The map above shows the global change in world population between 1500 and 1600AD. Overall, world population increased by 13 million people (+3%) from 503 million to 516 million people. However, where those people lived radically changed.
The data comes from the HYDE database, which you learn more about from this post.
Here’s why:
The extreme population decline in the Americas between 1491 and 1600 AD is one of the most dramatic demographic events in human history.
Historians and scientists estimate that the indigenous population of the Americas fell by 80–95% during this period, from perhaps 50–100 million people around 1491 to as few as 5-10 million by 1600.
Here’s a detailed explanation of what caused this collapse:
Epidemic Diseases (the Primary Cause)
When Europeans arrived (beginning with Columbus in 1492), they brought Old World pathogens to which Indigenous Americans had no prior exposure or immunity.
Key diseases included:
- Smallpox
- Measles
- Influenza
- Typhus
- Bubonic plague
- Diphtheria
Smallpox alone likely killed tens of millions. The first major epidemics swept through the Caribbean in the early 1500s, then to Mexico (1520–1521) and Peru (1525–1527), often preceding European conquest, depopulating entire regions before contact.
- In central Mexico, the population is estimated to have dropped from about 25 million (1490) to as little as 1 million (1600).
- In the Andes, it may have fallen from 9–14 million to under 1 million.
Violence, Warfare, and Conquest
European conquests, particularly by the Spanish and Portuguese, involved mass killings, enslavement, and forced labour:
- The Caribbean populations were among the first to collapse under the encomienda system (forced labour on plantations and mines).
- The Aztec and Inca Empires suffered catastrophic losses from both warfare and its aftermath.
- Resistance to colonization often led to massacres or retribution campaigns.
Forced Labor and Exploitation
Colonial systems like the encomienda, repartimiento, and mita (Andean forced labor drafts) were devastating:
- Indigenous people were overworked in mines (notably silver mines at Potosí) and plantations.
- Malnutrition, exhaustion, and harsh conditions compounded mortality rates.
- Entire communities were relocated or broken up, disrupting agriculture and social networks.
Collapse of Food Systems and Social Structures
Epidemics and colonization shattered local economies and societies:
- With farmers dead or displaced, famine followed disease outbreaks.
- Traditional systems of leadership, trade, and community care disintegrated.
- Survivors often fled to remote regions, reducing birth rates and slowing recovery.
Environmental and Secondary Effects
- Reforestation of abandoned farmland likely occurred on a massive scale, which may have contributed to a measurable drop in global CO₂ levels around 1600, known as the “Little Ice Age” hypothesis.
- This is one of the few times in history when human depopulation may have had a climate impact.
Here are the numbers by country based on modern borders:
Full data:
| Country | Population in 1500 | Population in 1600 | Difference in Numbers | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 2,000,000 | 2,500,000 | 500,000 | 25.0% |
