The demography of ancient Greece has always been a hard subject to study. Although ancient sources provide no reliable statistical data on childbirth, mortality, life expectancy, and other related metrics, we do know quite a bit about practices and issues that affected population levels.

Ancient Greek folklore and imagery glorify the procreative energy of female sexuality. But we also know that under some circumstances, women wanted to avoid pregnancy or dispose of illegitimate, deformed, or sick children.

10 Silphium

There is plenty of recorded evidence that the Greeks were familiar with the contraceptive properties of a small tree known as silphium, which belonged to the Ferula genus. This plant was both discovered and marketed by the Greek colonists in Cyrene, an ancient Greek city on the North African coast near present-day Shahhat, Libya.

All attempts to transplant and cultivate the silphium tree outside Cyrene were unsuccessful. The overexploitation of silphium led to its extinction. By the first century AD, the plant was expensive due to the low supply, and the last historical reference we know is dated to the fourth century AD.

Clinical testing performed with extracts from plants of related species have shown them to be effective contraceptives in animals provided that the extract is administered within three days of mating. This suggests that silphium may have been used as an herbal morning-after pill similar to the morning-after pills marketed today (Wilson 2006: 182).

9 Magical Procedures

In ancient Greece, magical concoctions, spells, amulets, and incantations were believed to aid both reproduction and contraception. For some reason, the testicles of a weasel were believed to act in both directions.

According to an ancient Greek text known as Cyranides (2.7), the right testicle of a weasel “reduced to ashes and mixed in a paste with myrrh” was believed to aid conception when inserted into a woman’s vagina on a small ball of wool before the sexual encounter.

The contraceptive use of weasel testicles employed the left testicle “wrapped in mule skin and attached to the woman.” Since the text does not tell us exactly how the testicles should be attached to the woman, it is not possible to confirm or deny the effectiveness of this procedure (McKeown 2013: 35).

8 Male Contraception

Some ancient sources refer to a plant named periklymenon that was believed to act as a male contraceptive, but all modern attempts to identify it have failed. The renowned Greek physician Galen reported that the chaste tree was used by athletes to prevent erections. There are other references claiming that the leaves of the chaste tree were chewed by priests to decrease sexual desire (Wilson 2006: 182).

Modern testing of chaste tree extract on dogs has shown it to be an effective blocker of sperm production. Coitus interruptus was a known male contraceptive method, but it is unclear to what extent this method was employed judging by the scarce reference to it.

7 Abortion

Abortion was a well-known procedure in ancient Greece. Although the ancient Greeks knew both surgical and chemical procedures to interrupt a pregnancy, literary evidence suggests that surgical methods were discouraged due to the risk posed to the mother.

Socrates, whose mother was a midwife, said in Plato’s Theaetetus (149d), “With the drugs and incantations they administer, midwives can [during an early stage of the pregnancy] cause a miscarriage if they so decide.” Ancient Greek medical literature recorded the names of several plants that were used to terminate early pregnancies including rue, pennyroyal, myrrh, juniper, and birthwort.

Although abortion was considered controversial in some Greek cities, we have no evidence that it was a punishable crime. Ancient Greek medical texts indicate that abortion was often practiced by prostitutes (Wilson 2006: 1).

6 Infanticide

Infanticide was a well-known method of family planning. From a legal standpoint, a child had little protection until the amphidromia was conducted, which was the ceremony where the father named the child.

In general, the child could be killed without any legal trouble or moral controversies at any point before this ceremony took place. Moreover, in some ancient Greek law codes, infanticide was an advisable course of action under specific circumstances.

The term “infant exposure” (putting the infant outside) is used in ancient sources, presumably as a euphemism for infanticide in many cases. The outcome of the abandonment of an infant is either death or adoption by a third party (Hornblower and Spawforth 2012: 735).

Infant exposure is a repetitive theme in ancient lore and legends, and Greece is no exception (e.g. Oedipus, Paris, and Telephus). This literary evidence suggests that infanticide was probably a widespread method of limiting family size, although the exact extent to which it was employed is difficult to assess.

