Periods of Human Population Growth

Throughout human history, there are four major periods of human population growth.


1. The Hunter/Gatherer Period. During this time, the total human population was less than a few million. People were mostly hunters and gathers who lived in small groups that moved around as needed to find food.

Hunter gatherer populations experienced lower population growth rates. Photo courtesy of Flickr. 


2. Agricultural Revolution: The agricultural revolution enabled people to settle in villages and raise crops and domesticated animals. This period is when the first major increase in human population occurred.

Agriculture is very important to an increase in human population growth rates. Image courtesy of Wikimedia. 


3. Industrial Revolution: During this time improvements in health care and food supply led to rapid increases in the human population.

The Industrial Revolution led to a rapid growth in human populations. Photo courtesy of  Wikimedia. 


4. Information/Globalization Revolution: This period involves the use of new technologies to obtain access to a large quantity of information on a global scale. Some examples of these technologies include computers, the telephone, radio, and television.

Globalization led to easier access to information. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.