Global Slice 🌍: Demonstrating Personal Slices

This page demonstrates how data about slices can be represented compactly in tables and charts. The two tables below give information about land and gold respectively.

Land

The top part of this table divides the total surface area of land on Earth — 147,135,404 square kilometres — between 7.5 billion people, 10 billion people, and 12.5 billion people. For more information, see https://gaiageld.com/global-slice-land/. In it, the picture represents the area of land that each of the 10 billion would get, if placed around the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Click on the picture to enlarge it. The rows below the picture show the lengths of the sides of these squares, and the time it would take to walk round them at an average walking speed of 1.4 metres per second.

The bottom part of the table classifies land according to type of land cover, as measured by the Copernicus Land Cover Monitor, and shows the personal slice of each. The pie chart below it does the same, for the personal slice of 10 billion. See the link above for details.

  Between 7.5 billion Between 10 billion Between 12.5 billion

Total area, sq km0.019620.014710.01177
Total area, ha1.9621.4711.177
As a picture  
Width of one side if square, m139.0121.0108.0
Time needed to walk round the square, min6.75.85.2

Forests area, ha0.7260.5450.436
Herbaceous vegetation area, ha0.4150.3110.249
Bare or sparse vegetation area, ha0.3010.2260.180
Cropland area, ha0.2170.1630.130
Shrubland area, ha0.1660.1240.100
Permanent water bodies area, ha0.0400.0300.024
Herbaceous wetland area, ha0.0300.0230.018
Snow and ice area, ha0.0280.0210.017
Moss and lichen area, ha0.0210.0160.012
Built-up area, ha0.0170.0130.010

Gold

The top part of this table divides the total mass of gold mined in 2017 on Earth — 3,359,775 kilograms — between 7.5 billion people, 10 billion people, and 12.5 billion people. For more information, see https://gaiageld.com/global-slice-gold/.

The bottom part of the table classifies gold demand in 2017 by usage. The table shows the personal slice of each. See the link above for details. The pie chart below it does the same, for the personal slice of 10 billion.

  Between 7.5 billion Between 10 billion Between 12.5 billion

Amount mined in 2017, g0.4480.3360.269

Jewellery, g0.2850.2140.171
Technology: electronics, g0.0350.0270.021
Technology: other industrial, g0.0070.0050.004
Technology: dentistry, g0.0020.0020.001
Investment: bar and coin: physical bar demand, g0.1030.0770.062
Investment: bar and coin: official coin, g0.0250.0190.015
Investment: bar and coin: medals and imitation coin, g0.0100.0070.006
Investment: ETFs and similar products, g0.0270.0200.016
Central banks and other institutions, g0.0500.0370.030