| Africa | 58,613,540 | 68,577,456 | 9,963,916 | 17.0% |
| Albania | 200,000 | 200,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Algeria | 1,500,000 | 2,250,000 | 750,000 | 50.0% |
| American Samoa | 799 | 1,199 | 400 | 50.1% |
| Andorra | 1,650 | 1,684 | 34 | 2.1% |
| Angola | 2,008,000 | 2,133,500 | 125,500 | 6.3% |
| Anguilla | 861 | 940 | 79 | 9.2% |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 7,035 | 7,688 | 653 | 9.3% |
| Argentina | 300,000 | 300,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Armenia | 218,000 | 261,000 | 43,000 | 19.7% |
| Aruba | 250 | 501 | 251 | 100.4% |
| Asia | 303,879,520 | 334,114,560 | 30,235,040 | 9.9% |
| Australia | 317,166 | 318,500 | 1,334 | 0.4% |
| Austria | 2,000,000 | 2,100,000 | 100,000 | 5.0% |
| Azerbaijan | 465,000 | 558,000 | 93,000 | 20.0% |
| Bahamas | 4,235 | 4,620 | 385 | 9.1% |
| Bahrain | 21,646 | 24,052 | 2,406 | 11.1% |
| Bangladesh | 9,600,000 | 12,480,000 | 2,880,000 | 30.0% |
| Barbados | 5,000 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 300.0% |
| Belarus | 576,000 | 720,000 | 144,000 | 25.0% |
| Belgium | 1,250,000 | 1,500,000 | 250,000 | 20.0% |
| Belize | 6,885 | 7,511 | 626 | 9.1% |
| Benin | 3,000,000 | 3,100,000 | 100,000 | 3.3% |
| Bhutan | 15,000 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 33.3% |
| Bolivia | 900,000 | 800,000 | -100,000 | -11.1% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 360,000 | 440,000 | 80,000 | 22.2% |
| Botswana | 86,682 | 93,103 | 6,421 | 7.4% |
| Brazil | 18,738,040 | 887,751 | -17,850,289 | -95.3% |
| Brunei | 4,000 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 25.0% |
| Bulgaria | 800,000 | 1,250,000 | 450,000 | 56.3% |
| Burkina Faso | 1,386,484 | 1,571,348 | 184,864 | 13.3% |
| Burundi | 650,000 | 715,000 | 65,000 | 10.0% |
| Cambodia | 1,500,000 | 1,665,000 | 165,000 | 11.0% |
| Cameroon | 1,377,901 | 1,574,744 | 196,843 | 14.3% |
| Canada | 200,000 | 200,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Central African Republic | 281,994 | 296,836 | 14,842 | 5.3% |
| Chad | 834,000 | 973,000 | 139,000 | 16.7% |
| Chile | 600,000 | 600,000 | - | 0.0% |
| China | 91,259,760 | 98,054,360 | 6,794,600 | 7.4% |
| Colombia | 3,994,975 | 1,258,417 | -2,736,558 | -68.5% |
| Comoros | 20,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 25.0% |
| Congo | 262,821 | 300,367 | 37,546 | 14.3% |
| Costa Rica | 450,000 | 8,000 | -442,000 | -98.2% |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 1,030,409 | 1,177,611 | 147,202 | 14.3% |
| Croatia | 540,000 | 660,000 | 120,000 | 22.2% |
| Cuba | 63,845 | 79,806 | 15,961 | 25.0% |
| Cyprus | 200,000 | 120,000 | -80,000 | -40.0% |
| Czechia | 2,160,000 | 3,240,000 | 1,080,000 | 50.0% |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 5,888,000 | 6,256,000 | 368,000 | 6.3% |
| Denmark | 600,000 | 700,000 | 100,000 | 16.7% |
| Djibouti | 21,600 | 22,950 | 1,350 | 6.3% |
| Dominica | 1,362 | 1,703 | 341 | 25.0% |
| Dominican Republic | 200,000 | 97,966 | -102,034 | -51.0% |
| East Timor | 102,568 | 128,210 | 25,642 | 25.0% |
