How the draw works
Every baby born in 2024 had the same chance of being you. So the country is drawn by births: India comes up about one time in six, Japan about one time in 180, Taiwan about one time in a thousand. Then your sex, your hometown (city or village) and your family’s circumstances are drawn from that country’s numbers.
After that you make five choices, at 10, 18, 30, 45 and 62. They matter, but the country you were born in sets the odds for all of them: how much school you get, what work there is, how many children people have, and how long they live.
Where babies are born
Out of every 100 babies born today, this is roughly where they arrive.
| Country | Share of births | About 1 in |
|---|---|---|
| India | 17.5% | 6 |
| China | 6.7% | 15 |
| Nigeria | 5.7% | 18 |
| Pakistan | 5.2% | 19 |
| Indonesia | 3.4% | 30 |
| Congo - Kinshasa | 3.4% | 30 |
| Ethiopia | 3.1% | 32 |
| United States | 2.8% | 36 |
| Bangladesh | 2.6% | 38 |
| Brazil | 1.9% | 51 |
| Everywhere else | 47.7% | – |
Where the numbers come from
Births, life expectancy and sex ratio at birth come from the UN World Population Prospects 2024. Child mortality, schooling, city living, internet use, income and extreme poverty come from the UN, World Bank and IHME series published by Gapminder. Everything is rounded, and the game simplifies a lot, but the odds are real.
Inspired by 1 in 8 Billion
A Korean indie game called 1 in 8 Billion made this idea go viral in October 2026: you are born as a random baby and live a full life from real statistics. Its lives take 30 minutes or more. Ours takes three, ends with a card made for sharing, and lets you compare lives with a friend. Read our guide to the original game.