Can you think of reasons why the world’s population fluctuated? Think about what might have been happening in history during these times. Can you see the impact of the bubonic plague (the ‘Black Death’) during the Middle Ages on the world’s population?
World population development 10
6 8
1 2 3 4
0 1750 1800 1850 Developing countries 1900 Year Developed countries
As you can see from Figure 18.2, the world’s population remained under a billion up until 1750. It then began to increase rapidly. This is because the number of people born was higher than the number of people who died. At around this time, the agricultural and industrial revolutions occurred. This meant that there was more food available and people lived longer.
You will also see that the most rapid population growth has occurred since 1950. Most of this population growth is in poorer countries in the developing world. Population growth in Europe is much slower, and in some countries the population is even in decline.
