The most striking aspect of Beeson Divinity School’s Global Center, from the time it opened in 1995 until 2012, was the large global population clock on the wall. Not only did it show the current statistics, but it was a ticker that counted live population growth. And those numbers were changing faster than you can count! You could guests staring in amazement as they tried to process the reality of how fast the world was growing. What did it mean for evangelism? What about overpopulation?
The clock died in my first year at Beeson and couldn’t be repaired because there were no parts to be found for such old technology. So when we got our renovation a few years ago, I knew I had to find some equivalent to put on the large screen. This population count below (published by Utonish, connected to United Nations stats) has enraptured students and guests in a similar way as the previous population clock. The larger the screen, the more you’ll be able to appreciate it. The global population count is in the top left. When you see a county light up in a red font, that represents someone dying. Green is a birth.
The effect, however, isn’t quite the same as the previous population clock. If you watch carefully enough, you’ll notice that China’s population is actually declining. If you’re interested in learning why, with the implications for global population as well, then go to the second video below.
