Is the world’s population count way off? A new study says yes, by possibly billions.

According to the United Nations, the global population is estimated at around 8.2 billion people.

But a new study suggests that figure could be off—by hundreds of millions, or even billions.

Dr. Josias Láng-Ritter, a postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University in Finland, found that the UN's estimates may significantly undercount individuals living in rural areas.

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Láng-Ritter's study suggests rural populations could be underrepresented by more than 50%.

"We were surprised to find that the actual population living in rural areas is much higher than the global population data indicates. Depending on the dataset, rural popu

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