A Quick Trip to 7.6 Billion (Timeline side)
Historical items noting dates of events, inventions, discoveries and publications are found in a wide variety of sources. Below are the sources for statistical data noted on the timeline.
Years of world population milestones (1-8 billion): United Nations Population Division.
U.S. population statistics (1820s, 1915, 1967, 2006): U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Life expectancy (1804, 1927, 1960, 1974, 1987, 1999, 2011): World Development Indicators, World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. 2009. World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision. New York, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (advanced Excel tables), (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database. Bourguignon, F. and C. Morrisson (2002). Inequality among world citizens 1820-1992. American Economic Review, pp. 727-744; James C. Riley, Rising Life Expectancy: A Global History, Cambridge University Press, 2002; James C. Riley, “Estimates of Regional and Global Life Expectancy, 1800-2001,” Population and Development Review, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Sept., 2005), pp. 537-543.
Total fertility rate (1960, 1974, 1987, 1999, 2011): United Nations Population Division.
Number of national parks (1872): International Union of Conservation of Nature.
Number of “test tube babies” born (1978): International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART).
Collapse of codfish stock (1992): Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis, World Resources Institute.
Mass coral bleaching event (2016): Carbon Brief.
CO2 levels reach 400 ppm (2016): NASA.
Where Do We Grow From Here? (Infographic side)
Below are the data sources for graphs, charts and tables found throughout the infographics.
State of the Global Family: Then and Now
Population size, growth rate, life expectancy and total fertility rate: United Nations Population Division.
Urban population: United Nations Population Division; Population Reference Bureau.
Median age: Human Development Indicators (United Nations Population Division; United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
Child mortality: Level & Trends in Child Mortality Report 2010. Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA, UNPD).
Average years of school: Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (2015).
Women in parliaments: United Nations, Inter-Parliamentary Union.
CO2 emissions: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oakridge National Laboratory.
Atmospheric concentration of CO2: Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
World fertilizer use: Earth Policy Institute, compiled from data from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the International Fertilizer Industry Association.
World fish catch: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Number of passenger cars: International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.
Ecological Footprint: Global Footprint Network; World Wildlife Fund.
Internet users and cell phone subscriptions: International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations agency.
Size of the global middle class: Brookings Institution.
A Demographic Tale of Three Countries
Life expectancy, total fertility rate: United Nations Population Division.
Median age: Human Development Indicators (United Nations Population Division; United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
Average years of school: Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (2015).
Access to improved water and sanitation facilities: World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Access to electricity: International Energy Agency.
Child mortality: WHO/UNICEF JMP.
Contraceptive use: United Nations Population Division (2017).
All Other Graphs:
World Population Projections: United Nations, World Population Prospects, 2017 Revision.
Our Urban World: United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects 2018.
Number of Undernourished People in the World: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Percent of Population Experiencing Water Scarcity: Matti Kummu, The world’s road to water scarcity: shortage and stress in the 20th century and pathways toward sustainability. Sci. Rep. 6, 38495 (2016).
Population and Carbon Emissions: Carbon Dioxide Analysis Center, Oakridge National Laboratory; Population Reference Bureau.
Energy Use Uneven Across the Globe: International Energy Agency.
Meat Consumption: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Paper/Paperboard Consumption: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Number of Ocean “Dead Zones”: Kevin J. Noone, Ussif Rashid Sumaila and Robert J. Diaz (2013), Managing ocean environments in a changing climate: sustainability and economic perspectives. Elsevier.
Coral Reefs: IUCN (Caribbean); International Coral Reef Initiative (West Indies); De’ath, et. al. (Great Barrier Reef).
Forest Loss: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Women’s Education and Fertility: Robert J. Barro and Jong-Wha Lee, “A New Data Set of Educational Attainment in the World, 1950-2010,” Working Paper No. 15902, April 2010, National Bureau of Economic Research; Population Reference Bureau.
Improving Child Heath in Low Income Countries: World Health Organization (WHO).
Ecological Footprint: Global Footprint Network; World Wildlife Fund.
Energy Mix Goals: IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency).