Births and deaths in 3D
A flash for every baby born and every death, in the country where it happens, at the rate the UN gives for the year. Watch in real time or ten or a hundred times faster.
In 2026 about 133 million babies will be born and 63.6 million people will die, by the UN projection: 4.2 births and 2.0 deaths every second.
UN World Population Prospects 2024, calendar year totals, spread evenly over the year.
India62,982
China23,631
Nigeria21,128
Pakistan19,002
Democratic Republic of the Congo12,699
Indonesia12,110
Ethiopia11,543
United States10,064
Bangladesh9,337
Brazil6,830
Tanzania6,738
Egypt6,738
See the numbers
| Country | Births a day | Deaths a day |
|---|---|---|
| India | 62,982 | 27,091 |
| China | 23,631 | 31,458 |
| Nigeria | 21,128 | 7,619 |
| Pakistan | 19,002 | 4,559 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 12,699 | 2,627 |
| Indonesia | 12,110 | 6,157 |
| Ethiopia | 11,543 | 2,179 |
| United States | 10,064 | 8,592 |
| Bangladesh | 9,337 | 2,503 |
| Brazil | 6,830 | 4,291 |
| Tanzania | 6,738 | 1,112 |
| Egypt | 6,738 | 1,842 |
How to use this tool
- 1Press Start, then drag to turn the globe and scroll or pinch to zoom.
- 2Choose births, deaths or both, and how fast time runs.
- 3Pick a country to fly there and see its births and deaths per second, day and year.
How it works
The UN World Population Prospects give the births and deaths in every country for each calendar year. The globe spreads each year’s total evenly over its seconds, so a country with 365,000 births a year flashes about once every 86 seconds of real time.
Each flash lands at a random place inside the country’s borders: it shows which country, never a town or a moment. The counters add up what the globe shows, so after a while they match the yearly totals exactly.
Years from 2024 on are UN projections, and the globe says so.
Frequently asked questions
Is this live data?
No. No one publishes births and deaths as they happen. The globe uses the UN’s yearly totals and shows them at the same average pace, so the rhythm is right but each flash is not a real event.
Why do some countries never seem to flash?
Small countries have few births and deaths: a country with a few thousand births a year flashes every couple of hours in real time. Speed time up to see them.
