Econintersect: The headline refers to population. And to be complete the words “and the rise of everyone else” should be added. Over the past 63 years Germany, Great Britain, Italy and France have fallen out of the list of the twelve most populous nations, replaced by Pakistan, Nigeria, Mexico and The Philippines. The trend is expected to continue from now until 2050 with Europe the only global region projected to suffer a population decline .
Click on graph for larger image.
By 2050 Russia and Japan will drop out of the top 12, replaced by Ethiopia and the Congo.
In 1950 the most populous countries were divided among regions:
- Asia/Pacific 5
- Europe 5
- North America 1
- South America 1
- Africa 0
In 2050 the projections are:
- Asia/Pacific 6
- Europe 0
- North America 2
- South America 1
- Africa 3
Primitive man migrated out of Africa into Eurasia hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the 21st century the population of Africa is starting to rebound from that ancient diminishment.
Sources:
- How the world’s population has changed (G.D. and L.P., The Economist)
- Early human migrations (Wikipedia)