5 Deformed Infants

There is a very specific form of infanticide recorded in ancient Greece that has been strongly connected to Sparta. According to Plutarch (“Life of Lycurgus,” 16), every Spartan newborn had to be brought to the elders for examination:

If [the infant] was well-built and sturdy, they ordered the father to rear it [ . . . ]; but if it was ill-born and deformed, they sent it to the so-called Apothetae, a chasm-like place at the foot of Mount Taygetus, in the conviction that the life of that which nature had not well equipped at the very beginning for health and strength, was of no advantage either to itself or the state.

The reality is that Spartans were not the only ones concerned with deformed infants. In Book 7 of his work Politics, Aristotle supports infanticide in the case of deformed infants: “As to the exposure and rearing of children, let there be a law that no deformed child shall live.”

Even the Romans in the Law of the Twelve Tables (the foundation of Rome’s legal system) contemplated the killing of deformed infants (table 4, 1): “A notably deformed child shall be killed immediately.”

4 Homosexuality

The American scholar William Percy has argued that the encouragement of sexual intercourse between members of the same sex in ancient Greece, particularly the institutionalized Athenian pederasty, was aimed at controlling the population level. An interpretation along the same lines was already expressed by Aristotle (Politics 2.1272a 22–24), who argued that the goal behind the institutionalized pederasty of the Cretan society was to check the demographic growth.

It does not seem possible to confirm whether homosexual practices in ancient Greece were encouraged with the conscious purpose to check demographic growth. But it is reasonable to suppose that as the number of sexual encounters between members of the same sex increases, the frequency of sexual intercourse between members of the opposite sex is likely to be reduced.

Homosexuality might well have had an effect on population control—not as a strategy consciously aimed to check population levels but merely as an inevitable side effect of limiting heterosexual activity (Wilson 2006: 127).

3 Legal Regulations

Several aspects of population control had a legal regulation in ancient Greece. In the city of Gortyn (central Crete), we found detailed information concerning various laws inscribed around 450 BC (Hornblower and Spawforth 2012: 623–735).

The Gortyn law code (3, 43–48) allowed infant exposure in some cases: “If a wife who is separated (by divorce) should bear a child, (they) are to bring it to the husband at his house in the presence of three witnesses; and if he should not receive it, the child should be in the mother’s power either to rear or expose.”

Interestingly, the Gortyn law code (4, 9–13) also contemplated fines if a woman did not comply with this regulation: “If a wife who is separated (by divorce) should expose her child before presenting it as it is written [in this legal code], if she is convicted, she shall pay, for a free child, fifty-staters, for a slave, twenty-five.”

In the city of Thebes, the law did not allow infanticide. However, poor parents were allowed to sell their children.

2 Mortality And Life Expectancy

War was arguably the most important factor for adult male mortality, although maternal, neonatal, and infant mortality were also high. No reliable figures on demographic statistics have survived to our days, but some scholars have come up with different figures. Maternal death estimates range from 5 in 20,000, a truly low and probably unrealistic calculation, to 25 in 1,000. This rate would vary in different places at different times (Hornblower and Spawforth 2014: 161, 617).

Based on forensic anthropology data from Classical Greece cemeteries, infant mortality has been estimated at about 30 percent (Olyntus, northern Greece) assuming that the sample of human remains analyzed is representative of the wider population, which is uncertain.

The ancient Greeks coined the word amphithales (“blooming on both sides”) to refer to a child with both parents still alive. The fact that a special word was employed to refer to this situation suggests that life expectancy was low (McKeown 2013: 16).

1 Miscellaneous Birth Control Methods

Ancient literature records a number of additional contraceptive methods that are hard to classify and of dubious effectiveness. In the first century AD, the Greek physician Dioscorides recommended anointing the male genitals with cedar gum and applying alum to the uterus. Such practice was believed to make the womb unsuitable to host the male seed.

Other methods included the use of a suppository of peppermint and honey before intercourse and a peppery pessary after sexual activity to “dry out” the uterus and make it inhospitable for the fetus.

There is a saying that it is “a small world.” However, we all know that this is not so true. Technically speaking, the world we live in is large. While we may know that the world has 8.1 billion people and that the population of India and China combined is about 2.8 billion, which is more than 30% of the total world population, there is more to global population statistics. In fact, some of these other statistics about the world’s population we may find very unusual. Here are ten of them.

