What is the national dish of Scotland?

The mobile nature of Scots society in the past required food that should not spoil quickly. It was common to carry a small bag of oatmeal that could be transformed into a basic porridge or oatcakes using a "girdle" (griddle). It is thought that Scotland's national dish, haggis, originated in a similar way: A small amount of offal or low-quality meat, carried in the most inexpensive bag available, a sheep or pig's stomach. It has also been suggested that this dish was introduced by Norse invaders who were attempting to preserve their food during the long journey from Scandinavia.

Scottish cuisine

Scottish cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions, practices and cuisines associated with Scotland. It has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own, but shares much with wider British and European cuisine as a result of local and foreign influences, both ancient and modern. Traditional Scottish dishes exist alongside international foodstuffs brought about by migration.

Scotland's natural larder of game, dairy products, fish, fruit, and vegetables is the chief factor in traditional Scots cooking, with a high reliance on simplicity and a lack of spices from abroad, as these were historically rare and expensive.

Scotland, with its temperate climate and abundance of indigenous game species, has provided a cornucopia of food for its inhabitants for millennia. The wealth of seafood available on and off the coasts provided the earliest settlers with their sustenance. Agriculture was introduced, with primitive oats quickly becoming the staple.

In common with many mediaeval European neighbours, Scotland was a feudal state for a greater part of the second millennium. This put certain restrictions on what one was allowed to hunt, therefore to eat. In the halls of the great men of the realm, one could expect venison, boar, various fowl and songbirds, expensive spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon, etc.), and the meats of domesticated species. From the journeyman down to the lowest cottar, meat was an expensive commodity, and would be consumed rarely. For the lower echelons of mediaeval Scots, it was the products of their animals rather than the beasts themselves which provided nourishment. This is evident today in traditional Scots fare, with its emphasis on dairy produce. It would appear that the average meal would consist of a pottage of herbs and roots (and when available some meat or stock for flavouring), with bread and cheese when possible.

Before Sir Walter Raleigh's introduction of the potato to the British Isles, the Scots' main source of carbohydrate was bread made from oats or barley. Wheat was generally difficult to grow because of the damp climate. Food thrift was evident from the earliest times, with excavated middens displaying little evidence of anything but the toughest bones. All parts of an animal were used.

During the Late Middle Ages and early modern era, French cuisine played a role in Scottish cookery due to cultural exchanges brought about by the "Auld Alliance", especially during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, on her return to Scotland, brought an entourage of French staff who are considered responsible for revolutionising Scots cooking and for some of Scotland's unique food terminology.With the growth of sporting estates and the advent of land enclosure in the 18th century, harvesting Scotland's larder became an industry. The railways further expanded the scope of the market, with Scots grouse at a premium (as today) on English menus shortly after the Glorious Twelfth.

The availability of certain foodstuffs in Scotland, in common with the other parts of the United Kingdom, suffered during the 20th century. Rationing during the two World Wars, as well as large-scale industrial agriculture, limited the diversity of food available to the public. Imports from the British Empire and beyond did, however, introduce new foods to the Scottish public.

During the 19th and 20th centuries there was large-scale immigration to Scotland from Italy, and later from the Middle East, India, and Pakistan. These cultures have influenced Scots cooking dramatically. The Italians reintroduced the standard of fresh produce, and the later comers introduced spice. With the enlargement of the European Union in the early years of the 21st century, there has been an increase in the population of Eastern European descent, from Poland in particular. A number of speciality restaurants and delicatessens catering for the various new immigrants have opened in the larger towns and cities.

These dishes and foods are traditional to or originate in Scotland.

In recent years Haggis pakoras have become popular in Indian restaurants.

Scotland's reputation for coronary and related diet-based diseases is a result of the wide consumption of fast food since the latter part of the 20th century. Fish and chip shops remain extremely popular, and indeed the battered and fried haggis supper remains a favourite. These have been joined in more recent years by outlets selling pizzas, kebabs, pakoras and other convenience foodstuffs. An extreme example of this style of food is the Munchy box.

In addition to independent fast-food outlets, in the 1960s American-style burger bars and other restaurants such as Wimpy were introduced, and in the 1980s, McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken appeared in Scotland.

