Current world population billion.
This is how many people have been born on Earth throughout history. It is an estimate, not a census: the base is Population Reference Bureau, 2022.
The counter moves because births are added to the base estimate in real time at the UN rate — about 4 per second.
Each flash on the map is a new person. The number next to it is their place in this count.
A number is computed the same way — from the date of birth. The registry never issues the same number twice.
more — in the registry →A number is the key to everything here. It follows the order of birth: everyone has their own, for good. It opens questions about the world, points and letters to the future — even to someone not yet born.
Free and takes a minute. Once claimed, the number never goes to anyone else.
What the number unlocks
The number is your place in the count of everyone ever born. It is computed from your date of birth.
Answer questions about what will happen. Answers are anonymous.
Address a letter to someone not yet born: it will wait until they grow up and claim their number. Or to yourself — in a day or in a hundred years.
Points are credited once a day for taking part. Guess the outcome and they come back multiplied; miss, and they are gone.
Who was born first — Einstein or Picasso? Seven pairs a day, 15 seconds to answer. Guess right and you see the dates and the numbers.
Open the first pair →