Rural Undercounts May Boost Earth's Population Estimates
Aalto University researchers analyzed 300 rural dam-relocation projects across 35 countries from 1975–2010 and found rural populations are undercounted by 53%–84% in several global datasets, suggesting that Earth's population may be higher than the commonly cited ~8.2 billion; the finding could affect how countries allocate resources, though some experts remain skeptical and say decades of population data would need overhaul, and more evidence is required.
