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World Population 1800-1938

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  • Federico, Giovanni

Abstract

The number of people is one of the most basic facts about any society, but it is difficult to ascertain. The data are missing for most of human history and scarce until the early 19th century for advanced countries and the early 20th century for the rest of the world until. Yet, historical demographers have tried hard and often successfully to estimate population in the past, but their results have been neglected largely in the most common general historical databases. Our research project fills this gap in our knowledge. We have estimated the population series for all polities from 1800 to 1938 at historical and 1991 borders, using firsthand sources and country-specific literature. In this working paper we survey the previous estimates, list our sources, describe the methods of estimation in general and their application to each polity, sketch out main trends and discuss the reliability of our data, estimating their margin of error

Suggested Citation

  • Federico, Giovanni, 2025. "World Population 1800-1938," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH 45843, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.
    • Handle: RePEc:cte:whrepe:45843
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    World population historical dataset;

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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