7 Billion People: What Number Are You?
EmailThe 7 billionth person will be welcomed to the world on Monday, according to the United Nations, marking a significant moment for earth’s population, which continues to grow at an exponential pace.
In fact, it’s a pace so staggering, you may be surprised to plug in your birthday and find out what number you are.
Just 12 years ago, the earth was home to 6 billion people, according to the United Nations, and back in the 1960s, the earth’s population measured only half that number — 3 billion.
And in the time of our founding fathers, there were just 1 billion inhabitants on earth.
No one can say for certain who this 7 billionth baby will be or where they’ll be born, but scientists said they have a reasonable guess, and it all boils down to the math: India.
A baby is born in India nearly every second, making it the fastest growing country in the world. India’s population is expected to surpass that of China, currently the world’s most populous country, in only 14 years.
And in a mere decade, scientists said we’ll be preparing to welcome the 8 billionth person into the world.
Whether it’s Bismarck or Bangalore– we’ll never quite know for sure.
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If you rad the actual BBC article you will find it gives a 6 month either way window for this event.. Somewhere between last May and next May.
Posted by: JOE HILL | October 30, 2011, 6:40 pm 6:40 pm
I am 2,690,091,147th. Which gives you an idea how old (and in the way) I am.
Posted by: JOE HILL | October 30, 2011, 6:42 pm 6:42 pm
Where is the calculator to figure what number you are
Posted by: Maya | October 30, 2011, 6:47 pm 6:47 pm
i know i can not find it either.
Posted by: erin | October 30, 2011, 6:53 pm 6:53 pm
I can’t find any calculator. How did Joe figure it out?
Posted by: Denise | October 30, 2011, 6:56 pm 6:56 pm
That was really interesting. I was number 2,394,378,474
Posted by: Ceil Morrison | October 30, 2011, 7:00 pm 7:00 pm
I was number 2,394,378,474. If you look in the second paragraph & cliclk on the last sentence it will bring you to the calculator.
Posted by: Ceil | October 30, 2011, 7:03 pm 7:03 pm
i can not find the calculator ANYWHERE!!!! how do you find it and where???
Posted by: erin | October 30, 2011, 7:05 pm 7:05 pm
where is the calculator??????Hummmmm.
Posted by: Bennie | October 30, 2011, 7:06 pm 7:06 pm
If there are so many babies born every second, then doesn’t this program need to know what time we were born?
Posted by: sandy vanvalkenburg | October 30, 2011, 7:19 pm 7:19 pm
SANDY VANVALKENBURG: It’s not that precise. As I’ve previously pointed out there is a 12 month window for the 7 billionth person. Or a 1-2% margin of error if you prefer. Still very interesting though and definitely something to make you think. And another billion in just a decade, which is actually quite scary.
Posted by: JOE HILL | October 30, 2011, 7:31 pm 7:31 pm
that is really neat!!i found the calculator,I was the 2,981,143,998 th on this planet.
Posted by: Bennie | October 30, 2011, 7:36 pm 7:36 pm
“In fact, it’s a pace so staggering, you may be surprised to plug in your birthday and find out what number you are.” Just click on “find out what number you are”. Plus as it’s a BBC thing it has the day before the month, rather than the backwards month before the day that you Yanks prefer. Day, month, year is so much more logical than month, day, year. Also you drive on the wrong side of the road and misspell almost every word with a ‘u’ in it. But I still love ya. ;-)
Posted by: JOE HILL | October 30, 2011, 7:38 pm 7:38 pm
my computer won’t let me get to the calcultor. whyyy.??
Posted by: Shann | October 30, 2011, 7:46 pm 7:46 pm
Click on the phrase in blue at the end of the 2nd paragraph “find out what number you are”, and it brings you to the BBC webpage with the calculator. then just fill in your birth date, etc and it will determine it for you.
Posted by: AUZERAIS310 | October 30, 2011, 7:57 pm 7:57 pm
Question for the Open Borders crowd – Why not let the 7 billion come here to the U.S.?
Posted by: The Baron | October 30, 2011, 8:42 pm 8:42 pm
According to common legend everyone has a unique DNA. Is that still true if there are 7 billion people on earth? Also How many people have there ever been in the history of the world? And given that should be, I would guess, 2 or 3 times our current 7 billion, have I ever shared the exact same
DNA with anyone else EVER?
Posted by: gypsyswede | October 30, 2011, 8:50 pm 8:50 pm
I am closer to 1 than 7,000,000,000 and I can’t even draw social security yet.
Posted by: William | October 30, 2011, 8:51 pm 8:51 pm
i can’t find it
Posted by: heather | October 30, 2011, 8:53 pm 8:53 pm
The experts have been warning for years that the population bomb is about of go off! – When it does, there will be starving people world wide and limited food supplies and extremely high prices! – Food and energy supplies will be extreme issues in less than 15 years. The current policy of making fuel from corn and other food crops is NOT sustainable! If nothing is done to curb population growth soon, there will be a disaster the likes of which have never been seen before in human history! – Political correctness may be the end game for humans!
