Low income - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Low income was 665,149,100 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 665,149,100 in 2020 and a minimum value of 137,782,400 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 137,782,400
1961 140,848,400
1962 143,991,000
1963 147,246,700
1964 150,668,300
1965 154,292,500
1966 158,131,700
1967 162,169,500
1968 166,378,100
1969 170,716,500
1970 175,154,300
1971 179,681,900
1972 184,306,800
1973 189,035,400
1974 193,880,000
1975 198,849,200
1976 203,955,500
1977 209,195,600
1978 214,544,300
1979 219,966,800
1980 225,445,100
1981 230,976,700
1982 236,593,200
1983 242,355,100
1984 248,343,200
1985 254,622,400
1986 261,201,700
1987 268,084,600
1988 275,322,100
1989 282,972,200
1990 291,068,700
1991 299,656,400
1992 308,709,000
1993 318,101,800
1994 327,660,100
1995 337,265,000
1996 346,863,300
1997 356,508,800
1998 366,320,500
1999 376,471,900
2000 387,088,100
2001 398,196,100
2002 409,752,700
2003 421,725,000
2004 434,055,600
2005 446,695,000
2006 459,659,600
2007 472,947,500
2008 486,468,200
2009 500,104,900
2010 513,783,300
2011 527,467,100
2012 541,205,700
2013 555,116,800
2014 569,367,400
2015 584,084,900
2016 599,290,300
2017 614,965,100
2018 631,147,300
2019 647,870,800
2020 665,149,100

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population