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I've just started reading through the 5th edition rulebook (I was always pretty skeptical about SR, but I'm finding myself more and more in love with the 5th's cyberpunk feel) and I've noticed there's a strong suggestion that the world population, mainly due to VITAS outbreaks, is noticeably smaller than in the early 21st century. I've tried a quick google search to get some rough idea about how many metahumans are there around 2075, but wasn't able to find anything.

Could anyone provide a reasonable estimate (with source preferably).

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    \$\begingroup\$ Dzień dobry! Welcome to the wonderful world of posters instead of lurkers. \$\endgroup\$
    – Sardathrion - against SE abuse
    Commented Jun 11, 2014 at 16:17

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I found this chart on a shadow run wiki which estimates population each year from 1995 to 2140

in 2075 it estimates the following:

Total population: 7,216,000,000
Human Population: 5,701,000,000
Dwarf Population: 24,000,000
Elf Population: 45,000,000
Ork Population: 1,217,000,000
Troll Populration: 229,000,000

I have not vetted these sources/numbers, but the author cites a number of sources on the linked page including the US Census and Shardowrun source books.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for sharing! I'm not a big fan of those numbers personally. First of all, they don't seem to show the population decline compared to early 21st century that is described in the rule book (in fact 2075 is the most populous year so far!). Second of all - I'm not a big fan of the huge difference between, say, ork and dwarf population; based on that, given any person in SR, there's very little chance they personally know a dwarf (they might have seen one, assuming they travel a lot, or live in a big city). If this is official, that's one part of the setting I'll happily ignore :) \$\endgroup\$
    – decPL
    Commented Jun 12, 2014 at 10:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ I think the disconnect you're feeling is due to the decline in population happening in the early days of the Shadowrun setting, and by 2075 it's recovered to pre-VITAS levels (which it was bound to do unless something else happened). As far as knowing a dwarf, metahumans are more likely to be SINless than humans (still). Shadowrun is a world of inequality and injustice, and metahumans are still the marginalized minority except in a very few places. Runners are more likely to know a dwarf than a corporate arcology dweller is. Most of the dwarfs live in the shadows. \$\endgroup\$
    – MEP
    Commented Nov 4, 2014 at 19:29
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    \$\begingroup\$ Those numbers are way, way off. Cannon sources in the books put the population around 3 billions for 2075-2077. Keep in mind that birth rates are going down quickly in the Sixth World, with cheap anti conceptions and easy access to abortion being a thing. Those numbers on the wiki are a guesstimate because the chart author thought that the numbers on the books didn't add up. \$\endgroup\$
    – T. Sar
    Commented Jun 15, 2017 at 19:23
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Strict numbers are really not found anymore, but there is a 4th edition book that gets it as close as you'll get.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/81942/Shadowrun-Sixth-World-Almanac

The Sixth World Almanac will give you regions of the world and their general population, with percentages broken out for every 'major' meta-human type. Again, it's not a clear and strict number, but it'll give you a good idea of what population numbers have changed. And, as a general rule, you are right. A good chunk of the population did, indeed, die off. The 6th world's crazy, chummer.

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