The Harvest Fields Statistics - 2006 edition Compiled by Stephen Ross Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest.  Luke 10:2 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.  John 4:35 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:20a Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  Mark 16:15b For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.  1 John 4:14   The Harvest Fields Index Population Statistics: World's Total By Continents Birth Rate Death Rate Average Life Expectancy Age Structure Country Statistics: Largest Countries Largest Urban Centers 45+% Under 15 Years Old Lowest Life Expectancy Muslim Countries Roman Catholic Countries Major Religions    Languages References Population Statistics World Population Estimate For most up-to-date estimate, see U.S. Census Bureau, International Programs Center "To give a point of reference for the magnitude of one billion, it would require forty thousand trips around the world to equal one billion miles."5 World's Population by Continents3 61% of the world's population lives in the continent of Asia. Asia 3,913,842,171 Africa 891,437,541 Europe 729,341,014 North America 512,422,558 South America 371,271,037 Oceania (incl. Australia)   32,744,469 Antarctica no permanent population  World Birth/Death Rates (2006 est.)1 Birth Rate:   Death Rate: 20 births/1,000 population   9 deaths/1,000 population 128.9 million births per year   57.9 million people die each year 353,015 births per day   158,857 people die each day 14,709 births each hour   6619 people die each hour 245 births each minute   110 people die each minute 4 births each second of every day   almost 2 people die each second   Average Life Expectancy at Birth is 65 years1 At the current average life expectancy the world dies every 65 years! Age Structure of World's Population1 1.8 billion people under age 15 years (27.4%) 4.3 billion people age 15-64 years (65.2%) 483 million people are 65 years and over (7.4%) [Index] Country Statistics Ten Largest Countries in Population There are approximately 225 inhabited countries and territories in the world. China is the most populous nation with 1/5 of the world's people. About half the world's people live in the first six largest countries listed below. China 1,313,973,713 India 1,095,351,995 United States      298,444,215 Indonesia 245,452,739 Brazil 188,078,227 Pakistan 165,803,560 Bangladesh 147,365,352 Russia 142,893,540 Nigeria 131,859,731 Japan 127,463,611 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base The 20 Largest Urban Centers in the World2 Urban Center Population* 1. Tokyo, Japan 35,320,000 2. Mexico City, Mexico 18,988,000 3. New York City, U.S. 18,479,000 4. São Paulo, Brazil 18,330,000 5. Mumbai (Bombay), India 18,289,000 6. Delhi, India 15,283,000 7. Kolkata (Calcutta), India 14,276,000 8. Buenos Aires, Argentina 13,356,000 9. Jakarta, Indonesia 13,149,000 10. Shanghai, China 12,695,000 11. Dhaka, Bangladesh 12,479,000 12. Los Angeles, U.S. 12,173,000 13. Karachi, Pakistan 11,800,000 14. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 11,467,000 15. Osaka, Japan 11,277,000 16. Cairo, Egypt 11,147,000 17. Lagos, Nigeria 11,059,000 18. Beijing, China 10,839,000 19. Moscow, Russia 10,671,000 20. Manila, Philippines 10,666,000 *Populations are 2005 estimates based on data from the United Nations and other official government sources. Although the above population figures differ from one source to another, the urban areas listed represent the largest in the world with minor variations in their exact ranking. [Index] Countries With 45% or More of the Population 0-14 Years of Age1 Country Population   0-14 Years of Age (%) Population 15-64 Years of Age (%) Afghanistan 45 53 Burkina Faso 47 51 Burundi 46 51 Chad 48 49 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 47 50 Congo, Republic of the 46 51 Gaza Strip 48 49 Madagascar 45 52 Malawi 