What share of the world is that?
Percentages of the world are hard to feel. Here are the ones worth knowing, on one scale.
1.18 × a people in extreme poverty
10 % is more than 2 of the 9 references on this page.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| water that is fresh | 2.5 % | 4× | |
| people in extreme poverty | 8.5 % | 1.18× | |
| people who speak English | 19 % | 0.526× | |
| people who have flown | 20 % | 0.5× | Estimated, ever |
| Earth that is land | 29 % | 0.345× | |
| land that is farmed | 38 % | 0.263× | |
| people living in cities | 57 % | 0.175× | |
| people in Asia | 59 % | 0.169× | |
| people online | 67 % | 0.149× |
Worth knowing
- Only about 2.5% of the world’s water is fresh, and two-thirds of that is locked in ice.
- Fewer than one person in five speaks English at all, including as a second language.
Frequently asked
What percentage of people have flown in a plane?
Estimates cluster around 10–20% of the world’s population having ever flown, though the figure is genuinely uncertain and rising fast.
How much of the world lives in cities?
About 57%, up from 30% in 1950. The UN projects 68% by 2050, with nearly all the growth in Africa and Asia.