Haggis is generally recognized as the national dish, although not described as a sausage. A popular breakfast food is the square sausage. This is normally eaten as part of a full Scottish breakfast or on a Scottish morning roll. The sausage is produced in a rectangular block and individual portions are sliced off. It is seasoned mainly with pepper. It is rarely seen outside Scotland and in fact is still fairly uncommon in the Highlands. Other types of sausage include black pudding, similar to the German and Polish blood sausages. Stornoway black pudding is held in high regard and measures are currently being taken to bring it under EU geographical protection. Additionally a popular native variety of sausage is the red pudding. It is usually served in chip shops, deep fried in batter and with chips as a red pudding supper.

Sausage

A sausage is (not always) a cylindrical meat product usually made from ground meat, often pork, beef, or veal, along with salt, spices and other flavourings, and breadcrumbs, encased by a skin. Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made from intestine, but sometimes from synthetic materials. Sausages that are sold raw are cooked in many ways, including pan-frying, broiling and barbecuing. Some sausages are cooked during processing and the casing may then be removed.

Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying (often in association with fermentation or culturing, which can contribute to preservation), smoking, or freezing. Some cured or smoked sausages can be stored without refrigeration. Most fresh sausages must be refrigerated or frozen until they are cooked.

Sausages come in a huge range of national and regional varieties, which differ by their flavouring or spicing ingredients (garlic, peppers, wine, etc.), the meat(s) used in them and their manner of preparation.
The word "sausage" was first used in English in the mid-15th century, spelled "sawsyge". This word came "...from Old North French saussiche (Modern French saucisse)". The French word "saussiche" came "...from Vulgar Latin *salsica "sausage," from salsicus "seasoned with salt," from Latin salsus [meaning] "salted".

Sausage making is an outcome of efficient butchery. Traditionally, sausage makers would salt various tissues and organs such as scraps, organ meats, blood, and fat to help preserve them. They would then stuff them into tubular casings made from the cleaned intestines of the animal, producing the characteristic cylindrical shape. Hence, sausages, puddings, and salami are among the oldest of prepared foods, whether cooked and eaten immediately or dried to varying degrees.

An Akkadian cuneiform tablet records a dish of intestine casings filled with some sort of forcemeat.

The Chinese sausage "làcháng", which consists of goat and lamb meat, was first mentioned in 589 BC.

The Greek poet Homer mentioned a kind of blood sausage in the "Odyssey", Epicharmus wrote a comedy titled "The Sausage", and Aristophanes' play "The Knights" is about a sausage vendor who is elected leader. Evidence suggests that sausages were already popular both among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and most likely with the various tribes occupying the larger part of Europe.

The most famous sausage in ancient Italy was from Lucania (modern Basilicata) and was called "lucanica", a name which lives on in a variety of modern sausages in the Mediterranean. During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, sausages were associated with the Lupercalia festival. Early in the 10th century during the Byzantine Empire, Leo VI the Wise outlawed the production of blood sausages following cases of food poisoning.

Traditionally, sausage casings were made of the cleaned intestines, or stomachs in the case of haggis and other traditional puddings. Today, however, natural casings are often replaced by collagen, cellulose, or even plastic casings, especially in the case of industrially manufactured sausages. Some forms of sausage, such as sliced sausage, are prepared without a casing. Additionally, luncheon meat and sausage meat are now available without casings in tin cans and jars.

A sausage consists of meat cut into pieces or ground, mixed with other ingredients, and filled into a casing. Ingredients may include a cheap starch filler such as breadcrumbs, seasoning and flavourings such as spices, and sometimes others such as apple and leek. The meat may be from any animal, but is often pork, beef, or veal. The lean meat-to-fat ratio depends upon the style and producer. The meat content as labelled may exceed 100%; which happens when the weight of meat exceeds the total weight of the sausage after it has been made, sometimes including a drying process which reduces water content.

In some jurisdictions foods described as sausages must meet regulations governing their content. For example, in the United States The Department of Agriculture specifies that the fat content of different defined types of sausage may not exceed 30%, 35% or 50% by weight; some sausages may contain binders or extenders.

