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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
An upper bound for the background rate of human extinction
Andrew E Snyder-Beattie1, Toby Ord2, Michael B Bonsall3
1University of Oxford, Mathematical Ecology Research Group, Department of Zoology, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK. andrew.snyder-beattie@zoo.ox.ac.uk.
The annual probability of human extinction from natural causes is very low, likely less than 1 in 87,000. This estimate considers known and unknown natural risks, excluding human-caused threats.
Area of Science:
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Paleontology
- Population Biology
Background:
- Humanity faces various extinction risks, including natural and anthropogenic factors.
- Assessing natural extinction probabilities requires analyzing long-term survival data and geological event frequencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the total probability of human extinction from naturally occurring processes.
- To establish bounds for annual extinction risk based on Homo sapiens' and Homo genus' survival history.
Main Methods:
- Statistical analysis of Homo sapiens' 200,000-year existence to bound annual extinction probability.
- Extended analysis using the Homo genus' longer survival record for refined probability estimates.
- Cross-validation with mammalian extinction rates, hominin lifespans, and geological event frequencies.
Main Results:
- The annual probability of human extinction from natural causes is likely less than 1 in 87,000.
- Tighter bounds suggest an annual probability below 1 in 870,000 when considering the entire Homo genus.
- Estimated risks are consistent with known extinction patterns and do not appear significantly affected by survivorship bias.
Conclusions:
- Natural extinction risks for humanity are statistically very low.
- The study provides a robust framework for assessing natural existential risks.
- Newer, human-induced risks (e.g., climate change, warfare) fall outside this natural risk assessment.
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