The Population Project has temporarily suspended its activities. Our database of about 700 million and 200 million dead remains freely accessible. Read more.

World Map
Countries
It’s a historic day: our site is up!

It’s a historic day: our site is up!

AB

Antoine Bello · October 6, 2022

We were initially shooting for September but several issues arose during the summer, some mundane (hosting, mirroring…), some more substantial such as last-minute reforms of the way we store dates and places. When it recently became obvious that we wouldn’t be able to launch soon with all the bells and whistles we had in mind, we decided to ship a barebones version that would give the world a first glimpse of what we’re trying to accomplish. This initial version, online since October 5, contains only US data, which we’re adding to the tune of 20-30 million records a day. At the moment, records can be viewed but not edited. Plenty of stats are already available though, from the most popular first names to the age pyramid to the average completion of our records (100 means a full record, we currently stand at 60). So what are these other features in the hopper and when can you expect to see them?

  • more countries will be added, starting with (but not limited to) Canada, the United Kingdom, and France.

  • all records will be editable, a la wikipedia. No account will be necessary.

  • registered users will be able to create records.

  • registered users will be able to tag records. Categories will include: “Me”, “Family”, “Friends”, and “Others”.

  • users not finding a record will be able to broaden their search to sound-like names and countries speaking the same language.

  • after confirming their identity, a user will be able to request their record to be taken down, in compliance with GDPR rules.

We will introduce the new features gradually, hopefully by the end of the year. In the meantime, you’ll probably notice some bugs on the site. Be kind enough to report them here. We’re excited and proud to present this first glimpse of what the Population Project can be. Imagine our homepage with 4 billion records, 200+ countries covered and thousands of edits a day. It’s our vision, we hope it becomes yours.

A nonprofit organization striving to compile a list of every living person’s full name and place and date of birth.
Project
About us
Methodology
Privacy Policy
Blog
Founder's thoughts
Contributing
Help us
Socials
The Population Project relies heavily on the work and contributions of volunteers. We believe that information-gathering and use should go hand-in-hand with transparency. This Privacy Policy explains how the Population Project, the non-profit organization that hosts this site, collects, uses, and shares information we receive from you through your use of the Population Project Site. It is essential to understand that, by using the Population Project Site, you consent to the collection, transfer, processing, storage, disclosure, and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. That means that reading this Policy carefully is important. We believe that you shouldn't have to provide nonpublic Personal Information to participate to the Population Project. You do not have to provide things like your real name, address, or country to sign up for a standard account or contribute content to the Population Project Site. We do not sell or rent your Personal Information, nor do we give it to others to sell you anything. We use it to figure out how to make the Population Project Site more engaging and accessible. Put simply: we use this information to make the Population Project Site better for you.