Topic: Lost Angeles is not full yet

[oldcoastie6468]

World's Population in One City
by Kerby Anderson
 

On my radio program the other day, my guest made the point that you could fit the entire population of the world into Los Angeles. Since some people questioned that statistic, I thought I would provide some documentation.

Actually, the National Geographic website has already done the math. They have a quiz with the question: "Population 7 Billion—Could We All Fit in One City?" The quick answer is yes. "If all seven billion people on Earth stood shoulder-to-shoulder, we would fill Los Angeles."

In the past, I have used the city of Jacksonville, Florida to illustrate the same point. It has the largest area of any city with over 800 square miles of land. If you assume that each person occupies an 18 inch square that means they would take up 2.25 square feet. If you multiply 7 billion by 2.25 square feet that equals 15,750,000,000 square feet.

That number seems large until you realize that Jacksonville, Florida covers over 800 square miles of land and that exceeds 23,000,000,000 square feet. There would be more than enough room even for some rather large and obese people.

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