Humanity, By the Numbers

Eight facts about our species to make you feel very small and very lucky.

• About 117 billion members of our species have ever been born, by the Population Reference Bureau’s estimate.
• Around 8.3 billion of us are alive in 2026, according to United Nations projections, roughly 7 percent of everyone who has ever lived.
• About 7,000 languages are spoken today, many by only a few thousand people.
• About 86 billion neurons fill the average human brain.
• Roughly 99 percent of our DNA is shared with chimpanzees and bonobos.
• More than half of humanity now lives in cities.
• Just 12 people have ever walked on the Moon.
• One species has ever written its own history down. You are reading part of it.

We are newcomers, crowded together and wildly improbable. It is a good reason to be kind to each other, and to every other species sharing the planet.

The Cat House Foundation ■ Modeling for a Cause. Photo: Pexels.