| Ecuador | 600,000 | 500,000 | -100,000 | -16.7% |
| Egypt | 4,000,000 | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 25.0% |
| El Salvador | 91,746 | 100,087 | 8,341 | 9.1% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 110,868 | 117,797 | 6,929 | 6.2% |
| Eritrea | 116,000 | 130,500 | 14,500 | 12.5% |
| Estonia | 62,601 | 65,896 | 3,295 | 5.3% |
| Eswatini | 12,600 | 14,700 | 2,100 | 16.7% |
| Ethiopia | 2,355,000 | 2,355,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Europe | 78,614,656 | 101,501,416 | 22,886,760 | 29.1% |
| European Union (27) | 59,414,209 | 77,620,720 | 18,206,511 | 30.6% |
| Falkland Islands | 5 | 62 | 57 | 1140.0% |
| Faroe Islands | 163 | 166 | 3 | 1.8% |
| Fiji | 50,898 | 56,554 | 5,656 | 11.1% |
| Finland | 100,000 | 200,000 | 100,000 | 100.0% |
| France | 14,867,569 | 18,314,626 | 3,447,057 | 23.2% |
| French Guiana | 1,536 | 1,676 | 140 | 9.1% |
| Gabon | 148,102 | 169,259 | 21,157 | 14.3% |
| Gambia | 3,506 | 4,006 | 500 | 14.3% |
| Georgia | 568,000 | 681,000 | 113,000 | 19.9% |
| Germany | 9,000,000 | 12,000,000 | 3,000,000 | 33.3% |
| Ghana | 1,715,184 | 1,960,211 | 245,027 | 14.3% |
| Greece | 1,000,000 | 1,500,000 | 500,000 | 50.0% |
| Greenland | 1,162 | 1,185 | 23 | 2.0% |
| Grenada | 18,101 | 19,747 | 1,646 | 9.1% |
| Guadeloupe | 48,050 | 52,418 | 4,368 | 9.1% |
| Guatemala | 800,000 | 600,000 | -200,000 | -25.0% |
| Guinea | 1,065,312 | 1,217,500 | 152,188 | 14.3% |
| Guinea-Bissau | 83,095 | 94,966 | 11,871 | 14.3% |
| Guyana | 90,000 | 90,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Haiti | 200,000 | 39,747 | -160,253 | -80.1% |
| High-income countries | 94,054,591 | 119,385,760 | 25,331,169 | 26.9% |
| Honduras | 1,091,464 | 311,847 | -779,617 | -71.4% |
| Hong Kong | 12,844 | 12,545 | -299 | -2.3% |
| Hungary | 1,250,000 | 1,250,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Iceland | 60,000 | 50,000 | -10,000 | -16.7% |
| India | 131,243,088 | 134,992,896 | 3,749,808 | 2.9% |
| Indonesia | 7,750,000 | 8,500,000 | 750,000 | 9.7% |
| Iran | 4,000,000 | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 25.0% |
| Iraq | 1,000,000 | 1,250,000 | 250,000 | 25.0% |
| Israel | 317,346 | 315,487 | -1,859 | -0.6% |
| Italy | 9,004,179 | 13,277,249 | 4,273,070 | 47.5% |
| Jamaica | 286,449 | 143,224 | -143,225 | -50.0% |
| Japan | 12,300,000 | 17,000,000 | 4,700,000 | 38.2% |
| Jordan | 87,000 | 87,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Kazakhstan | 1,340,000 | 1,530,000 | 190,000 | 14.2% |
| Kenya | 1,500,000 | 1,750,000 | 250,000 | 16.7% |
| Kuwait | 69,000 | 135,000 | 66,000 | 95.7% |
| Kyrgyzstan | 350,000 | 400,000 | 50,000 | 14.3% |
| Laos | 400,000 | 500,000 | 100,000 | 25.0% |
| Latvia | 85,997 | 90,523 | 4,526 | 5.3% |
| Lebanon | 435,000 | 508,000 | 73,000 | 16.8% |
| Lesotho | 62,396 | 71,310 | 8,914 | 14.3% |
| Liberia | 339,674 | 357,552 | 17,878 | 5.3% |
| Libya | 500,000 | 500,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Liechtenstein | 7,016 | 7,159 | 143 | 2.0% |
| Lithuania | 100,258 | 105,535 | 5,277 | 5.3% |
| Low-income countries | 29,970,339 | 34,402,833 | 4,432,494 | 14.8% |