Related: Top 10 Places That Were Once Their Own Countries

10 How Many People Can Fit in Loch Ness?

Loch Ness is 22 miles (35.4 kilometers) long, 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) wide at the widest point, and over 850 feet (260 meters) deep. With its enormous size, the loch is capable of holding the entire population of the world with plenty of space to spare if the water is drained from it. This means that in the space taken up by Loch Ness, you could fit every single person in the world multiplied by ten or more.

Loch Ness holds an estimated 263 billion cubic feet (7.5 billion cubic meters) of water. There is more water in Loch Ness than in all the lakes, rivers, and reservoirs in the whole of Scotland, England, and Wales combined. At some points, Loch Ness is twice as deep as the deepest part of the North Sea.^[1]

9 Switzerland’s Abundant Nuclear Shelters

Nuclear war is a possibility, although the United Nations is trying its best to make it as impossible as possible. However, several governments of the world have taken the time to build nuclear shelters for their citizens just in case all hell breaks loose someday. Switzerland occupies a frontline position in its efforts to contain a nuclear war. By Swiss law, building owners are required to have a fallout shelter available to house all its residents. This includes homes, schools, and hospitals. The Swiss firmly believe that even if they remain neutral in the event of a nuclear war, neutrality will not protect the nation from radioactivity.

The most remarkable thing about these nuclear shelters is that they are not just ordinary bunkers. They are like underground condos, complete with an air filtration system, emergency power supplies, and water tanks, among other facilities. These nuclear shelters are capable of sustaining life for months and years if properly maintained. These shelters do not just sit there and gather dust. They are restocked regularly and ready for use if things go south.^[2]

8 Finland’s Uncompromising Love of Saunas

Sauna culture is an integral part of the lives of the majority of the Finnish population. The population of Finland is about 5.5 million, and there are three million saunas to go around. In Finland and places with similar weather conditions, saunas resulted from the need for heating and cleansing. Finland’s sauna tradition goes back to the first settlements after the ice age when it is believed that people dug holes in the ground and covered them with animal skins.

Not surprisingly, then, saunas contribute to the happiness levels in Finland. There are public saunas in Finland that do not charge fees and are open all through the year—night and day. Interestingly, the Finns have found innovative ways to enjoy their sauna. One of them is by leaving a hot sauna and running out into the snow on a wintry day. Some even leave a sauna, plunge into ice water, and repeat the process again and again.^[3]

7 If Manhattan’s Population Density Equaled Alaska’s

Manhattan in New York State has a very high population density of around 72,918 people per square mile (28,154 per square kilometer)—essentially, 1.69 million people live in its 22.83 square miles (59.13 square kilometers). In fact, Manhattan is the most densely populated but geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also considered one of the world’s foremost commercial, financial, and cultural centers.

It’s renowned for its many points of interest, including Broadway—one of the world’s best-known streets—the financial district of Wall Street, skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, Harlem, and Central Park. On the other hand, Alaska has a population density of 1.3 people per square mile. The implication of this scenario is that if Manhattan had the same population density as Alaska, only about 32 people would live there.^[4]

6 China Has 65 Million Empty Houses

China has ghost cities—whole cities that were built but never inhabited.

Aside from the need to provide adequate housing for China’s ever-growing population, China also sees real estate as an investment strategy. The government makes population projections and tries to be as prepared as possible. One of the aims of this is to sustain the current high economic growth being experienced by the country. While the robust housing policy has led to several “wins” for China, it also has some downsides.

An example of the downside is the city of “Ordos New Town” also known as Kangbashi, in the region of Inner Mongolia. Ordos is the largest ghost town in China. If you are looking for the perfect example of a housing bubble that burst, Ordos is the place to go. Just like other ghost cities in China, the story of Ordos began with an economic opportunity that the government believed would lead to a population boom, but the people never arrived.

The great Mongolian coal rush of the 2000s brought several private mining companies to the area. Local farmers cashed in on the rush and sold their lands at ten times the original value to the miners. There were different job opportunities as ceaseless coal truck convoys took up all the roads. The money flowed into the municipality, which got into the head of the city officials.

