What Share of the World Population Is Already on COVID-19 Lockdown?

A report by Business Insider shows that a third of the world population is currently on some form of a coronavirus lockdown, meaning their movement is being actively restricted and controlled by their respective governments.

While there are all sorts of different lockdowns currently in place, Statista counted those in which governments ordered their citizens to stay at home and only take a minimum of necessary trips outside, while announcing police enforcements and/or fines for people failing to meet the requirements.

The biggest lockdown is currently being enforced in India, where 1.3 billion people have been ordered to stay inside for 21 days starting today. This lockdown exceeds the size of those that happened in China even at the height of the epidemic there, according to the New York Times.

Other big lockdowns are happening in the U.S., where the majority of states have said that they would be enforcing strict stay-at-home orders, and in Europe, where there are nationwide lockdowns in France, Spain, the UK, Italy and elsewhere (totaling more than 300 million people). Almost all Russian regions have adopted lockdown measures first imposed in the nation's capital, Moscow - affecting around 132 million Russians in total.

Several Latin American countries have also enforced lockdowns, often with the help of the military. There are currently around 200 million people on lockdown in Peru, El Salvador, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia as well as in Bolivia , Panama, Paraguay and also in hard-hit Ecuador.

In the past week, more countries in Asia have also enforced lockdown measures as case counts on the continent have started to rise again. Bangladesh followed India's lead and the Philippines are now enforcing a strict lockdown on Luzon island, where capital city Manila is located, and in several other municipalities, affecting approximately 100 million people. President Duterte was quoted saying whose who violated quarantine would be shot.

More draconian lockdown laws were passed in Jordan, where anyone caught out on the street can be punished with up to one year in jail, according to a government order. Except for South Africa, major countries on the continent have yet to impose full-flung lockdowns, but countries including Kenya and Uganda have made do with measures including lockdowns of major cities and dusk-to-dawn curfews.