47 51 Mali 48 49 Mauritania 46 52 Mayotte 46 52 Niger 47 51 Sao Tome and Principe   48 49 Sierra Leone 45 52 Uganda 50 48 Yemen 46 51 Zambia 46 51 [Index] Countries With Lowest Life Expectancy (under 50 yrs.)1 Average life expectancy at birth of the world's population is 64.8 years Country Life Expectancy (yrs.) Afghanistan 43.3 Angola 38.6 Botswana 33.7 Burkina Faso 48.9 Central African Republic    43.5 Chad 47.5 Cote d'Ivoire 48.8 Djibouti 43.2 Equatorial Guinea 49.5 Ethiopia 49.0 Guinea 49.5 Guinea-Bissau 46.9 Kenya 48.9 Lesotho 34.4 Liberia 39.7 Malawi 41.7 Mali 49.0 Mozambique 39.8 Namibia 43.4 Niger 43.4 Nigeria 47.1 Rwanda 47.3 Sierra Leone 40.2 Somalia 48.5 South Africa 42.7 Swaziland 32.6 Tanzania 45.6 Zambia 40.0 Zimbabwe 39.3 Major Muslim Countries of the World (% of population)1 Country Muslim (%) Afghanistan 99 Albania 70 Algeria 99 Azerbaijan 93 Bahrain 81 Bangladesh 83 Brunei 67 Burkina Faso 50 Chad 51 Comoros 98 Djibouti 94 Egypt 90 Gambia, The 90 Gaza Strip 99 Guinea 85 Indonesia 88 Iran 98 Iraq 97 Jordan 92 Kuwait 85 Kyrgyzstan 75 Lebanon 60 Libya 97 Maldives Sunni Muslim  Mali 90 Mauritania 100 Mayotte 97 Morocco 99 Niger 80 Nigeria 50 Oman 75 Pakistan 97 Qatar 95 Saudi Arabia 100 Senegal 94 Sierra Leone 60 Somalia Sunni Muslim Sudan 70 Syria 74 Tajikistan 90 Tunisia 98 Turkey 99.8 Turkmenistan 89 United Arab Emirates         96 Uzbekistan 88 West Bank 75 Yemen Muslim [Index] Major Roman Catholic Countries of the World (% of population)1 Country Roman Catholic (%) Argentina 92% (about 20% practicing) Austria 74 Belgium 75 Belize 50 Bolivia 95 Brazil 74 (nominally) Burundi 62 Chile 89 Colombia 90 Congo, Democratic Republic of the   50 Costa Rica 76 Croatia 88 Cuba 85 (nominally) Dominican Republic   95 East Timor 90 Ecuador 95 El Salvador 83 France 83-88 Guadeloupe 95 Guam 85 Haiti 80 (half of population practices Voodoo) Honduras 97 Hungary 52 Ireland 88 Italy - primarily Roman Catholic Lithuania 79 Luxembourg 87 Malta 98 Martinique 85 Mexico 89 (nominally) New Caledonia 60 Nicaragua 73 Panama 85 Paraguay 90 Peru 81 Philippines 81 Poland 90 (about 75% practicing) Portugal 94 Puerto Rico 85 Reunion 86 Rwanda 57 Slovakia 69 Slovenia 58 Spain 94 Uruguay 66 (nominally) Venezuela 96 (nominally) Major Religions of the World (mid-2005 est.)4 Christian 2,133,806,000    Roman Catholics 1,118,991,000    Independents* 425,170,000    Protestants 375,815,000    Orthodox 219,501,000    Anglicans 79,718,000 Muslims 1,308,941,000 Hindus 860,133,000 Chinese Universists      404,921,000 Buddhists 378,808,000 Sikhs 25,377,700 Jews 15,073,000 *This term denotes members of Christian churches and networks that regard themselves as postdenominationalist and neo-apostolic and thus independent of historic, mainstream, organized, institutionalized, confessional, denominationalist Christianity. Languages of the World There are 6,912 known living languages in the world today. 347 (or approximately 5%) of the world's languages have at least one million speakers and account for 94% of the world's population. By contrast, the remaining 95% of languages are spoken by only 6% of the world's people. Languages spoken by the most people are Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, German (standard).  Sources: The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2006 and Ethnologue: Languages of the World,  www.ethnologue.com/web.asp References 1. The World Factbook 2006 (CIA). 2. World Book's Year In Review, 2005, ©2006. 3. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2006, ©2006. 4. Encyclopædia Britannica Book of the Year 2006. ©2006. 5. Biblical Missions: History, Principles, Practice by Roy F. Dearmore. Garland, Tex.: Rodgers Baptist Church, ©1997. Worldwide Missions:  Biblical Missions   Biographies   Country Information Helpful Resources   Mission Boards   Notes and Quotes   Statistics Copyright ©2006 Wholesome Words. All Rights Reserved.

