Data

World Population Age 80 or Older
1950: 14.5 million
2009: 101.9 million
2050*: 394.7 million

Longest recorded life span in select species
(the figures for the whale and the lion are approximate)

Bowhead Whale: 200 years
Human: 122 years
Pigeon: 35 years
Lion: 30 years
Mouse: 4 years
Fruit fly: 153 days

*Medium-variant projection
Source: U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009

• 
• Click to Print

• Find this article at:
• https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1963392_1963367_1963820,00.html