Chart lesson 3 of 20 · Geography
How has the world's population grown since 1960?
A ready-made lesson on one chart of trustworthy public data: read the chart, then discuss the questions. Free, no account needed.
The chart
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
The world had 8.22 billion people in 2025, about 2.7 times the 3.02 billion of 1960. It passed 8 billion in 2023. Figures are mid-year estimates from the United Nations, which revises them as new censuses come in.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators: Population, total (CC BY 4.0 (credit the World Bank)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersThe lesson
How to read this chart
Each point is the number of people alive in the world in the middle of that year, estimated by the United Nations. The axis starts at zero, so the height of the line shows the true size. Look at how steep the line is to see how fast the population grew.
Questions to discuss
- Judging from the chart, about how many years did it take the world to add its most recent billion people?
- Is the line getting steeper or flatter in recent years? What does that tell you about the growth rate?
- These numbers are estimates that the UN revises. Why is it hard to count every person on Earth?
Share it with your class
Post this link in Google Classroom, Canvas or Moodle. Students see the chart, how to read it and the questions; they don't need an account.