Are there over 8.2B people on Earth? Study suggests miscalculation
What's the story
A new study led by Josias Lang-Ritter, a postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University in Finland, has suggested that the current world population of 8.2 billion could be an underestimate.
Analyzing 300 rural dam projects spread over 35 nations, the researchers discovered discrepancies in independent population counts and other population data collected between 1975 and 2010.
The research, published in Nature Communications, says existing datasets used to estimate the world's population don't sufficiently account for people living in rural areas.
Rural oversight
Significant rural population discrepancy revealed
Lang-Ritter uncovered a major gap in the global population figures, especially for those living in rural areas.
"The actual population living in rural areas is much higher than the global population data indicates," he said.
According to his research, the rural population has been underestimated by 53% to 84% during the study period, depending on the dataset used.
Research approach
Methodology and findings of the population study
To check the accuracy of the population data, Lang-Ritter used his skills in water resource management.
He collected different kinds of population data from rural dam projects in 35 countries, and compared them with other population totals calculated by organizations including WorldPop, GWP, GRUMP, LandScan, and GHS-POP.
These datasets are used in many studies and decisions, but their accuracy hasn't been systematically checked till now.
Counting method
Innovative approach to population counting
Lang-Ritter's method was unique: it relied on local impact statements by dam companies that pay affected people.
It also used spatial information from satellite images to improve the accuracy of the rural population count.
The study finds that resource scarcity and difficulty of travel were two major obstacles in counting rural populations accurately.
When these populations are misrepresented, it creates challenges in the proper allocation of resources, per the study.
Counting difficulties
Some are not convinced
However, not everyone is convinced by the study.
Stuart Gietel-Basten from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology told New Scientist that the idea that Earth could contain a few billion more human inhabitants is extremely unlikely.
"If we really are undercounting by that massive amount, it's a massive news story and goes against all the years of thousands of other datasets."