As a result, they started building—flats, shops, office blocks, among others. Chinese officials built a futuristic and ultra-modern city that could accommodate one million residents. In the end, the coal trade did not continue to grow at the projected rate, probably due to the emergence of more sustainable energy alternatives. The city is now almost deserted.^[5]

5 A Huge Island with Little Population

Greenland is officially the world’s largest island. Its early beginnings were as the home of Paleo-Inuits, who trekked from North America across the frozen Thule Strait to Greenland. Isolated there for thousands of years until nearly AD 1000. When the Vikings landed there. However, the Vikings left Greenland about 500 years later. Most of Greenland’s current residents descend from the last of six of these Inuit migrations over the millenia.

Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it was redefined as a district of Denmark. Despite its remarkable size, Greenland has one of the lowest population densities, with around 0.36 people per square mile (0.14 per square kilometer). What we find bizarre about this number is that when you compare Hong Kong to Greenland, you get a shocking result. The population density in Hong Kong is 17,485 people per square mile (6,751 per square kilometer), yet Hong Kong is about 1,955 times smaller than Greenland.^[6]

4 A Japanese Town Has More Scarecrows Than Humans

Nagoro village in Japan is a rural community where elderly residents spend their time blissfully tending to their gardens and fishing. The town is located in Tokushima Prefecture on Japan’s smallest Island, Shikoku. In this village, there are more than 350 scarecrows placed in various locations. However, there is something unique about these scarecrows—they are all created single-handedly by longtime resident Ayano Tsukimi.

For Ayano, the continued decline in the population of the village became depressing. This is why he decided to create a new community of friendly faces with old clothes and newspapers. The scarecrows in Nagoro are not the typical scarecrows. They are dressed in nice clothes. In all, there are ten scarecrows for every single person in Nagoro village.^[7]

3 Where Men Really Outnumber the Woman

We already mentioned the world population is over eight billion. Surprisingly, the gender of these billions of people lies pretty much at the 50/50 point. Specifically, the average is 1.02 males per female, with that number falling from 1.07 males/female at birth to 0.78 males/female over age 65. Except in Qatar!

Qatar is a country in West Asia that occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. It’s rich in energy resources; in fact, the country has the third-largest energy reserves in the world. Qatar’s sound economy and robust immigration policy resulted in many men emigrating from neighboring countries in large numbers. Qatar needs this influx of labor; hence, those who scrutinize immigration applications do not care about gender balance. The end result of this is that men outnumber women in a ratio of 2.87 to 1. Maybe Qatar could mingle with the North Mariana Islands with its 0.77 males for every female to help even things out.^[8]

2 Monaco’s Millionaires

Ordinarily, we would consider ourselves lucky if we are able to meet one millionaire a day, but if you reside in Monaco, it’s a different scenario.

The principality of Monaco is a sovereign city-state. It is home to 38,682 residents and is widely recognized as one of the most expensive and wealthiest cities in the world. One in three residents is a millionaire. We have no doubt in our minds that Monaco has to be one of the most unique places in the world in terms of the economic status of its residents. In this city, we would not be surprised if you find a janitor or a handyman who is a millionaire.^[9]

1 Everyone Living in One Space

Whittier is a city at the head of the Passage Canal in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located about 58 miles (93.3 kilometers) southeast of Anchorage. Even though Alaska covers 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 square kilometers), it is sparsely populated—1.3 people per square mile (0.5 people per square kilometer). A far cry from some of the more dense places listed above. But back to Whittier…

The tiny town of Whittier has only one access road, which is often inaccessible in winter no little thanks to 22 feet (6.7 meters) of annual snow and its unique tunnel. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel or Whittier Tunnel is 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) long and serves as a dual vehicle-train tunnel. Oh, it’s also the only way into town and closes around 10:30pm.

But the most unique thing about Whittier is that the townspeople all live in the same building. The 14-story Begich Towers has the distinction of housing and accommodating the entire population of the town, which is about 272 people. Whittier has gained the nickname “town under one roof” over the years.^[10]

Despite what the song “It’s a Small World” tells us, the world is pretty big. We’ve managed to fit eight billion people on it, and that’s impressive — bordering on unsettling. There’s a lot to know about that population as well, in terms of where they’re all located, how they’re spread out, and where else you could fit them if you wanted to get creative. If you’ve never looked into the fun you can have with population density facts, get ready for it!

