North America - Population, total

The value for Population, total in North America was 369,602,200 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 369,602,200 in 2020 and a minimum value of 198,624,400 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 198,624,400
1961 202,007,500
1962 205,198,600
1963 208,253,700
1964 211,262,900
1965 214,031,100
1966 216,659,000
1967 219,176,000
1968 221,503,000
1969 223,759,000
1970 226,431,000
1971 229,677,600
1972 232,168,700
1973 234,454,600
1974 236,715,400
1975 239,169,300
1976 241,538,000
1977 244,018,200
1978 246,601,800
1979 249,310,300
1980 251,795,300
1981 254,341,000
1982 256,836,400
1983 259,214,400
1984 261,488,500
1985 263,823,000
1986 266,290,700
1987 268,793,400
1988 271,349,100
1989 274,154,600
1990 277,373,500
1991 281,077,400
1992 284,943,900
1993 288,662,700
1994 292,186,000
1995 295,640,100
1996 299,064,400
1997 302,623,500
1998 306,070,100
1999 309,502,600
2000 312,910,000
2001 316,052,400
2002 319,048,200
2003 321,815,300
2004 324,809,700
2005 327,824,500
2006 331,015,600
2007 334,185,100
2008 337,406,400
2009 340,466,000
2010 343,397,200
2011 345,987,400
2012 348,656,700
2013 351,207,900
2014 353,888,900
2015 356,507,100
2016 359,245,800
2017 361,731,200
2018 363,967,200
2019 365,995,100
2020 369,602,200

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