Share Of The World Population In Each Quadrant

Map created by reddit user ImaginaryDrawingsTwtThe map above shows an interesting quirk of geography.

The vast majority of the world’s population lives in the North-East quadrant as based on the Prime Meridian and Equator.

Assuming 8 billion people on earth today here are the numbers:

North-East (73%): 5.84 billion, includes all of India, China and 7 of the 10 most populous countries in the world.
North West (13%): 1.04 billion includes US, Canada, Mexico and most of the UK.
South-East (9%): 0.72 billion includes Indonesia, DRC, South Africa and Australia.
South-West (5%): 0.4 billion the southern bit of South America with Brazil being by far the most populous country.

One personally interesting thing to me about this map is that I live in the North-East quadrant, but work in the North-West one.

Equator vs Prime Meridian

The Equator and the Prime Meridian are two key reference lines used in geography to define coordinates on Earth’s surface. They serve very different purposes and differ significantly in their characteristics.

Equator:

Definition: The equator is the imaginary horizontal line encircling the Earth exactly halfway between the North and South Poles.
Purpose: It divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Natural Basis: It is not arbitrary; the equator is determined by Earth’s rotation axis and shape, specifically at the midpoint between poles.
Latitude: 0° latitude.

Prime Meridian:

Definition: The prime meridian is the imaginary vertical line running from the North Pole to the South Pole, passing through Greenwich, England.
Purpose: It divides Earth into Eastern and Western Hemispheres and is the baseline for measuring longitude.
Natural Basis: It is arbitrary. Its placement at Greenwich was historically chosen at the International Meridian Conference in 1884, without any inherent natural feature determining its exact location.
Longitude: 0° longitude.

Summary: