It took 200,000 years for the human population to reach 1 billion—and only 200 years to reach 7 billion. Human population growth has slowed in recent years as women are having fewer children on average, however the world population is still expected to hit 11 billion people by 2100. As our population grows, so do our demands on Earth’s resources. The choices we make today affect the future of our species – and life on Earth. How can we minimize our impact on Earth’s resources as we approach 11 billion people on the planet?

Watch this beautiful video from the American Museum of Natural History to visualize the growth and spread of the human race across the globe – and the astounding rise of the human population in just the last 200 years.