July 18, 2019: According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the earth is now home to 7.58 billion people. Approximately 4.4% of them live in the United States (331.9 million).^[1]

Global population growth has largely been a 20th- and 21st-century phenomenon. The world’s total population didn’t reach the 1 billion mark until the early 1800s and stayed below 2 billion until the 1920s. However, explosive growth pushed the population to 5 billion in 1987.

However, there are signs that things may be slowing down. Over the next couple of years, the Census Bureau estimates that the rate of population growth will fall below 1% for the first time since 1950.

The United Nations named July 11 as World Population Day in 1989.

Click here to view the Number of the Day online→

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Was this email forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day.