10. Loch Ness Could Hold the Entire World’s Population Several Times

Scotland is famous for kilts, haggis, and a lake monster. Loch Ness is not just the potential home to a prehistoric monster that only appears in blurry photos, however. In fact, it could be home to everyone.

One of the supposed problems with finding the monster is the fact the loch is just so big. To put that in more appreciable terms, the loch contains 268 billion cubic feet of water. It’s about 800 feet deep and 22 square miles in area. That means, in the space taken up by the loch, you could fit every single person in the world. And then you could do it nine more times. Back when the population was a modest 7.3 billion you could have fit them in 15 times over.

Now, if you’re ever unsure about whether or not there’s a monster in the lake, just remember how much room you’re dealing with.

9. Kowloon Walled City Had the Densest Population in the World 

We’ll get into densely populated cities shortly, but we don’t want to overlook the most densely populated city in history that existed all the way up until 1994, when it was finally destroyed. You have to assume people were annoyed.

Kowloon Walled City existed inside of Hong Kong and, as the name suggests, it was a city within a wall. Buildings were stacked on buildings until a bizarre sci-fi-level dystopian society was created. There were 33,000 people in the space of one city block in Kowloon. The density was 1.2 million per square kilometer or 3.2 million per square mile. Compare that to New York City’s density of just over 25,000 per square mile. 

Kowloon, once a fortress, never came under British rule in Hong Kong. The result was a sort of lawless land where residents could build whatever they wanted, however, they wanted. With no regulations, people attached houses to their neighbor’s houses, removed walls as necessary and continued up and out. People inevitably ended up cut off from the outside world and trapped in the middle of a patchwork of structures with a maze of ramshackle halls and stairs to get out into the open air.

When Britain and China finally agreed on what to do with the place, some residents had to be removed by force before everything was destroyed and replaced with public spaces, such as gardens and parks to help beautify the area.

8. Switzerland Has Nuclear Shelters for its Entire Population

It’s a safe bet no one wants to endure a nuclear war, but if one does happen, you hope there’s a way to survive it. Back in the day people sometimes built their own fallout shelters, and governments have some of these on standby in case the world goes to hell. But what about the rest of us?

If you live in Switzerland, worry not. The entire population can fit into the country’s fallout shelters because the Swiss are very prepared. By Swiss law, building owners are required to have a fallout shelter available to house all residents. That’s for private homes and apartment buildings, so no one gets left out.

By 2006 there were 300,000 shelters in Swiss homes, plus an additional 5,100 public shelters. That’s enough to allow 8.6 million people, or 114% of the population, to safely duck and cover. Their next closest competitors, Sweden, only have room for 81% of the population.

Since everyone has them and no one has needed to use them yet, a lot of fallout shelters are now wine cellars. But they can still be used for their intended purpose if the time comes and the entire population can be safely stored away to endure a nuclear winter.

7. The Population of Whittier, Alaska Live in the Same Building

Alaska is a beautiful part of the world, but it’s also not the most hospitable place at certain times of year. Go far enough north and you can be stuck in freezing temperatures where the sun doesn’t shine for days at a time. People still find a way to get by though, like in Whittier.

The tiny town of Whittier only has one access road, which is often inaccessible in winter thanks to its 22 feet of annual snow. The tunnel is only one lane and they close it at night, leaving the sea the only way in. Weather can also make that impossible. The townspeople manage by living almost exclusively in the same building. 

Nearly 200 people all live in the same 14-story building that was once a military barracks. In addition to homes, it features the town post office, a bed and breakfast, a grocery store, and a police station. Kids can access the local school through an underground tunnel.

6. Everyone in Finland Could Pair Up and Take a Sauna at the Same Time 

Finland is full of saunas. They love saunas there. Fins have saunas like Canadians have donut shops. Can’t get enough of them. The entire country has a population of about 5.5 million and there are three million saunas to go around. 

If you aren’t sure or think it means something else in Finland, a sauna is a very hot, steamy room where you get naked except for a towel or swimsuit and sit down and then that’s it. You can be alone, with friends, and often with strangers. Just sweaty, mostly naked, in a hot, steamy room. Maybe you’ll scrub a stranger’s back if they ask. 

