The Population Puzzle

Are there More People Alive Today than Ever Lived?

I’ve often heard it said there are more people alive today than in the span of human history.

It’s one of those things that makes you go hmmm, shrug your shoulders, and scroll on.

But if there’s ever a rabbit hole, I tend to jump down, so I did.

Turns out it’s not true. Imagine that. It would seem, based on widely accepted estimates, the total number of humans who previously existed come in at around 108 billion people. As of 2024, there are about 8 billion people alive on the planet today.

Now you know.