<Tr> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> Taiwan </Td> <Td> 23,554,803 </Td> <Td> 36,190 </Td> <Td> 651 </Td> <Td> Steady population </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 10 </Td> <Td> Sri Lanka </Td> <Td> 21,203,000 </Td> <Td> 65,610 </Td> <Td> 323 </Td> <Td> Slowly growing population </Td> </Tr> <P> Population size fluctuates at differing rates in differing regions . Nonetheless, population growth is the long - standing trend on all inhabited continents, as well as in most individual states . During the 20th century, the global population saw its greatest increase in known history, rising from about 1.6 billion in 1900 to over 6 billion in 2000 . A number of factors contributed to this increase, including the lessening of the mortality rate in many countries by improved sanitation and medical advances, and a massive increase in agricultural productivity attributed to the Green Revolution . </P> <P> In 2000, the United Nations estimated that the world's population was growing at an annual rate of 1.14% (equivalent to around 75 million people), down from a peak of 88 million per year in 1989 . By 2000, there were approximately ten times as many people on Earth as there had been in 1700 . Globally, the population growth rate has been steadily declining from its peak of 2.19% in 1963, but growth remains high in Latin America, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa . </P>

What was the world population in the year 1900