Many traditional styles of sausage from Asia and mainland Europe use no bread-based filler and include only meat (lean meat and fat) and flavorings. In the United Kingdom and other countries with English cuisine traditions, many sausages contain a significant proportion of bread and starch-based fillers, which may comprise 30% of ingredients. The filler in many sausages helps them to keep their shape as they are cooked. As the meat contracts in the heat, the filler expands and absorbs moisture and fat from the meat.

When the food processing industry produces sausages for a low price point, almost any part of the animal can end up in sausages, varying from cheap, fatty specimens stuffed with meat blasted off the carcasses (mechanically recovered meat, MRM) and rusk. On the other hand, the finest quality contain only choice cuts of meat and seasoning. In Britain, "meat" declared on labels could in the past include fat, connective tissue, and MRM. These ingredients may still be used, but must be labelled as such, and up to 10% water may be included without being labelled.

Sausages are emulsion-type products. They are composed of solid fat globules, dispersed in protein solution. The proteins function by coating the fat and stabilizing them in water.

Sausages classification is subject to regional differences of opinion. Various metrics such as types of ingredients, consistency, and preparation are used. In the English-speaking world, the following distinction between "fresh", "cooked", and "dry" sausages seems to be more or less accepted:

The distinct flavor of some sausages is due to fermentation by "Lactobacillus", "Pediococcus", or "Micrococcus" (added as starter cultures) or natural flora during curing.

Other countries use different systems of classification. Germany, for instance, which produces more than 1200 types of sausage, distinguishes "raw", "cooked" and "precooked" sausages.

In Italy, the basic distinctions are:

The United States has a particular shelf stable type called pickled sausages, commonly sold in establishments such as gas stations and delicatessens. These are usually smoked or boiled sausages of a highly processed hot dog or kielbasa style plunged into a boiling brine of vinegar, salt, spices, and often a pink coloring, then canned in Mason jars. They are usually packaged in single blister packs or jars.

Certain countries classify sausage types according to the region in which the sausage was traditionally produced:

Many nations and regions have their own characteristic sausages, using meats and other ingredients native to the region and employed in traditional dishes.

Merguez is a red, spicy sausage from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, North Africa. It is also popular in France, Israel, and the German state of Saarland, where it is often grilled on a Schwenker. Merguez is made with lamb, beef, or a mixture of both. It can be flavored with a wide range of spices, such as sumac for tartness, and paprika, Cayenne pepper, or harissa, a hot chili paste that gives it a red color. It is stuffed into a lamb casing, rather than a pork casing. It is traditionally made fresh and eaten grilled or with couscous. Sun-dried merguez is used to add flavor to tagines. It is also eaten in sandwiches.

In South Africa, traditional sausages are known as "boerewors", or farmer's sausage. Ingredients include game and beef, usually mixed with pork or lamb and with a high percentage of fat. Coriander and vinegar are the two most common seasoning ingredients, although many variations exist. The coarsely-ground nature of the meat as well as the long continuous spiral of sausage are two of its recognisable qualities. Boerewors is traditionally cooked on a "braai" (barbecue).

Droë wors is an uncooked sausage similar to boerewors made in a dry-curing process similar to biltong. A local variant of the hot dog is the "Wors roll", or boerewors roll. This is a hotdog bun with a piece of boerewors in, served with a tomato and onion relish called "seshebo". Seshebo can include chilli, atchaar or curries, depending on the area within the country.

A European-style smoked savory "hóng cháng" ( "red sausage") is produced in Harbin, China's northernmost major city. It is similar to Lithuanian and Polish sausages including kiełbasa and "podhalańska", and tends to have a more European flavour than other Chinese sausages. This kind of sausage was first produced in a Russian-capitalized factory named Churin sausage factory in 1909. Harbin-style sausage has become popular in China, especially in northern regions.

Lap cheong (also lap chong, lap chung, lop chong) are dried pork sausages that look and feel like pepperoni, but are much sweeter. In southwestern China, sausages are flavored with salt, red pepper and wild pepper. People often cure sausages by smoking and air drying.

