The map above shows one the craziest facts about the world: there are more people living inside the circle than outside of it. However, that’s not the only thing the circle contains.
Inside the circle you’ll also find:
- The highest mountain (Everest)
- The deepest ocean trench (Mariana)
- More Muslims than outside of it.
- More Hindus than outside of it.
- More Buddhists than outside of it.
- More communists than outside of it.
- The least sparsely populated country on earth (Mongolia)
However, in terms of religions you’d still find more Christians and Jews outside the circle than inside it.
And while the map looks surprising at first glance, it shouldn’t really once you consider it contains all or most of the world’s first (China), second (India), fourth (Indonesia), sixth (Pakistan), seventh (Bangladesh) and tenth (Japan) most populous countries.
For something similarly shocking have a look at: How Much of Humanity is on Your Side of World?
The pedantic among you might claim that while the section of the map above looks like a circle (where every point on the border is equidistant from the centre) on the actual earth it wouldn’t be.
Instead it would look something like this:
BCMM explains that:
Due to the way this map projection (Winkel-tripel) distorts the world*, a real-world circle does not usually appear as a circle on the map.
This is a real-world circle centred on 106.6° East, 26.6° North, projected using GMT. More than half the world’s population lives within 4100km of Guiyang, Guizhou Province, Southwest China.
To make it a proper circle while still including Japan and India, I had to trade a lot of sea for extra land. Consequently, my circle has probably tens of millions more people than valeriepieris’s.
Additions comprise parts of Afghanistan, the less-populous end of Khazakstan, all of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the most densely-populated parts of Uzbekhistan, and a large, sparsely-populated section of Siberia.
* This isn’t a criticism; all projections distort. This one is non-conformal.
If you found that interesting, you’ll love: Map Projections & What They Say About You.
Want to learn more about world population? Then have a look at the following books:
- Population Wars: A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence
- Global Population: History, Geopolitics, and Life on Earth
- An Essay on the Principle of Population
Think this map was brilliant? Then please share with a friend:
simon_g42 says
I think you mean that Mongolia is the MOST sparsely populated country, not the least.
Amor DeCosmos says
That bugged me too.
Prince Dumb says
actually LEAST sparsely populated is correct, because that suggests that out of all the countries with sparse population, Mongolia has the largest population. this is true when you consider Mongolia has around 3 million people, while Greenland, the least sparsely populated country, has not even 60,000 citizens
Alex says
No, you are incorrect. Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world. Greenland is a autonomous territory of Denmark, not a country.
Besides, it’s not possible for there to be a ‘least sparsely populated country’, unless you mean Monoco, the most densely populated country. To apply to this definition of yours ‘the most populated country that is sparsely populated’ requires an entirely arbitrary definition as to what is deemed sparsely populated, and what isn’t. So Australia, for example, isn’t to be regarded as a sparsely populated country.
M says
Exactly I went right to research. ‘Least sparsely’
AceofTunes says
“And while the map looks surprising at first glance, it shouldn’t really once you consider it contains all or most of the world’s first (China), second (India), fourth (Indonesia), sixth (Pakistan), seventh (Bangladesh) and tenth (Japan) most populous countries.”
I can’t help but feel a strong need to reword this:
While the map looks surprising at first glance, it shouldn’t really be that big of a surprise once you consider it contains most of the world’s most populous countries; China (first), India (second), Indonesia (fourth), Pakistan (sixth), Bangladesh (seventh, and, Japan (tenth).
Paul says
Mongolia is the MOST sparsely populated, not the least.
Lofedapug says
I did the math and it is wrong it is there is 3,843,525,857 inside the circle (the first circle btw) and 3,846,623,693 so there is 63,097,836 difference with the outside having more
tom says
I’m guessing Mongolia should be listed as the most sparsely populated county on the planet. The least sparsely populated country on earth is actually is Macau and also in the circle.
Alex says
The least sparsely populated country is Monoco, which is outside the circle. Macau is part of China, thus not a country.
Gabriel D says
AND Tibet, AND Kashmir, both of which noone ever accused of being crowded, in fact, Tibet, Mongolia, Kashmir & of course Siberia, all have population densities comparable to Alaska!