The world population has not grown especially until very recently, and the same has happened with the rate of urbanization, that is, the proportion of the world's population that resides in urban areas.
These data come from the Global Environmental History Database or History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE), spanning 12,000 years.
Population rate
- 10,000 – 3,000 BC: The estimated population grew from 2 million to 45, with an annual growth rate of only 0.04 percent.
- 3000 – 1000 BC: 0.05 percent annual growth rate.
- 1000 BC – 1500 AD: 0.06 percent.
- 1500 – 1800: 0.25 percent. The world population multiplies by two, from 461 million to 990 million.
- 1800 – 2000: 0.92 percent. The population multiplies by six, from 990 million to 6,145 million.
Urbanization rate
The urbanization rate runs quite even with the population rate. Even in year 1, most of humanity lived in small agricultural settlements, and only 1% lived in cities.
In the year 1000, 3 percent lived in cities. In the 1500s, 3.6 percent. As explained Jeffrey D. Sachs in his book The ages of globalization:
As late as 1900, the global urbanization rate was only 16 percent. It is not until the 20th century that more than half of humanity then lives in urban environments (an estimated 55 percent in 2020).
That is to say, it is right now that we can affirm that, for the first time in the history of humanity, there are more people living in cities. And probably, before the end of this century, the percentage will have skyrocketed.
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The news
This is how spectacular the growth in the world's urbanization rate has been
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.