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

Worldwide Missions

The Harvest Fields
Statistics - 2007 edition
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: World's Total By Continents Birth Rate Death Rate Average Life Expectancy Age Structure	Country Statistics: Largest Countries Largest Urban Centers 45+% Under 15 Years Old Lowest Life Expectancy Muslim Countries Roman Catholic Countries
Major Religions Languages	References

Population Statistics

World Population Estimate

For most up-to-date estimate, see U.S. Census Bureau, International Programs Center

"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."⁵

World's Population by Continents³

61% of the world's population lives in the continent of Asia.

Asia	3,957,661,498
Africa	915,722,298
Europe	727,656,706
North America	518,249,404
South America	375,667,668
Oceania (incl. Australia)	33,131,988
Antarctica	no permanent population

World Birth/Death Rates (2006 est.)¹

Birth Rate:		Death Rate:
20 births/1,000 population		9 deaths/1,000 population
128.9 million births per year		57.9 million people die each year
353,015 births per day		158,857 people die each day
14,709 births each hour		6619 people die each hour
245 births each minute		110 people die each minute
4 births each second of every day		almost 2 people die each second

Average Life Expectancy at Birth is 65 years¹

At the current average life expectancy the world dies every 65 years!

Age Structure of World's Population¹

1.8 billion people under age 15 years (27.4%)

4.3 billion people age 15-64 years (65.2%)

483 million people are 65 years and over (7.4%)

[Index]

Country Statistics

Ten Largest Countries in Population

There are approximately 225 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	1,321,851,888
India	1,129,866,154
United States	301,139,947
Indonesia	234,693,997
Brazil	190,010,647
Pakistan	169,270,617
Bangladesh	150,448,339
Russia	141,377,752
Nigeria	135,031,164
Japan	127,467,972

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

The 20 Largest Urban Centers in the World²

Urban Center	Population*
1. Tokyo, Japan	35,250,000
2. Mexico City, Mexico	19,658,000
3. New York City, U.S.	18,849,000
4. São Paulo, Brazil	18,575,000
5. Mumbai (Bombay), India	18,547,000
6. Delhi, India	15,412,000
7. Shanghai, China	14,750,000
8. Kolkata (Calcutta), India	14,521,000
9. Jakarta, Indonesia	13,586,000
10. Dhaka, Bangladesh	12,834,000
11. Buenos Aires, Argentina	12,652,000
12. Los Angeles, U.S.	12,384,000
13. Karachi, Pakistan	11,916,000
14. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	11,605,000
15. Lagos, Nigeria	11,389,000
16. Cairo, Egypt	11,304,000
17. Osaka, Japan	11,276,000
18. Beijing, China	10,913,000
19. Manila, Philippines	10,898,000
20. Moscow, Russia	10,716,000

*Populations are 2006 estimates based on data from the United Nations and other official government sources. Although the above population figures differ from one source to another, the urban areas listed represent the largest in the world with minor variations in their exact ranking.

[Index]

Countries With 45% or More of the Population
0-14 Years of Age¹

Country	Population 0-14 Years of Age (%)	Population 15-64 Years of Age (%)
Afghanistan	45	53
Burkina Faso	47	51
Burundi	46	51
Chad	48	49
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	47	50
Congo, Republic of the	46	51
Gaza Strip	48	49
Madagascar	45	52
Malawi	47	51
Mali	48	49
Mauritania	46	52
Mayotte	46	52
Niger	47	51
Sao Tome and Principe	48	49
Sierra Leone	45	52
Uganda	50	48
Yemen	46	51
Zambia	46	51

[Index]

Countries With Lowest Life Expectancy
(under 50 yrs.)¹

Average life expectancy at birth of the world's population is 64.8 years.

