{{Short description|Set of people living in a particular area or interbreeding}}
{{broader|Population (biology)}}{{other uses|Population (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Human population|the human population of the whole world|World population}}

A '''human population''' is the set of [[Human|people]] living in a particular [[region|geographic area]], increasing or decreasing in [[Population size|size]] over time,<ref name=":0">{{Britannica|id=470303|title=Population|author=Michael S. Teitelbaum}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> but in [[human biology]], a human population may be defined more precisely as "a group of individuals who are more likely to [[mating|mate]] among themselves than among others",<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Elmer S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJAgAQAAMAAJ&q=%22as+a+group+of+individuals+who+are+more%22 |title=Introduction to Anthropology |last2=Weitz |first2=Charles A. |date=1979 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn=978-0-13-478008-5 |pages=182 |language=en}}</ref> which is influenced by a number of social and cultural factors.<ref name=":2" /> Thus, a larger ''geographic population'' can be considered as made of smaller ''breeding populations'' that coexist together,<ref name=":2" /> but in practice, a population is usually defined by a geographic area,<ref>{{Cite Q|Q138201602}}</ref> which can be based on a [[Settlement hierarchy|settlement]], or larger territories (a country, region, city, or the [[World population|whole world]]).<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Relethford |first=John H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AuSvIa2xNHQC&pg=PA18 |title=Human Population Genetics |date=2012-03-27 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-46467-0 |pages=18 |language=en |quote=geography is a usual starting point in defining a human population}}</ref>

[[Population genetics]] studies differences between populations and differences inside a population. 99.9% of the human genome remains the same across all human populations, but the other genes can be different.<ref name=":3" /> Populations tend to have different [[phenotypic trait]]s based on their geographical location<ref name=":3" /> and so may carry varying gene pools,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Serrano Sanchez |first=C. |date=1996-04-01 |title=Introduction: The concept of population |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226825761 |journal=International Journal of Anthropology |language=en |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=15–18 |doi=10.1007/BF02441407 |issn=1824-3096|doi-access=free }}</ref> but physical traits are not often used to define a population.<ref name=":3" /> Aside from the term "population", humans can also be grouped as [[Race (human categorization)|races]] and [[ethnic groups]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Manglik |first=Mr Rohit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFAzEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |title=Biological Diversity in Human Population: [9789368751571] |date=2023-11-23 |publisher=EduGorilla Publication |isbn=978-93-6875-157-1 |pages=14 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Demography]] is the [[statistical]] study of human populations.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> Additional criteria may be used to define a demographic population or subpopulation, such as sex and age, as in the female population over 60 years of age. [[Demographic statistics]] may involve the structure<ref name=":4" /> (like [[Population pyramid|age and sex distribution]]),<ref name=":0" /> [[Species distribution|spatial distribution]], and size of a population, or involve [[population dynamics]] (the change of the size and age of a population).<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Carey |first=James R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FL2mPHUhrvcC&pg=PA3 |title=Applied Demography for Biologists: with Special Emphasis on Insects |date=1993-02-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-802314-2 |pages=3–4 |language=en}}</ref> However, demographers use the term "population" differently from biologists, even if there are some similarities between these definitions: biologists study the number of individuals in a particular area and its evolution over time under varying conditions, while demographers count individuals by some certain criteria at a given time in a specific region.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Petersen |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiIxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |title=From Birth to Death: A Consumer's Guide to Population Studies |date=2017-07-05 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-51888-8 |pages=1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RSZkrxT9aAYC&pg=PA826 |title=Comprehensive Biology XII |publisher=Firewall Media |isbn=978-81-7008-754-0 |pages=826 |language=en}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The word population evolved from the Latin word ''"populus"'', which means "people"<ref name=":1" /> and which was originally used in the context of [[Citizenship|citizens]] of a specific place.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kreager |first1=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUW0BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=Population in the Human Sciences: Concepts, Models, Evidence |last2=Winney |first2=Bruce |last3=Ulijaszek |first3=Stanley |last4=Capelli |first4=Cristian |date=2015-03-05 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-151249-0 |pages=25 |language=en}}</ref> Initially, population was a [[verbal noun]] describing a process or a state (such as an increase of inhabitants), but this definition later became archaic.<ref name=":1" /> The first known usage of the term dates back to the 1500s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/population_n1?tl=true&tab=factsheet |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref> [[Francis Bacon]] is credited to be the first who used it in its modern sense.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=T. Kue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pdnnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |title=Population Health: Concepts and Methods |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-515854-0 |pages=9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Namboodiri |first=Krishnan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HROkBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |title=A Primer of Population Dynamics |date=2013-06-29 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4757-8994-2 |pages=46 |language=en}}</ref>

