The world reached a major milestone on November 15: the birth of the eight-billionth baby. Using data from the UN and Our World In Data, GradSchoolCenter visualized how these eight billion people are distributed, and what this global population growth means for the world.

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The number of people on the planet is growing at an average of 0.83 percent each year, but what that global change looks like differs from country to country. Many countries, like Pakistan and Bangladesh, have seen their populations decrease considerably since 2021.

As the global population has increased, so too has global health. Since 1800, the average life expectancy around the world has grown from 29 to 73 years — and Spain appears to be enjoying the best health overall, with a life expectancy of 83.98 years and a health index score of 92.75.

Not every country has seen improved health along with population growth, though. In countries with high levels of poverty — such as South Sudan and Somalia (which have some of the lowest life expectancies in the world) — people tend to have poorer underlying health and worse access to health care.

It took just 12 years for the world's population to grow from seven to eight billion, and the nine billion milestone could be as little as 15 years away. With that in mind, GradSchoolCenter visualized what experts think a planet of nine billion people might look like.

Via GradSchoolCenter.