I got a great question over the weekend.

"Is it possible to know WHERE the 7 billionth person will be born?"

While a finite number of people are born every day, knowing exactly WHERE the precise birth event occurred that introduced the 7 billionth person to the world is highly unlikely.

Even in the 21st century, even with our level of technology, the birth event still requires human interaction and requires human reporting. Not all countries keep great and accurate records. Even in the United States, births outside of hospitals, using a mid-wife, or simply natural childbirth at home, still occur.

Demographers would look at Population Growth Rates around the world and speculate that the fastest growing countries, the countries with the highest population growth rate, might be more likely to produce the 7 billionth person.

That being said, the 7 billionth person might be born in the following countries: Liberia, Burundi, or Afghanistan. These three countries have a population growth rate greater than 3.5%.

In fact, a good guess for the home continent would be Africa. Six of the Top Ten, and 13 of the Top 20 fastest growing countries are African countries.

However, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has an application that will help you discover where you fit in the world population number (link).