| Lower-middle-income countries | 199,486,709 | 217,008,357 | 17,521,648 | 8.8% |
| Luxembourg | 61,833 | 63,095 | 1,262 | 2.0% |
| Madagascar | 700,000 | 850,000 | 150,000 | 21.4% |
| Malawi | 357,000 | 387,345 | 30,345 | 8.5% |
| Malaysia | 396,000 | 495,000 | 99,000 | 25.0% |
| Mali | 1,083,000 | 1,263,500 | 180,500 | 16.7% |
| Malta | 20,000 | 40,000 | 20,000 | 100.0% |
| Martinique | 89,840 | 44,920 | -44,920 | -50.0% |
| Mauritania | 258,000 | 301,000 | 43,000 | 16.7% |
| Mexico | 24,460,394 | 1,000,000 | -23,460,394 | -95.9% |
| Moldova | 312,000 | 390,000 | 78,000 | 25.0% |
| Mongolia | 600,000 | 600,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Montserrat | 1,009 | 2,019 | 1,010 | 100.1% |
| Morocco | 1,500,000 | 2,250,000 | 750,000 | 50.0% |
| Mozambique | 1,000,000 | 1,250,000 | 250,000 | 25.0% |
| Myanmar | 4,000,000 | 4,500,000 | 500,000 | 12.5% |
| Namibia | 133,705 | 143,609 | 9,904 | 7.4% |
| Nepal | 2,000,000 | 2,500,000 | 500,000 | 25.0% |
| Netherlands | 1,086,367 | 1,543,183 | 456,816 | 42.0% |
| Netherlands Antilles | 1,939 | 3,878 | 1,939 | 100.0% |
| New Caledonia | 17,385 | 19,317 | 1,932 | 11.1% |
| New Zealand | 80,000 | 140,000 | 60,000 | 75.0% |
| Nicaragua | 325,097 | 162,548 | -162,549 | -50.0% |
| Niger | 822,000 | 959,000 | 137,000 | 16.7% |
| Nigeria | 11,000,000 | 14,000,000 | 3,000,000 | 27.3% |
| North America | 30,472,692 | 3,834,259 | -26,638,433 | -87.4% |
| North Korea | 1,440,000 | 1,800,000 | 360,000 | 25.0% |
| North Macedonia | 180,000 | 220,000 | 40,000 | 22.2% |
| Norway | 400,000 | 500,000 | 100,000 | 25.0% |
| Oceania | 1,607,577 | 1,739,404 | 131,827 | 8.2% |
| Oman | 200,000 | 235,000 | 35,000 | 17.5% |
| Pakistan | 8,500,000 | 11,050,000 | 2,550,000 | 30.0% |
| Panama | 196,849 | 98,424 | -98,425 | -50.0% |
| Papua New Guinea | 1,123,295 | 1,176,785 | 53,490 | 4.8% |
| Paraguay | 200,000 | 200,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Peru | 4,000,000 | 1,300,000 | -2,700,000 | -67.5% |
| Philippines | 499,886 | 799,819 | 299,933 | 60.0% |
| Poland | 4,000,000 | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 25.0% |
| Portugal | 1,147,012 | 1,835,219 | 688,207 | 60.0% |
| Puerto Rico | 4,600 | 6,900 | 2,300 | 50.0% |
| Qatar | 632 | 654 | 22 | 3.5% |
| Reunion | 373 | 467 | 94 | 25.2% |
| Romania | 2,000,000 | 2,000,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Russia | 7,560,000 | 9,450,000 | 1,890,000 | 25.0% |
| Rwanda | 600,000 | 660,000 | 60,000 | 10.0% |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2,145 | 4,290 | 2,145 | 100.0% |
| Saint Lucia | 20,783 | 22,672 | 1,889 | 9.1% |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 407 | 814 | 407 | 100.0% |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 4,622 | 9,244 | 4,622 | 100.0% |
| Samoa | 3,736 | 5,604 | 1,868 | 50.0% |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 4,104 | 5,131 | 1,027 | 25.0% |
| Saudi Arabia | 2,000,000 | 2,250,000 | 250,000 | 12.5% |
| Senegal | 370,813 | 463,516 | 92,703 | 25.0% |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 990,000 | 1,210,000 | 220,000 | 22.2% |
| Sierra Leone | 6,644 | 7,382 | 738 | 11.1% |
| Singapore | 597 | 896 | 299 | 50.1% |