==Background==
In [[biology]], one definition of "population" is about [[wikt:interbreed|interbreeding]] individuals,<ref name=":2" /> and in [[Human genetics|genetics]], a definition may be about a common [[gene pool]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ohtsuka |first1=Ryutaro |last2=Kawabe |first2=Toshio |last3=Inaoka |first3=Tsukasa |last4=Akimichi |first4=Tomoya |last5=Suzuki |first5=Tsuguyoshi |date=1985 |title=Inter- and Intra-Population Migration of the Gidra in Lowland Papua: A Population-Ecological Analysis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41463631 |journal=Human Biology |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=33–45 |jstor=41463631 |pmid=3988269 |
issn=0018-7143}}</ref> 
More specifically, in biology the term "population" usually describes members of a species that can interbreed with each other and are [[Allopatric speciation|geographically isolated]] from the other populations of the same species{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}.

== Definition ==
Since all humans belong to the same species (''Homo sapiens''), they are all able to interbreed. Nevertheless, they represent different populations, separated from each other geographically, though modern global migration and transportation reduces boundaries between populations.<ref name=":3" />

A single geographic area does not have to contain only one human population.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Minkoff |first1=Eli |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ab69EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA238 |title=Biology Trending: A Contemporary Issues Approach |last2=Hood-DeGrenier |first2=Jennifer K. |date=2023-07-24 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-000-87794-6 |pages=237–239, 324 |language=en}}</ref> Multiple human populations can coexist on the same territory because mating between them could be limited by such factors as [[ethnicity]], [[education level]], [[social status]], and [[religion]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> Although [[nation]]s and populations may overlap, their boundaries can be different.<ref name=":3" /> In [[biological anthropology]], the definition of "population" also considers the [[culture]] shared between individuals and the time period in which a population lived, since the shared culture influenced [[mating]] behavior.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=DiGangi |first1=Elizabeth A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ckV-Xx9kb1sC&dq=population+in+humans,+population+differs+biology+in+humans&pg=PA5 |title=Research Methods in Human Skeletal Biology |last2=Moore |first2=Megan K. |date=2012-09-25 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-385189-5 |pages=5 |language=en}}</ref>

Physical characteristics (like eye color) are not typically used by biologists to define a population, since grouping people by one physical trait does not make them similar in other traits. If this was the case, a single individual would be a member of numerous groups. [[Human races]] are not considered populations either, because races can include smaller populations and definitions of some of the races are originally based on physical characteristics.<ref name=":3" /> Although the opposite opinion exists, thinking of a race as being of a population subdivided into [[Deme (biology)|demes]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Vogel |first1=Friedrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbjtCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA608 |title=Vogel and Motulsky's Human Genetics: Problems and Approaches |last2=Motulsky |first2=Arno G. |date=2013-04-17 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-662-03356-2 |pages=610 |language=en}}</ref>

== Difference from other animals ==
There are three main factors that limit the size of a population in humans and other animals: available food sources, [[disease]]s and the environment. Humans differ from other animals in that they have cultural, social, and technological factors that influence [[reproduction]] and [[population growth]]. Among technological factors, [[medicine]] has improved overall health and lowered [[mortality rate]].<ref name=":0" />

== See also ==
* [[Community (ecology)]]
* [[Human ecology]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm United Nations Population Division]
* [http://www.cicred.org/Eng/Publications/IndexPublications.htm CICRED homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126044646/http://www.cicred.org/Eng/Publications/IndexPublications.htm |date=26 January 2010 }} a platform for interaction between research centres and international organizations, such as the United Nations Population Division, [[UNFPA]], [[WHO]] and [[FAO]].
* [http://www.prb.org/ Population Reference Bureau] analyzes demographic data and research providing objective, accurate, and up-to-date population information in accessible formats.
* [http://www.populationsdumonde.com/ Populations du monde]. {{In lang|fr}}
* [http://gsociology.icaap.org/  Understanding the World Today] Reports about world and regional population trends
* {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Lee |first1=Ronald Demos |editor=David R. Henderson |editor-link=David R. Henderson |encyclopedia=[[Concise Encyclopedia of Economics]] |title=Population |url=http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Population.html |year=2008 |edition= 2nd |publisher=[[Library of Economics and Liberty]] |location=Indianapolis |isbn=978-0-86597-665-8 |oclc=237794267}}

{{Population}}
{{Population country lists}}
{{Sustainability}}
{{Ethnicity}}
{{Evolutionary psychology}}

[[Category:Population]]
[[Category:Human biology]]