Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

International

PHOTOS: For #WorldPopulationDay, How Earth's 7 Billion Live

School dormitories at South China Normal University in Guangzhou, China.
Wing Ka H./Courtesy of National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
School dormitories at South China Normal University in Guangzhou, China.

As of this morning, there were 7.3 billion-plus people living on Earth, according to the Census Bureau's World Population Clock. And the number goes up second by second because babies keep being born.

<a href="http://n.pr/1TAuCBq"><strong>Click here to subscribe</strong></a><strong> </strong><em>to our weekly global health and development email.</em>
NPR
Click here to subscribe to our weekly global health and development email.

That's a statistic to ponder today, July 11, which has been designated World Population Day by the United Nations Development Program. The idea is to focus on "population issues," which touch on many pressing concerns in the world today — from maternal mortality to climate change. This year's theme is "investing in teenage girls" — making sure they can stay in school and get the information they need about health, human rights and reproductive rights.

It's also a day to think about the living spaces of the world's ever-growing population. The 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest gives you an idea of how crowded a world of 7 billion can feel: People literally live on top of one another in China's high-rise dormitories. Yet there is still great solitude in some of Earth's remote spots, like a mountain village in India.

Advertisement

Here are some images that showcase our populous planet.

Note: The captions were provided by the photographers and were edited for length and clarity.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

A Kinnaura tribal woman in a village in Himachal Pradesh, a state in India's Himalayan highlands, carries a log for a home fire.
Mattia Passarini/Courtesy of National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
A Kinnaura tribal woman in a village in Himachal Pradesh, a state in India's Himalayan highlands, carries a log for a home fire.
Visitors to the banks of India's Ganges River, regarded as sacred by Hindus.
Massimo Rumi
/
National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Visitors to the banks of India's Ganges River, regarded as sacred by Hindus.
Hong Kong is home to more than 7 million residents.
Andy Yeung
/
Courtesy of National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Hong Kong is home to more than 7 million residents.
Ho Chi Minh City as seen from the 12th floor of a hostel. The Vietnamese city was formerly known as Saigon.
King Fung Wong
/
Courtesy of National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Ho Chi Minh City as seen from the 12th floor of a hostel. The Vietnamese city was formerly known as Saigon.
Dhaka, Bangladesh, is said to be the rickshaw capital of the world, with hundreds of thousands in circulation.
Zhen Li
/
Courtesy of National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Dhaka, Bangladesh, is said to be the rickshaw capital of the world, with hundreds of thousands in circulation.