# More Alive than Dead, Huh?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-alive-than-dead-huh/36585>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [October 11, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-alive-than-dead-huh/36585 "2000-10-11T19:17:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-alive-than-dead-huh/36585/1 "2000-10-11T19:17:04Z")

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Ok Cecil answered these misguided souls in his column at [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_085.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_085.html) but i am working with one. Please help me find cites to show him that the dead do indeed outnumber the living.

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**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-alive-than-dead-huh/36585/2 "2000-10-11T20:16:22Z")

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[Here](http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/worldhis.html) is the US census data estimates of historical world population. You’ll have to add up the numbers, using an assumed life expectancy.

If you make a conservative estimate of an average population of 200 million people for 1 to 1000 A.D., and 300 million from 1000 to 1500, and assume an average life expectancy of 50 years (probably too high, but again I’m being conservative), you get 200,000,000 \* 1000 / 50 + 300,000,000 \* 500 / 50 = 7,000,000,000 dead right there, which is already over the current world population.

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**Author:** ![Gollum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gollum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gollum)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2000, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-alive-than-dead-huh/36585/3 "2000-10-12T11:50:34Z")

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Again my ignorance is exposed. I have quoted that ‘more people alive today than in the whole of time’ figure, without question. Only now do I realise my folly. Thankyou Cecil. I am humbled.  
Hehe- on TV Bill Clinton just said ‘we need to stop people dying’. I think mortality rates remain constant at 100%, according to the onion , which is the only newspaper i trust.