By the numbers: Earth, U.S., Georgia, Catoosa County in a few numbers

Almost everyone loves numbers and statistics, from sports scores to restaurant report card scores and how much money the neighbors make to population data. Operating on this premise, here are some numbers about our planet, country, state and county, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau.

7.5 billion people live in the world. 329 million of them call the United States home. We have 10 million humans here in Georgia and around 66,500 of them right here in Catoosa County.

Only two countries – China and India – boast more people than the U.S., but it’s a lot more. China comes in at 1.38 billion and India at 1.29 billion.

One person is born every eight seconds in the U.S. and one dies every 12 seconds.

Only seven states have a larger population than Georgia. They are California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. That leaves 42 states with fewer people than the Peach State.

It might surprise people to know that Georgia has an overall younger population than most states. We are one of only five states where under 14% of our population is age 65 and over. The precise number for Georgia is 13.2%. Our companion states in this category are Texas, Colorado, Utah and California.

How about this? For all our rural space in Catoosa County, we have a much denser population than the state as a whole. We pack the folks in at 394 people per square mile while the state as a whole runs 168 per square mile.

The Census Bureau found that just over 662,300 veterans live in the state of Georgia. Over 4,100 of them live in Catoosa County and of those, 521 of them own businesses.

For those who thrive on numbers, you can watch the world’s population increase in real time at census.gov/popclock.