldwide Missions

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

Population Statistics

World Population Estimate

7,289,238,018

As of December 1, 2015. For most up-to-date estimate, see U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. and World Populaton Clock.

It is estimated 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 1974; to 5 billion in 1987; to 6 billion in 1999; and to 7 billion in 2011. The U. S. Census Bureau put the world population in mid-2014 at about 7.2 billion.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/Region²

Asia	4,307,000,000
Africa	1,125,000,000
Europe (incl. Russia)	743,000,000
Latin America*	611,000,000
North America**	354,000,000
Oceania (incl. Australia)	37,000,000
Antarctica	no indigenous inhabitants

*Includes South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
**Includes the United States and Canada.
Note: Asia is home to 60 percent of global population. China and India account for more than half of Asia's total population.

World Birth/Death Rates (2014 est.)¹

Birth Rate:		Death Rate:
19 births/1,000 population		8 deaths/1,000 population
134 million births per year		56.2 million people die each year
367,200 births per day		154,000 people die each day
15,300 births each hour		6420 people die each hour
255 births each minute		107 people die each minute
4.3 births each second of every day		almost 2 people die each second

Average Life Expectancy at Birth is 68 years¹

Age Structure of World's Population¹

1.85 billion people age 0-14 years (26%)

1.20 billion people age 15-24 years (17%)

2.93 billion people age 25-54 years (41%)

610 million people age 55-64 years (9%)

597 million people are 65 years and over (8%)

[Index]

Country Statistics

Ten Largest Countries in Population (2015 est.)

There are approximately 226 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	1,361,513,000
India	1,251,696,000
United States	321,363,000
Indonesia	255,994,000
Brazil	204,260,000
Pakistan	199,086,000
Nigeria	181,562,000
Bangladesh	168,958,000
Russia	142,424,000
Japan	126,920,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base

The 20 Largest Urban Areas in the World³

Urban Center	Population*
1. Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan	37,555,000
2. Jakarta, Indonesia	29,959,000
3. Delhi, India	24,134,000
4. Seoul-Incheon, South Korea	22 992 000
5. Manila, Philippines	22,710,000
6. Shanghai, China	22,650,000
7. Karachi, Pakistan	21,585,000
8. New York City, U.S.	20,661,000
9. Mexico City, Mexico	20,300,000
10. São Paulo, Brazil	20 273 000
11. Beijing (Peking), China	19,277,000
12. Guangzhou-Foshan, China	18,316,000
13. Mumbai (Bombay), India	17,672,000
14. Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, Japan	17,234,000
15. Moscow, Russia	15,885,000
16. Los Angeles, United States	15,250,000
17 Cairo, Egypt	15,206,000
18. Bangkok, Thailand	14,910,000
19. Kolkata (Calcutta), India	14,896,000
20. Dhaka, Bangladesh	14,816,000

*2014 estimates by Demographia.com which defines an urban area (urbanized area agglomeration or urban centre) as a continuously built up landmass of urban development containing a high population density, without regard for administrative boundaries (i.e. municipality, city or commune) or a labor market (i.e. metropolitan area). Population figures for the world's largest cities differ from one source to another because of the different concepts used (i.e. urban areas, urban agglomerations, metropolitan areas, etc.)

[Index]

Countries With 40% or More of the Population
0-14 Years of Age¹

Country	Population 0-14 Years of Age (%)
Afghanistan	42
Angola	43
Benin	44
Burkina Faso	45
Burundi	46
Cameroon	43
Central African Republic	41
Chad	45
Comoros	42
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	43
Congo, Republic of the	41
Equatorial Guinea	41
Eritrea	41
Ethiopia	44
Gabon	42
Gaza Strip	43
Guinea	42
Guinea-Bissau	40
Kenya	42
Liberia	43
Madagascar	41
Malawi	47
Mali	48
Mauritania	40
Mozambique	45
Niger	50
Nigeria	43
Rwanda	42
Sao Tome and Principe	44
Senegal	43
Sierra Leone	42
Somalia	44
South Sudan	46
Sudan	41
Tanzania	45
Timor-Leste	42
Togo	41
Uganda	49
Yemen	42
Zambia	46

[Index]

Countries With Lowest Life Expectancy¹
(under 56 yrs.)