Posted by: RadioMan77 | October 30, 2011, 9:07 pm 9:07 pm
instead of”The 7 billionth person will be welcomed to the world on Monday” shouldn’t it be “The 7 billionth living person will be welcomed to the world on Monday” there have been billions of people of people have died therefore they wouldn’t be the 7 billionth person to be welcomed to the world
Posted by: Jordan | October 30, 2011, 9:09 pm 9:09 pm
Jordan, the calculator linked to the BBC website states that there have been 76 billion people since the beginning of history – so your question is noted and addressed.
Posted by: puppyfeet217 | October 30, 2011, 10:06 pm 10:06 pm
I know what number I am. I’m number ONE. At least that’s what the driver I cut off the other day said with a hand gesture.
Posted by: Jim in CA | October 30, 2011, 10:29 pm 10:29 pm
Why isn’t the top story Fast & Furious?
Posted by: Skip Siemon | October 30, 2011, 11:55 pm 11:55 pm
And when the third plague comes we will lose 50% of the planet. Too many people is not sustainable. Remember for all these babies comes rats in India and China. Rats bread plague. I have the plague solution, but don’t come calling on me when this hits. Medici……
Posted by: Angelgroove | October 31, 2011, 12:23 am 12:23 am
In the meantime, the Republicans in the U.S. Congress and the individual states are doubling down in their efforts to control the fertility of women of childbearing age by restricting access to abortion and birth control. Thanks to 35 years of the Hyde Amendment, Caucasians are now a minority in the U.S. according to the 2010 census.
Posted by: yooperfarmer | October 31, 2011, 7:47 am 7:47 am
I am number 5,078,481,765…….
Posted by: yoyo | October 31, 2011, 10:20 am 10:20 am
I’m 4.2 billion! @Yooperfarmer–really if you think about it, as a stand alone group, Caucasians still outnumber other minority groups when compared 1:1 instead of Caucasian vs. “everyone else”. But anyway, why does it matter who is a majority or a minority??? Is your comment meant to strike fear?? Get over yourself and whatever it is you are trying to imply. . .
Posted by: En_Cee_Mama | October 31, 2011, 10:23 am 10:23 am
Back in the 70′s, when we were around 4 billion, advanced books on ecology estimated that the sustainable human population is 1 billion. With advances, that may be double today, but we’re still in the same position as the 16 deer placed on an Aleutian Island. With no predators their population expanded to a couple hundred and the next year about 5 were left – to small a genetic sample to sustain the population. Humans need to find a way to control -and begin reversing- population growth. The idiots running the USA allow the greedy businessmen to dictate huge allowances for legal immigrants which is expected to triple our population by 2100. We don’t have enough fresh water, lumber, and oil now: what kind of hell are we preparing for our descendants?
Posted by: The_Mick | October 31, 2011, 10:24 am 10:24 am
I’m number 3,255,008,655 if I interpolate for the time of day, time zone and daylight savings time.
Posted by: My Number | October 31, 2011, 10:51 am 10:51 am
You were the 4,349,097,549th person
Posted by: momof2liny | October 31, 2011, 10:52 am 10:52 am
With India and China leading the population boom, is there a chance that all extra weight in Asia will knock our rotation out of balance? (I am just kidding, but I once had a student convinced this was a problem). For the calculator, I find the number indicating how many born prior to you very interesting.
Posted by: Jim | October 31, 2011, 12:26 pm 12:26 pm
2,962,245,771….now I feel really old!
Posted by: Iris | October 31, 2011, 12:27 pm 12:27 pm
i found it. [by the way my mom let me put a comment on here] i am the 6,279,064,382.that is pretty cool. i am also the 81,978,786,906 to be alive since history began.
Posted by: erin | October 31, 2011, 3:58 pm 3:58 pm
We need to stop. We will eventually kill this planet. Even 5 billion is too many!!!
Posted by: Luke Moyer | October 31, 2011, 7:08 pm 7:08 pm
Each second in India, a woman gives birth to a baby. We gotta find that woman and make her stop!
Posted by: FunnyMan | October 31, 2011, 9:09 pm 9:09 pm
If you count all the people who have died, a lot more than 7 billion people have been born.
Posted by: David | November 1, 2011, 12:49 am 12:49 am
I can’t believe it; everybody is trying to find “their number”, it is no wonder that the “practical assassins” of the human race can manipulate them so well. WAKE UP!! WE ARE FREE PEOPLE, WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONTROL OUR OWN FERTILITY AND LIFE. WE DO NOT BELONG, LIKE CATTLE, TO THE CONTROLLERS OF THIS WORLD. Get some sense in your heads. Stop moving to the cities, stop buying their latest toys and people will better off, and they will not have MONEY POWER TO CONTROL OUR DESTINY!
Posted by: Neli | November 1, 2011, 2:04 am 2:04 am
my classmate’s sister makes $69 hourly on the internet. She has been laid off for 8 months but last month her check was $9093 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read this web site lazycash2.com
Posted by: ByrdHollie | November 1, 2011, 3:52 am 3:52 am
whats this all about
Posted by: manuel | November 1, 2011, 9:47 am 9:47 am
To The Baron, yes someone does have your DNA combination. There are about 3 billion or so different combinataions, so if there is almost 7 billion people then someone or some people have the same DNA combination as you. It’slike a twin. Twins have the same DNA pattern but different features and personalities.
Posted by: Jordaan | November 5, 2011, 9:02 pm 9:02 pm
6,114,245,751st-ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: ana | December 3, 2011, 8:52 am 8:52 am