Although Japan is not traditionally known for beef, pork, venison, or even blood sausages, the Japanese do consume a fish-based log called kamaboko, which could be considered a type of sausage. Kamaboko is made with cured ground fish paste called surimi. It is usually shaped into half-moons on top of a small plank of wood and the outside dyed pink. When the kamaboko is cut into slices it appears to have an unmistakable pink rind which surrounds a white interior. It is often cut into thin slices and added to soups, salads, bento, and many other dishes as a garnish.
In recent years, kamaboko has also entered the market as a snack food. Similar to the Slim Jim, cheese, sausage, and fish flavored kamaboko sticks can be found in convenience stores across Japan.

Sundae, a form of blood sausage, is a traditional Korean sausage. A popular street food, sundae is normally prepared by steaming or boiling cow or pig intestines stuffed with various ingredients. The most common variation is composed of pork blood, cellophane noodle, sliced carrot and barley stuffed into pig intestines, but other regional variations include squid or Alaska pollock casings. Sundae is eaten plain with salt, in stews, or as part of a stir-fry.

In the Philippines, there are different kinds of sausages called "longaniza" (Filipino languages: "longganisa") with mixes dependent on their size of origin: "Longaniza de Vigan" ("longganisang Vigan"), "Longaniza de Lucban" ("longganisang Lucban"), and "Longaniza de Cebu" ("longganisang Sugbo/Cebu") are examples.

While "longganisa" is widely accepted as the term for native sausages, in some parts of the Visayas and Mindanao "chorizo" (Visayan: "tsoriso") is a more common term. There are regional varieties such as Vigan (with lots of garlic and not sweet) and Lucban (lots of oregano and pork fat is chunky). Most "longganisa"s contain Prague powder and are hardly smoked and usually sold fresh. In general there are several common variants:

There are many varieties of sausages known to Thai cuisine, some of which are specialities of a specific region of Thailand. From northern Thailand comes "sai ua", a grilled minced pork sausage flavored with curry paste and fresh herbs. Another grilled sausage is called "sai krok Isan", a fermented sausage with a distinctive slightly sour taste from northeastern Thailand (the region also known as Isan). Both sausages are commonly eaten with sticky rice, fresh vegetables, and a fresh "nam phrik" (Thai chilli paste) or some raw bird's eye chilies. They might also be served together with a refreshing Thai salad such as "som tum" (green papaya salad).

Also very popular in Thailand is "naem", a raw fermented pork sausage similar to the Vietnamese "nem chua" and Laotian "som moo". This variety of sausage is often encountered as "yam naem" and "naem khluk", both of which are Thai salads. Adopted from Vietnam comes "mu yo". It is somewhat similar in taste and texture to liverwurst and, served with a "nam chim" (Thai dipping sauce), a popular snack in Thailand. It too can be used as an ingredient for Thai salads and as a meat ingredient in, for instance, Thai soups. "Kun chiang" is a dry and sweet Chinese sausage which has also been incorporated into the Thai culinary culture. Known as "lap cheong" by Cantonese, in Thailand it is most often used, again, as an ingredient for a Thai salad, "yam kun chiang", one that is normally only eaten together with "khao tom kui", a plain rice congee. A host of modern, factory-made, sausages have become popular as snacks in recent years. These most often resemble hot-dogs and frankfurters and are commonly sold grilled or deep-fried at street stalls, and served with a sweet, sticky and slightly spicy soy-based sauce.

In Turkey, sausage is known as "sosis", which is made of beef. Sucuk (pronounced tsudjuck or sujuk with accent on the last syllable) is a type of sausage made in Turkey and neighboring Balkan countries. There are many types of sucuk, but it is mostly made from beef. It is fermented, spiced (with garlic and pepper) and filled in an inedible casing that needs to be peeled off before consuming. Slightly smoked sucuk is considered superior. The taste is spicy, salty and a little raw, similar to pepperoni. Some varieties are extremely hot and/or greasy. Some are "adulterated" with turkey, water buffalo meat, sheep fat or chicken. There are many dishes made with sucuk, but grilled sucuk remains the most popular. Smoke dried varieties are consumed "raw" in sandwiches. An intestinal loop is one sucuk. Smoked sucuk is usually straight.

