About 1 in 8 Billion

• What is 1 in 8 Billion?
• How is the country of birth decided? Can I choose it?
• How does a life go?
• When does a life end? Does it last to the life expectancy?
• How long does one life take?
• Can I be born in another time?
• Where do the numbers come from?
• Is it free?
• Do I need an account? Where are my lives kept?
• Who is it for? Can I use it in class?
• Can I share a life I lived?

What is 1 in 8 Billion?

A life simulation in which you are born without choosing where, and live one person's whole life from birth to death. The country, the family and its means are drawn from real birth statistics, and the life that follows goes by that country's real statistics on life expectancy, income, schooling, health and more. It is made so you can feel for yourself that life is given by chance, that it happens once, and that the world is wide and full of people living differently.

How is the country of birth decided? Can I choose it?

No, you can't choose. By default the country is drawn in proportion to the number of babies born each year in 172 countries and territories, so a birth in India or Nigeria is far more likely than one in Korea or Germany. With 'The 8 billion alive now' it is drawn by population instead. Sex and the family's means follow real shares too, and no payment changes them. If you like, you can enter the country where you were really born to compare it with the life you lived (saved only on that device).

How does a life go?

Each year you pick a focus, and when decisions come up about school, work, love, moving abroad or medical care, you choose. Choices change the odds but never decide the outcome, and it is hard to fully escape the statistics of the place you were born. Most lives are ordinary. At 5, 15, 30, 50 and 70, time stops and asks you one question. The lives of four other babies born in the same second follow the same statistics alongside yours. If deciding feels like too much, turn on 'Auto mode' and simply watch.

When does a life end? Does it last to the life expectancy?

Not to the average. The age at death is drawn year by year from the country's life tables by sex, and causes of death follow the patterns of WHO and the Global Burden of Disease study by region and age. So some lives end in infancy and some go on for a very long time. When a life ends, its death record looks back on it.

How long does one life take?

You choose about 30 minutes, about 1 hour (the default) or about 1.5 hours to live to that country's life expectancy. At 1 hour a year passes in about 40 to 60 seconds. You can pause or speed up to 16× while you live, and if you close the window you can continue in the same browser.

Can I be born in another time?

Yes. Under 'The world you are born into' you choose today (the default), the past (any year from 1950 to 2025), the future or any world. A past world runs on that year's statistics and tells of real history such as wars and mass killings. In the future you are born now and live on into UN and other projections.

Where do the numbers come from?

From public statistics: UN World Population Prospects 2024 (births, population, life expectancy, fertility), UN IGME (child mortality), WHO and UN MMEIG (maternal mortality, tobacco, road deaths), UNDP and UNESCO (education), the World Bank (income, inequality, health spending), ILO (employment in agriculture), UNAIDS (HIV), UNODC (homicide), UNICEF (child marriage) and the World Happiness Report. Income is drawn from the country's income distribution (Gini index). Some missing values were estimated from regional averages and similar methods, and most facts carry their source beside them. The figures by country are on All 172 countries.

Is it free?

Yes, from start to end. There is no sign-up and no ads, nothing is sold inside a life, and money never changes how a life goes. The end of a life and its whole death record are free too. The one thing you can pay for is the keepsake pass ($3, buy once and keep it), which makes digital works such as films, albums and record books from a finished life and opens memorials; without it everything works the same. Within 30 days of paying you get a full refund, no questions asked; the pass is not offered in South Korea (Terms and refunds).

Do I need an account? Where are my lives kept?

No account: you can be born right away. The lives you live are kept only in that browser. To take them to another phone or browser, use the code from 'Move my lives'. There is no app in the app stores; 'Add to Home Screen' on the first screen makes the site work like one.

Who is it for? Can I use it in class?

It is made for ages 15 and up. Hard things such as death, illness, war, poverty and violence happen as often as the real statistics say, but no scene is shown, and where to find help comes with them. For a class, use classroom mode: heavier themes are held back, and posting and payments are off.

Can I share a life I lived?

When a life ends you can post its share card through your phone's share sheet, X or Threads in one tap, or save it. In 'Shared lives' people post the lives they lived and what they felt, with no names or contact details, and read each other's. Anyone can visit a memorial, light a candle and leave one of a few set words.