Life in the 4th century

Be born somewhere between 300 and 399, weighted by real births, and live five lives from that year on.

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The numbers

The world had about 228 million people around the middle of the 4th century. Life expectancy at birth was near 25 years, mostly because so many children died; people who reached adulthood often lived into their fifties or sixties. About 2% could read and 7% lived in towns. Most births happened in North India (17%), South India and Sri Lanka (10%), North China (9%), South China (8%), Anatolia and the Caucasus (4%).

All numbers before 1800 are modelled from long-run population and life-expectancy estimates by region. How it works

What happened

Fall of the Western Roman Empire 376–476

Before 1800, by century

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th

Since 1800, by decade

1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s