In the UK and Ireland, sausages are a very popular and common feature of the national diet and popular culture. British sausages and Irish sausages are normally made from raw (i.e., uncooked, uncured, unsmoked) pork, beef, venison or other meats mixed with a variety of herbs and spices and cereals, many recipes of which are traditionally associated with particular regions (for example Cumberland sausages). They normally contain a certain amount of rusk or bread-rusk, and are traditionally cooked by frying, grilling or baking. They are most typically long, the filling compressed by twisting the casing into concatenated "links" into the sausage skin, traditionally made from the prepared intestine of the slaughtered animal; most commonly a pig.

Due to their habit of often exploding due to shrinkage of the tight skin during cooking, they are often referred to as "bangers", particularly when served with the most common accompaniment of mashed potatoes to form a bi-national dish known as bangers and mash.

Famously, they are an essential component of a full English or Irish breakfast. Some are made to traditional regional recipes such as those from Cumberland or Lincolnshire, and increasingly to modern recipes which combine fruit such as apples or apricots with the meat, or are influenced by other European styles such as the Toulouse sausage or chorizo. Vegetarian sausages are also now very widely available, although traditional meatless recipes such as the Welsh "Selsig Morgannwg" also exist.

A popular and widespread snack is the sausage roll made from sausage-meat rolled in puff pastry; they are sold from most bakeries and often made at home. Sausages may be baked in a Yorkshire pudding batter to create "toad in the hole", often served with gravy and onions, or they may be cooked with other ingredients in a sausage casserole. In most areas, "sausage meat" for frying and stuffing into poultry or other meats is sold as ground, spiced meat without casing. Battered sausage, consisting of a sausage dipped in batter, and fried, is sold throughout Britain from Fish and Chip shops. In England, the saveloy is a type of pre-cooked sausage, larger than a typical hot-dog, which is served hot. A saveloy skin was traditionally colored with bismarck-brown dye giving saveloy a distinctive bright red color.

A thin variety of sausage, known as the chipolata is often wrapped in bacon and served alongside roast turkey at Christmas time and are known as Pigs in a Blanket or "Pigs in Blankets". They are also served cold at children's parties throughout the year. The word derives from the Italian "cipolatta", "onioned" or made with onion, although its meaning has been forgotten and it need not contain onion. Black pudding, white pudding and Hog's pudding are fairly similar to their Scottish and European counterparts. Following concerns about health and user preference (distaste for horsemeat), heightened by the BSE crisis in the 1990s and the 2013 horsemeat scandal, the quality of the meat content in many British sausages improved with a return to the artisanal production of high quality traditional recipes, which had previously been in decline. However, many cheaper sausages contain mechanically recovered meat or meat slurry, which must be so listed on packaging.

There are various laws concerning the meat content of sausages in the UK. The minimum meat content to be labelled Pork Sausages is 42% (30% for other types of meat sausages), although to be classed as meat, the Pork can contain 30% fat and 25% connective tissue. Often the cheapest supermarket pork sausages do not have the necessary meat content to be described as "pork sausages" and are simply labelled "sausages"; with even less meat content they are described as "bangers" (an unregulated name). These typically contain MRM which was previously included in meat content, but under later EU law cannot be so described.

For Scotland, see below.

Lukanka (луканка) is a spicy salami sausage unique to Bulgarian cuisine. It is similar to sujuk, but often stronger flavored.

Kulen is a type of flavored sausage made of minced pork that is traditionally produced in Croatia (Slavonia) and Serbia (Vojvodina), and its designation of origin has been protected. The meat is low-fat, rather brittle and dense, and the flavor is spicy. The red paprika gives it aroma and color, and garlic adds spice. The original kulen recipe does not contain black pepper because its hot flavor comes from hot red paprika.

Other types of sausages in Serbia include Sremska, Požarevačka, and Sudžuk. And other types of sausages in Croatia include Češnjovka (Garlic Sausage) and Krvavica (a variation on Blood Sausage).

"See the section Nordic countries below"

The generic word for sausage in Finnish is "makkara". Several types of Finnish makkara are similar in appearance to Polish sausages or bratwursts, but have a very different taste and texture. Most makkara have very little spice and are therefore frequently eaten with mustard, ketchup, or other table condiments without a bun. Makkara is usually grilled, roasted over coals or open fire, steamed (called "höyrymakkara") or cooked on sauna heating stones.