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Countries Ranked by Population: 2006 ( http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/idbrank.pl)
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Rank Country                                  Population
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   1 China                                 1,313,973,713
   2 India                                 1,095,351,995
   3 United States                           298,444,215
   4 Indonesia                               245,452,739
   5 Brazil                                  188,078,227
   6 Pakistan                                165,803,560
   7 Bangladesh                              147,365,352
   8 Russia                                  142,893,540
   9 Nigeria                                 131,859,731
  10 Japan                                   127,463,611
  11 Mexico                                  107,449,525
  12 Philippines                              89,468,677
  13 Vietnam                                  84,402,966
  14 Germany                                  82,422,299
  15 Egypt                                    78,887,007
  16 Ethiopia                                 74,777,981
  17 Turkey                                   70,413,958
  18 Iran                                     68,688,433
  19 Thailand                                 64,631,595
  20 Congo (Kinshasa)                         62,660,551
  21 France                                   60,876,136
  22 United Kingdom                           60,609,153
  23 Italy                                    58,133,509
  24 Korea, South                             48,846,823
  25 Burma                                    47,382,633
  26 Ukraine                                  46,710,816
  27 South Africa                             44,187,637
  28 Colombia                                 43,593,035
  29 Sudan                                    41,236,378
  30 Spain                                    40,397,842
  31 Argentina                                39,921,833
  32 Poland                                   38,536,869
  33 Tanzania                                 37,445,392
  34 Kenya                                    34,707,817
  35 Morocco                                  33,241,259
  36 Canada                                   33,098,932
  37 Algeria                                  32,930,091
  38 Afghanistan                              31,056,997
  39 Peru                                     28,302,603
  40 Nepal                                    28,287,147
  41 Uganda                                   28,195,754
  42 Uzbekistan                               27,307,134
  43 Saudi Arabia                             27,019,731
  44 Iraq                                     26,783,383
  45 Venezuela                                25,730,435
  46 Malaysia                                 24,385,858
  47 Korea, North                             23,113,019
  48 Taiwan                                   23,036,087
  49 Ghana                                    22,409,572
  50 Romania                                  22,303,552
  51 Yemen                                    21,456,188
  52 Australia                                20,264,082
  53 Sri Lanka                                20,222,240
  54 Mozambique                               19,686,505
  55 Syria                                    18,881,361
  56 Madagascar                               18,595,469
  57 Cote d'Ivoire                            17,654,843
  58 Cameroon                                 17,340,702
  59 Netherlands                              16,491,461
  60 Chile                                    16,134,219
  61 Kazakhstan                               15,233,244
  62 Burkina Faso                             13,902,972
  63 Cambodia                                 13,881,427
  64 Ecuador                                  13,547,510
  65 Malawi                                   13,013,926
  66 Niger                                    12,525,094
  67 Guatemala                                12,293,545
  68 Zimbabwe                                 12,236,805
  69 Angola                                   12,127,071
  70 Senegal                                  11,987,121
  71 Mali                                     11,716,829
  72 Zambia                                   11,502,010
  73 Cuba                                     11,382,820
  74 Serbia and Montenegro                    10,832,545
  75 Greece                                   10,688,058
  76 Portugal                                 10,605,870
  77 Belgium                                  10,379,067
  78 Belarus                                  10,293,011
  79 Czech Republic                           10,235,455
  80 Tunisia                                  10,175,014
  81 Hungary                                   9,981,334
  82 Chad                                      9,944,201
  83 Guinea                                    9,690,222
  84 Dominican Republic                        9,183,984
  85 Sweden                                    9,016,596
  86 Bolivia                                   8,989,046
  87 Somalia                                   8,863,338
  88 Rwanda                                    8,648,248
  89 Haiti                                     8,308,504
  90 Austria                                   8,192,880
  91 Burundi                                   8,090,068
  92 Azerbaijan                                7,961,619
  93 Benin                                     7,862,944
  94 Switzerland                               7,523,934
  95 Bulgaria                                  7,385,367
  96 Honduras                                  7,326,496
  97 Tajikistan                                7,320,815
  98 Hong Kong S.A.R.                          6,940,432
  99 El Salvador                               6,822,378
 100 Paraguay                                  6,506,464
 101 Laos                                      6,368,481
 102 Israel                                    6,352,117
 103 Sierra Leone                              6,005,250
 104 Jordan                                    5,906,760
 105 Libya                                     5,900,754
 106 Papua New Guinea                          5,670,544
 107 Nicaragua                                 5,570,129
 108 Togo                                      5,548,702
 109 Denmark                                   5,450,661
 110 Slovakia                                  5,439,448
 111 Finland                                   5,231,372
 112 Kyrgyzstan                                5,213,898
