1 in 8 Billion
Become one of the babies being born in the world right now, and follow that life to its end
Checking where you left off…
About 1 in 8 Billion
1 in 8 Billion is a free life simulation game in which you become one of the babies being born in the world right now and follow that life one year at a time. Which country or territory you are born in is drawn at random, like a birth lottery. As time flows on, you choose what to focus on each year and answer the choices that come along now and then, living out a whole life.
The “about 1 in N” on the birth card is the number of births in the world in a year (about 132 million) divided by the number of births in that country or territory in a year. For example, a baby born in Japan is about 1 in 176 of the babies being born right now.
| Country or territory | Births per year | About 1 in |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 750,570 | About 1 in 176 |
| South Korea | 240,982 | About 1 in 549 |
| China | 8,822,056 | About 1 in 15 |
| the United States | 3,654,449 | About 1 in 36 |
| India | 23,186,978 | About 1 in 6 |
“8 billion” is roughly the world's population. In the data, the world population in 2024 is about 8.16 billion people.
How to play
- 1Press “Start a life,” and the country or territory you are born in, your sex, city or countryside, and how well off your family is are decided. Your birth card appears.
- 2Time passes one year at a time. From age 6, you can choose what to put your energy into each year (study, work, family, and so on). Now and then a choice card appears and time stops. You can also pause, speed up, or use “Skip to the next choice.”
- 3Lifespan is set by life tables for each country or territory and sex. Your stats, such as health, and the actions you choose affect it a little, but much of it is chance.
- 4When a life ends, a “Life record” remains. You can share the birth card and the life record as an image or a link.
About the data
The figures in this game come from the following public statistics, processed and rounded by this site.
- Births, population, sex ratio at birth, life expectancy, under-5 mortality, and life tables by sex: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “World Population Prospects 2024” (2024 values; CC BY 3.0 IGO)
- Urban population share, poverty rate (under $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP), income group, completion rates for primary and lower secondary school, gross enrollment in tertiary education, and the birth rate among women aged 15–19: World Bank, “World Development Indicators” (latest value from 2015–2024; CC BY 4.0). The Gini index, GDP per capita (PPP), and expected years of school from the Human Capital Index are also World Bank values (latest value from 2010–2024). Amounts in the game are shown in international dollars (PPP).
- The 37 countries and territories with fewer than 1,000 births a year are left out of the draw (about 0.01% of the world's births). Where the World Bank has no value for a country or territory, that figure is not shown.
- The cause-of-death categories are rough guides by region and age made by this site, not values from statistical data. The happiness guide uses the same values for every country and territory.
- The names of countries and territories are for display only and do not express any view on their legal status.
- Names are drawn from lists of common names for each country or territory, chosen by this site. They have nothing to do with real people.
FAQ
- Is the country you are born in really random?
- The country or territory you are born in is drawn with a probability proportional to its births per year (before you start, you can also choose a draw proportional to population). Your sex follows the sex ratio at birth. Your family's circumstances are drawn with equal probability from the country's five income brackets, and city or countryside depends on the urban population share and those circumstances. Every draw happens on your own device.
- What are the odds of being born in Japan?
- Of the world's roughly 132 million births in 2024, Japan had about 1 million. That works out to about 1 in 176 of the babies being born right now being born in Japan.
- Is the result a prediction or a diagnosis?
- No. It is a simulation based on statistics. It does not predict or diagnose any real person or your own future. Lifespan is set by life tables for each country or territory and sex, and the actions you choose have only a small effect.
- Where does the data come from?
- From the UN's “World Population Prospects 2024” and the World Bank's “World Development Indicators.” See “About the data” for details.
- Are my choices sent anywhere?
- No. Your progress is saved only in this browser. When you share, the link contains only results such as the country or territory and age at death.
- How long does one game take?
- Before you start, choose a lifetime of 30, 60, or 90 minutes. You can pause or speed up along the way. A life that ends early finishes sooner.
Please note
1 in 8 Billion (LoveType Edition) is a simulation game based on statistics. It does not depict real people or judge life in any country or territory as good or bad, and it is not a prediction or a diagnosis. Events such as illness, conflict, and disasters are handled without graphic detail.