"Nakki" is a tinier edition of makkara. There are many types of nakki, with almost as much varieties as larger types of makkara. The closest relative to nakki in North-American cuisine is the thin knackwurst. "Siskonmakkara", a finely ground light-colored sausage, is usually encountered as the main ingredient of a soup named "siskonmakkarakeitto". Another variety is "mustamakkara", lit. black sausage, a specialty of Tampere. It is a type of blood sausage similar to the Scottish black pudding. A Finnish speciality is "ryynimakkara", a low-fat sausage which contains groats. Pickled makkara, intended to be consumed as slices, is called "kestomakkara". This class includes various mettwurst, salami and Balkanesque styles. The most popular kestomakkara in Finland is "meetvursti" (etymologically this word comes from "mettwurst"), which contains finely ground full meat, ground fat and various spices. It is not unlike salami, but usually thicker and less salty. "Meetvursti" used to additionally contain horse meat, but hardly any brands contain it anymore, mostly due to the high cost of production. In general, there is no taboo against eating horse meat in Nordic countries, but the popularity has decreased with decreasing availability of suitable horse meat. There is also makkara and meetvursti with game, like deer, moose or reindeer meat. Even a "lohimakkara", i.e., salmon sausage, exists. In Finland there are b- and a-classes of BBQ Sausages like Kabanossi, Camping and HK Sininen Lenkki, Blue Loop.

When a thick slice of a thick (diameter about ) makkara is fried and put together with cucumber salad and other fillings between two slices of toast, it becomes a "porilainen", named after the town of Pori.

Saucisson is perhaps one of the most popularized forms of dried sausage in France, with many different variations from region to region. Usually saucisson contains pork, cured with a mixture of salt, wine and/or spirits. Regional varieties sometimes contain more unorthodox ingredients such as nuts and fruits. Other French sausages include the diot and various types of boudin.

The French language makes a difference between "saucisse" and "saucisson", where the former is usually meant to bake, and the latter is a dried sausage. However, the saucisse is only popular near the Germanic border (Belgium, Switzerland, regions near Germany,...), and won't be found often in the centre of France.

For the enormous variety of German sausages follow the specific links on the

German sausages include Frankfurters/Wieners, Bratwürste, Rindswürste, Knackwürste, and Bockwürste. Currywurst, a dish of sausages with curry sauce, is a popular fast food in Germany.

Loukaniko is the common Greek word for pork sausage, but in English it refers specifically to Greek sausages flavored with orange peel, fennel seed and other herbs.

Hungarian sausages, when smoked and cured, are called kolbász – different types are often distinguished by their typical regions, e.g. "gyulai" and "csabai" sausage. As no collective word for "sausage" in the English sense exists in Hungarian, local salamis (see e.g. winter salami) and boiled sausages "hurka" are often not considered when listing regional sausage varieties. The most common boiled sausages are rice liver sausage ("Májas Hurka") and blood sausage ("Véres Hurka"). In the first case, the main ingredient is liver, mixed with rice stuffing. In the latter, the blood is mixed with rice, or pieces of bread rolls. Spices, pepper, salt and marjoram are added.

Italian sausages ("salsiccia" – plural "salsicce") are often made of pure pork. Sometimes they may contain beef. Fennel seeds and chilli are generally used as the primary spices in the South of Italy, while in the center and North of the country black pepper and garlic are more often used. In Apulia "salsiccia" is called "zampina" (plural "zampine").

A different type of sausage that is popular in Italy, found in many varieties, is "salame" (plural ), made from coarsely ground meat (pork or beef) mixed with fat, salted and dried. Spices are added as for "salsiccia". "Salami" are ready-to-eat as purchased; typically, they are sliced thinly for consumption and eaten cold, for instance as "salumi".

Macedonian sausages ("kolbas, lukanec") are made from fried pork, onions, and leeks, with herbs and spices.

Maltese sausage ("Maltese": "Zalzett tal-Malti") is made of pork, sea salt, black peppercorns, coriander seeds and parsley. It is short and thick in shape and can be eaten grilled, fried, stewed, steamed or even raw when freshly made. A barbecue variety is similar to the original but with a thinner skin and less salt.