Some Fins like to shake it up by leaving a hot sauna and running out into the snow on a winter’s day, or even plunging in ice water, but that’s not really part of the sauna proper. 

Apartment buildings come with saunas and even large businesses will have them on site. By the numbers, there are enough available that everyone in the country could grab a friend and have a sauna for two at the same time with plenty of room left over for people from abroad.

5. If Manhattan Had the Same Population Density as Alaska, 29 People Would Live There

To get a better idea of how population densities vary within a country, we can compare two places in a goofy way like we’re about to do. Manhattan, in New York, has a very high population density of around 70,000 per square mile for the 1.6 million people who live there. That means Manhattan covers an area of about 22.83 square miles. 

On the other hand, the state of Alaska has a population density of 1.28 residents per square mile. That means if Manhattan had the same density as the state of Alaska, about 29 people in total would live there. And they would each have a lot of really prime real estate.

4. Le Lignon is an Apartment Building with a Population Density Similar to Manhattan

Speaking of Manhattan, there’s a building in Switzerland called La Lignon that shares something in common with New York’s famous borough. They both have about the same population density. 

Built in the late 1960s, Le Lignon is not a particularly attractive structure, but it does have a strange, Euro-dystopian flare to what turned out to be one of the biggest housing projects ever constructed. It consists of a kilometer-long behemoth that houses 6,800 tenants in 2,780 apartments. 

Built in response to a housing crisis, some residents love the building while outsiders consider the 10 million square foot beast an eyesore. And while it may look ugly from the outside, inside some of the residents are happy with the pleasant views and spacious homes, as well as the feeling of community that comes from living in a building the size of a town.

The immense building is bookended by identical towers and the design allowed for many facilities to be included inside including schools, shops, a medical center, and a rooftop pool. A four-room apartment, if you can find one available, costs about 2000 Swiss francs per month, or around $2,300 US.

3. Canada’s Territory of Nunavut Has the Lowest Population Density of Any State or Province in the World

We already know Alaska has a very low population density but it by no means takes the crown. When it comes to sparse, and for these purposes we the population of any accepted subdivision of a country such as a province or state, then Nunavut in Canada wins that award. It’s even less densely populated than Greenland.

Located in Northern Canada, the territory of Nunavut with its capital city of Iqaluit has a population density of 0.02 people per square kilometer (0.05 per square mile mile) which is often rounded down to 0. Greenland is up at 0.14.

The capital of Nunavut has just 7,740 people. The entire territory clocks in at just under 37,000. That’s despite the fact it covers 808,000 square miles which makes it bigger than Alaska, more than three times bigger than Texas, and almost five times the size of California.

2. Friendship Heights Village in Maryland Is the Most Densely Populated US City

If you had to guess what the most densely populated place in the United States was, you’d probably be inclined to guess one of the big cities like New York or Los Angeles. But those are deceptive because, while the population is large, so is the space. The density, therefore, is not that high overall. 

The true winner of the population density crown goes to the unassuming town of Friendship Heights Village in Maryland. In 2020 it had a population of 5,360 residents. Not impressive, right? But the town is so small, geographically speaking, the density is 90,847.5 per square mile thanks to the fact the town covers a mere 0.06 square miles. 

The population went down a little in 2021 so the density is getting a little better but, overall, the town still leaves every other place in America in the dust. 

1. Dhaka, Bangladesh Slums May Have a Population Density of Over 2 Million Per Square Mile

We saw the incredible density of Kowloon Walled City’s population but there may still be places today that come close to matching it. Not whole cities, but at least parts, like the Dhaka slums in Bangladesh where population density has been estimated to maybe reach as many as 2.7 million per square mile. 

Even lower-end estimates have it at 115,000 per square mile which makes it higher than places like Tokyo, Manila, and Mumbai. Others have calculated it at 569,000 per square mile or 220,000 per square kilometer. Part of the problem getting consistent numbers is due to the fact these are slums and not evenly distributed or open to census taking. There’s no real way to calculate how many people live in such a place since many of the dwellings barely qualify as homes and the residents often don’t want to be questioned.