Feb 2, 2026 09:16 PM
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science...ted-study/
KEY POINTS: While most estimates place the current human population at around 8.2 billion, a study suggests we might be vastly underrepresenting rural areas. By analyzing 300 rural dam projects across 35 countries, researchers from Aalto University in Finland found discrepancies among these independent population counts and other population data gathered between 1975 and 2010. Such underreporting could have consequences in terms of resource allocation within a country, but other experts remain skeptical that decades of population counting could be off by such a wide margin... (MORE - details)
KEY POINTS: While most estimates place the current human population at around 8.2 billion, a study suggests we might be vastly underrepresenting rural areas. By analyzing 300 rural dam projects across 35 countries, researchers from Aalto University in Finland found discrepancies among these independent population counts and other population data gathered between 1975 and 2010. Such underreporting could have consequences in terms of resource allocation within a country, but other experts remain skeptical that decades of population counting could be off by such a wide margin... (MORE - details)