The research was published in Nature Communications
A new study led by Josias Lang-Ritter, a postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University in [Finland](https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/world/finland), has suggested that the current world population of 8.2 billion could be an underestimate.
Analyzing 300 rural dam projects spread over 35 nations, the researchers discovered discrepancies in independent population counts and other population data collected between 1975 and 2010.
The research, published in _Nature Communications_, says existing datasets used to estimate the world's population don't sufficiently account for people living in rural areas.