Country	Life Expectancy (yrs.)
Afghanistan	50.0
Angola	55.3
Botswana	54.1
Burkina Faso	54.8
Central African Republic	51.4
Chad	49.4
Gabon	52.0
Guinea-Bissau	49.9
Lesotho	52.7
Mali	54.9
Mozambique	52.6
Namibia	51.9
Niger	54.7
Nigeria	52.6
Somalia	51.6
South Africa	49.6
Swaziland	50.5
Uganda	54.5
Zambia	51.8
Zimbabwe	53.9

[Index]

Major Muslim Countries of the World¹
(% of population)

Country	Muslim (%)
Afghanistan	99
Albania	57
Algeria	99 (predominantly Sunni)
Azerbaijan	93
Bahrain	70
Bangladesh	90
Brunei	79
Burkina Faso	61
Chad	53
Comoros	98 (Sunni)
Djibouti	94
Egypt	90 (predominantly Sunni)
Gambia, The	90
Guinea	85
Guinea-Bissau	50
Indonesia	87
Iran	99
Iraq	97
Jordan	97 (predominantly Sunni)
Kazakhstan	70
Kuwait	77
Kyrgyzstan	75
Lebanon	54
Libya	97
Malaysia	61
Maldives	Sunni Muslim
Mali	95
Mauritania	100
Morocco	99
Niger	80
Nigeria	50
Oman	86
Pakistan	96
Qatar	78
Saudi Arabia	100
Senegal	94
Sierra Leone	60
Somalia	Sunni Muslim
Sudan	Sunni Muslim
Syria	87
Tajikistan	90
Tunisia	99
Turkey	99.8
Turkmenistan	89
United Arab Emirates	76
Uzbekistan	88
Yemen	99

[Index]

Major Roman Catholic Countries of the World¹
(% of population)

Country	Roman Catholic (%)
Argentina	92% (less than 20% practicing)
Austria	74
Belgium	75
Bolivia	95
Brazil	65
Burundi	62
Chile	68
Colombia	90
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	50
Costa Rica	76
Croatia	86
Cuba	85 (nominally)
Dominican Republic	95
Ecuador	95
El Salvador	57
France	83-88
Grenada	53
Guam	85
Haiti	80
Honduras	97
Ireland	85
Italy	80
Lithuania	77
Luxembourg	87
Malta	98
Mexico	83
Nicaragua	59
Panama	85
Paraguay	90
Peru	81
Philippines	83
Poland	90 (about 75% practicing)
Portugal	81
Puerto Rico	85
Rwanda	50
Sao Tome and Principe	58
Slovakia	62
Slovenia	58
Spain	94
Timor-Leste	97
Venezuela	96 (nominally)

[Index]

Major Religions of the World (2013)²

Christians	2,347,171,000
Roman Catholics	1,206,990,000
Protestants	526,020,000
Independents*	399,793,000
Orthodox	278,807,000
Muslims	1,633,173,000
Hindus	987,513,000
Buddhists	509,046,000
Chinese folk religionists	436,179,000
Sikhs	25,150,000
Jews	13,862,000

*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.

Languages of the World

There are 7,106 known living languages in the world today. 389 (or approximately 6%) of the world's languages have at least one million speakers and account for 94% of the world's population. By contrast, the remaining 94% of languages are spoken by only 6% of the world's people. Languages spoken by the most people ("first language" speakers) are Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, Javanese.
Source: Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 17th ed. www.ethnologue.com

Notes from The World Factbook:
1. All told, there are an estimated 7,100 languages spoken in the world; aproximately 80% of these languages are spoken by less than 100,000 people; about 50 languages are spoken by only 1 person; communities that are isolated from each other in mountainous regions often develop multiple languages; Papua New Guinea, for example, boasts about 836 separate languages.
2. Approximately 2,300 languages are spoken in Asia, 2,150 in Africa, 1,300 in the Pacific, 1,060 in the Americas, and 280 in Europe.

References

1. The World Factbook (CIA).
2. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2015, ©2015.
3. Demographia World Urban Areas. 10th Annual edition. May, 2014 Revision. www.demographia.com
4. Biblical Missions: History, Principles, Practice by Roy F. Dearmore. Garland, Tex.: Rodgers Baptist Church, ©1997.

The Harvest Fields • Statistics 2015