7 Billion: Are You Typical? -- National Geographic Magazine

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National Geographic magazine continues a yearlong series examining the specific challenges and solutions we face as the worldwide population reaches 7 billion people in 2011 with a March story looking at humans' massive impact on the planet (http://bit.ly/if9gey). Also in the March issue is "The Surprising Face of Seven Billion," a poster showing a composite face of the world's most typical person. Other stories will follow throughout 2011. To encourage discussion around the issue of population, National Geographic and the Aspen Institute are organizing the Aspen Environment Forum from May 30 - June 3, 2011. For more information, go to http://bit.ly/gArYSu or follow on twitter at #AEF2011.

Video by National Geographic Digital Studio
Music by Chris Beaty, http://www.sonicbloom.tv

Editor's Note: A graphic in this video has been updated from a previous version.

In a world of 7 billion people

who is most typical?

The world's most typical person

Is right handed

Makes less than $12,000 a year

Has a cell phone

But not a bank account

Less than 25% of us do

So what does he look like?

The world's most typical person is male

Males outnumber females

(but just barely)

The median age of the world's population is 28

The largest ethnic group is Han Chinese

Based on these traits

the world's most typical person is

a 28-year-old Han Chinese man

There are over 9,000,000 of them

Researchers averaged 190,00 of their photos

to create a composite image

This is the world's most typical person

But he won't be typical for long

By 2030 that person will come from India

And typical is always relative

The typical man in Holland is 5' 11"

The typical man in Peru is 5' 4 1/2"

In Japan, the typical woman lives nearly 86 years

In Afghanistan, she lives 45 years

The typical American uses 100 gallons of water

at home per day

In parts of Ethiopia, it's 2.5 gallons

And some women spend 8 hours/day collecting it

Typical people have choices to make

But they're not the same for everyone

And our choices make a big difference

When multiplied by 7 billion

7 billion - The surprising face of the most typical human