Country	Life Expectancy (yrs.)
Afghanistan	43.3
Angola	38.6
Botswana	33.7
Burkina Faso	48.9
Central African Republic	43.5
Chad	47.5
Cote d'Ivoire	48.8
Djibouti	43.2
Equatorial Guinea	49.5
Ethiopia	49.0
Guinea	49.5
Guinea-Bissau	46.9
Kenya	48.9
Lesotho	34.4
Liberia	39.7
Malawi	41.7
Mali	49.0
Mozambique	39.8
Namibia	43.4
Niger	43.8
Nigeria	47.1
Rwanda	47.3
Sierra Leone	40.2
Somalia	48.5
South Africa	42.7
Swaziland	32.6
Tanzania	45.6
Zambia	40.0
Zimbabwe	39.3

Major Muslim Countries of the World
(% of population)¹

Country	Muslim (%)
Afghanistan	99
Albania	70
Algeria	99
Azerbaijan	93
Bahrain	81
Bangladesh	83
Brunei	67
Burkina Faso	50
Chad	51
Comoros	98
Djibouti	94
Egypt	90
Gambia, The	90
Gaza Strip	99
Guinea	85
Indonesia	88
Iran	98
Iraq	97
Jordan	92
Kuwait	85
Kyrgyzstan	75
Lebanon	60
Libya	97
Malaysia	60
Maldives	Sunni Muslim
Mali	90
Mauritania	100
Mayotte	97
Morocco	99
Niger	80
Nigeria	50
Oman	75
Pakistan	97
Qatar	95
Saudi Arabia	100
Senegal	94
Sierra Leone	60
Somalia	Sunni Muslim
Sudan	70
Syria	74
Tajikistan	90
Tunisia	98
Turkey	99.8
Turkmenistan	89
United Arab Emirates	96
Uzbekistan	88
West Bank	75
Yemen	Muslim

[Index]

Major Roman Catholic Countries of the World
(% of population)¹

Country	Roman Catholic (%)
Argentina	92% (about 20% practicing)
Austria	74
Belgium	75
Belize	50
Bolivia	95
Brazil	74 (nominally)
Burundi	62
Chile	89
Colombia	90
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	50
Costa Rica	76
Croatia	88
Cuba	85 (nominally)
Dominican Republic	95
East Timor	90
Ecuador	95
El Salvador	83
France	83-88
Guam	85
Haiti	80 (half of population practices Voodoo)
Honduras	97
Hungary	52
Ireland	88
Italy	90
Lithuania	79
Luxembourg	87
Malta	98
Mexico	89 (nominally)
New Caledonia	60
Nicaragua	73
Panama	85
Paraguay	90
Peru	81
Philippines	81
Poland	90 (about 75% practicing)
Portugal	94
Puerto Rico	85
Rwanda	57
Sao Tome and Principe	70
Slovakia	69
Slovenia	58
Spain	94
Uruguay	66 (nominally)
Venezuela	96 (nominally)

Major Religions of the World (mid-2006)⁴

Christian	2,173,183,400
Roman Catholics	1,135,729,000
Independents*	432,223,000
Protestants	382,179,000
Orthodox	219,433,000
Anglicans	81,237,000
Muslims	1,335,964,100
Hindus	871,982,000
Chinese universists	386,666,900
Buddhists	382,542,000
Sikhs	25,880,100
Jews	15,118,000

*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 6,912 known living languages in the world today. 347 (or approximately 5%) of the world's languages have at least one million speakers and account for 94% of the world's population. By contrast, the remaining 95% of languages are spoken by only 6% of the world's people. Languages spoken by the most people are Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, German (standard).
Sources: The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2007 and Ethnologue: Languages of the World, www.ethnologue.com/web.asp

References

1. The World Factbook 2008 (CIA).
2. 2007 World Book Year Book, ©2007.
3. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2007, ©2007.
4. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Book of the Year. ©2007.
5. Biblical Missions: History, Principles, Practice by Roy F. Dearmore. Garland, Tex.: Rodgers Baptist Church, ©1997.