There are 7 billion people on the planet and still growing…

There is a feature series from National Geographic entitled "Population7-Billion”.  The series features some of the statistical and demographic trends of the world’s population.

Another interesting feature presented there:  "The Face of Seven Billion”, illustrates and describes the most typical face on the planet.  Out of these 7 billion people on earth, the most typical person is a 28-year-old Han Chinese male—nine million of them who fit the description.

According to Wikipedia, China’s population is 1,342,680,000 (March 2011 est).  It is the largest in the world.   Han Chinese account for about 19-20 percent of the world’s population.  That is, if you’re in a room of 10 people,  2 of these 10 people are Chinese.

Can you guess now the most widely spoken language in the world?   Since a 28-year-old Han Chinese male is the most typical man on the planet, then the most obvious answer is the Mandarin language.  Thirteen percent of the global population speaks Mandarin as their first language.  

In the next 20 years though, Nat Geo projected that an Indian will become the most typical face on earth.  Not surprisingly enough since India is the second most populous nation today with a population of 1,194,850,000 (March 2011est).

As you do your usual way to work or to school, or go on travel, take a look and count how many Chinese you can see.
Voslego

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