| Slovakia | 840,000 | 1,260,000 | 420,000 | 50.0% |
| Slovenia | 230,609 | 239,150 | 8,541 | 3.7% |
| Solomon Islands | 1,448 | 2,173 | 725 | 50.1% |
| Somalia | 778,400 | 827,050 | 48,650 | 6.3% |
| South Africa | 516,000 | 602,000 | 86,000 | 16.7% |
| South America | 29,863,142 | 6,380,525 | -23,482,617 | -78.6% |
| South Korea | 2,560,000 | 3,200,000 | 640,000 | 25.0% |
| Spain | 6,500,000 | 8,500,000 | 2,000,000 | 30.8% |
| Sri Lanka | 1,000,000 | 1,250,000 | 250,000 | 25.0% |
| Sudan | 4,000,000 | 4,300,000 | 300,000 | 7.5% |
| Suriname | 14,588 | 15,914 | 1,326 | 9.1% |
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen | 1 | 1 | - | 0.0% |
| Sweden | 507,784 | 766,244 | 258,460 | 50.9% |
| Switzerland | 800,000 | 1,000,000 | 200,000 | 25.0% |
| Syria | 1,065,000 | 1,243,000 | 178,000 | 16.7% |
| Taiwan | 198,175 | 198,175 | - | 0.0% |
| Tajikistan | 310,000 | 350,000 | 40,000 | 12.9% |
| Tanzania | 1,750,000 | 2,125,000 | 375,000 | 21.4% |
| Thailand | 2,019,954 | 2,272,449 | 252,495 | 12.5% |
| Togo | 430,542 | 492,048 | 61,506 | 14.3% |
| Tonga | 5,828 | 8,742 | 2,914 | 50.0% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 115 | 231 | 116 | 100.9% |
| Tunisia | 800,000 | 1,000,000 | 200,000 | 25.0% |
| Turkey | 6,250,000 | 8,000,000 | 1,750,000 | 28.0% |
| Turkmenistan | 240,000 | 280,000 | 40,000 | 16.7% |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 19 | 39 | 20 | 105.3% |
| USSR | 16,195,856 | 19,756,954 | 3,561,098 | 22.0% |
| Uganda | 1,500,000 | 1,750,000 | 250,000 | 16.7% |
| Ukraine | 2,748,000 | 3,435,000 | 687,000 | 25.0% |
| United Arab Emirates | 31,000 | 42,000 | 11,000 | 35.5% |
| United Kingdom | 4,205,609 | 5,006,677 | 801,068 | 19.0% |
| United States | 1,887,028 | 778,503 | -1,108,525 | -58.7% |
| United States Virgin Islands | 1,385 | 2,771 | 1,386 | 100.1% |
| Upper-middle-income countries | 177,606,618 | 143,643,915 | -33,962,703 | -19.1% |
| Uruguay | 23,995 | 26,701 | 2,706 | 11.3% |
| Uzbekistan | 1,260,000 | 1,440,000 | 180,000 | 14.3% |
| Vanuatu | 7,018 | 10,528 | 3,510 | 50.0% |
| Venezuela | 400,000 | 400,000 | - | 0.0% |
| Vietnam | 2,000,000 | 2,500,000 | 500,000 | 25.0% |
| Western Sahara | 319 | 479 | 160 | 50.2% |
| World | 503,051,104 | 516,147,616 | 13,096,512 | 2.6% |
| Yemen | 2,250,000 | 2,500,000 | 250,000 | 11.1% |
| Zambia | 303,000 | 328,755 | 25,755 | 8.5% |
| Zimbabwe | 340,000 | 368,900 | 28,900 | 8.5% |
What do you think?
rockymountains says
I don’t know more about the rest part of the earth, but i do know China well .The number is accurate, but after that the it collapsed to 30 million as a rusult of the massacre by barbarians.
Mike Hunt says
Thanks for the zero information. Please try to modernize your content that makes people realize what population and the growth of it means. You literally out zero, or zed for Australia, I do believe the Aboriginals were starting to make a mark in their native land at that time.
rockymountains says
There should add the preposition “to” between “503 million “and “516 million” in paragraph 1.Given that I am not a native English learner,did i do something to butter on bacon?
Brilliant Maps says
Good spot now fixed.