 113 Turkmenistan                              5,042,920
 114 Eritrea                                   4,786,994
 115 Georgia                                   4,661,473
 116 Norway                                    4,610,820
 117 Bosnia and Herzegovina                    4,498,976
 118 Croatia                                   4,494,749
 119 Singapore                                 4,492,150
 120 Moldova                                   4,466,706
 121 Central African Republic                  4,303,356
 122 New Zealand                               4,076,140
 123 Costa Rica                                4,075,261
 124 Ireland                                   4,062,235
 125 Puerto Rico                               3,927,188
 126 Lebanon                                   3,874,050
 127 Congo (Brazzaville)                       3,702,314
 128 Lithuania                                 3,585,906
 129 Albania                                   3,581,655
 130 Uruguay                                   3,431,932
 131 Panama                                    3,191,319
 132 Mauritania                                3,177,388
 133 Oman                                      3,102,229
 134 Liberia                                   3,042,004
 135 Armenia                                   2,976,372
 136 Mongolia                                  2,832,224
 137 Jamaica                                   2,758,124
 138 United Arab Emirates                      2,602,713
 139 West Bank                                 2,460,492
 140 Kuwait                                    2,418,393
 141 Bhutan                                    2,279,723
 142 Latvia                                    2,274,735
 143 Macedonia                                 2,050,554
 144 Namibia                                   2,044,147
 145 Lesotho                                   2,022,331
 146 Slovenia                                  2,010,347
 147 Gambia, The                               1,641,564
 148 Botswana                                  1,639,833
 149 Guinea-Bissau                             1,442,029
 150 Gaza Strip                                1,428,757
 151 Gabon                                     1,424,906
 152 Estonia                                   1,324,333
 153 Mauritius                                 1,240,827
 154 Swaziland                                 1,136,334
 155 Trinidad and Tobago                       1,065,842
 156 East Timor                                1,062,777
 157 Fiji                                        905,949
 158 Qatar                                       885,359
 159 Reunion                                     787,584
 160 Cyprus                                      784,301
 161 Guyana                                      767,245
 162 Bahrain                                     698,585
 163 Comoros                                     690,948
 164 Solomon Islands                             552,438
 165 Equatorial Guinea                           540,109
 166 Djibouti                                    486,530
 167 Luxembourg                                  474,413
 168 Macau S.A.R.                                453,125
 169 Guadeloupe                                  452,776
 170 Suriname                                    439,117
 171 Martinique                                  436,131
 172 Cape Verde                                  420,979
 173 Malta                                       400,214
 174 Brunei                                      379,444
 175 Maldives                                    359,008
 176 Bahamas, The                                303,770
 177 Iceland                                     299,388
 178 Belize                                      287,730
 179 Barbados                                    279,912
 180 Western Sahara                              278,600
 181 French Polynesia                            274,578
 182 Netherlands Antilles                        221,736
 183 New Caledonia                               219,246
 184 Vanuatu                                     208,869
 185 Mayotte                                     201,234
 186 French Guiana                               199,509
 187 Sao Tome and Principe                       193,413
 188 Samoa                                       176,908
 189 Guam                                        171,019
 190 Saint Lucia                                 168,458
 191 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines            117,848
 192 Tonga                                       114,689
 193 Virgin Islands                              108,605
 194 Micronesia, Federated States of             108,004
 195 Kiribati                                    105,432
 196 Jersey                                       91,084
 197 Grenada                                      89,703
 198 Northern Mariana Islands                     82,459
 199 Seychelles                                   81,541
 200 Man, Isle of                                 75,441
 201 Aruba                                        71,891
 202 Andorra                                      71,201
 203 Antigua and Barbuda                          69,108
 204 Dominica                                     68,910
 205 Bermuda                                      65,773
 206 Guernsey                                     65,409
 207 Marshall Islands                             60,422
 208 American Samoa                               57,794
 209 Greenland                                    56,361
 210 Faroe Islands                                47,246
 211 Cayman Islands                               45,436
 212 Saint Kitts and Nevis                        39,129
 213 Liechtenstein                                33,987
 214 Monaco                                       32,543
 215 San Marino                                   29,251
 216 Gibraltar                                    27,928
 217 Virgin Islands, British                      23,098
 218 Cook Islands                                 21,571
 219 Turks and Caicos Islands                     21,152
 220 Palau                                        20,579
 221 Wallis and Futuna                            16,168
 222 Anguilla                                     13,477
 223 Nauru                                        13,287
 224 Tuvalu                                       11,810
 225 Montserrat                                    9,439
 226 Saint Helena                                  7,502
 227 Saint Pierre and Miquelon                     7,026
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Note:  Data updated 4-26-2005 (Release notes). 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base.