Dutch and Belgian cuisine is not known for its abundant use of sausages in its traditional dishes. Nevertheless, the Dutch have a number of sausage varieties, such as the "rookworst" (smoked sausage) and the dried "slagersworst" (lit. "butchers sausage") mostly found at the specialist butcher shops and still made by hand and spiced following traditionally family recipes. Another common variety in the Netherlands is the "runderworst" which is made from beef and the dried sausage known as "metworst" or "droge worst". The Dutch's name might suggest its being a variant of the German-style bratwurst, but this is not the case; it is more closely related to the well-known Afrikaner Boerewors.

Nordic sausages (,,, ) are usually made of 60–80% very finely ground pork, very sparsely spiced with pepper, nutmeg, allspice or similar sweet spices (ground mustard seed, onion and sugar may also be added). Water, lard, rind, potato starch flour and soy or milk protein are often added for binding and filling. In southern Norway, grill and wiener sausages are often wrapped in a "lompe", a potato flatbread somewhat similar to a "lefse".

Virtually all sausages will be industrially precooked and either fried or warmed in hot water by the consumer or at the hot dog stand. Since hot dog stands are ubiquitous in Denmark (known as "Pølsevogn") some people regard "pølser" as one of the national dishes, perhaps along with medisterpølse, a fried, finely ground pork and bacon sausage. The most noticeable aspect of Danish boiled sausages (never the fried ones) is that the casing often contains a traditional bright-red dye. They are also called "wienerpølser" and legend has it they originate from Vienna where it was once ordered that day-old sausages be dyed as a means of warning.

The traditional Swedish "falukorv" is a sausage made of a grated mixture of pork and beef or veal with potato flour and mild spices, similarly red-dyed sausage, but about 5 cm thick, usually baked in the oven coated in mustard or cut in slices and fried. The sausage got its name from Falun, the city from where it originates, after being introduced by German immigrants who came to work in the region's mines. Unlike most other ordinary sausages it is a typical home dish, not sold at hot dog stands. Other Swedish sausages include "prinskorv", "fläskkorv", "" and "isterband"; all of these, in addition to "falukorv", are often accompanied by potato mash or "rotmos" (a root vegetable mash) rather than bread. "Isterband" is made of pork, barley groats and potato and is lightly smoked.

In Iceland, lamb may be added to sausages, giving them a distinct taste. Horse sausage and mutton sausage are also traditional foods in Iceland, although their popularity is waning. Liver sausage, which has been compared to haggis, and blood sausage are also a common foodstuff in Iceland.

"See the section Nordic countries above"

Polish sausages, kiełbasa, come in a wide range of styles such as swojska, krajańska, szynkowa (a ham sausage), biała, śląska, krakowska, podhalańska, kishka and others. Sausages in Poland are generally made of pork, rarely beef. Sausages with low meat content and additions like soy protein, potato flour or water binding additions are regarded as of low quality. Because of climate conditions, sausages were traditionally preserved by smoking, rather than drying, like in Mediterranean countries.

Since the 14th century, Poland excelled in the production of sausages, thanks in part to the royal hunting excursions across virgin forests with game delivered as gifts to friendly noble families and religious hierarchy across the country. The extended list of beneficiaries of such diplomatic generosity included city magistrates, academy professors, voivodes, szlachta and kapituła. Usually the raw meat was delivered in winter, but the processed meat, throughout the rest of the year. With regard to varieties, early Italian, French and German influences played a role. Meat commonly preserved in fat and by smoking was mentioned by historian Jan Długosz in his annals:"Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae" The "Annales" covered events from 965 to 1480, with mention of the hunting castle in Niepołomice along with King Władysław sending game to Queen Zofia from Niepołomice Forest, the most popular hunting ground for the Polish royalty beginning in the 13th century.

Embutidos (or enchidos) and linguiça generally contain hashed meat, particularly pork, seasoned with aromatic herbs or spices (pepper, red pepper, paprika, garlic, rosemary, thyme, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, etc.).

In Spain, fresh sausages, "salchichas", which are eaten cooked, and cured sausages, "embutidos", which are eaten uncooked, are two distinct categories. Among the cured sausages are found products like chorizo, salchichón, and sobrasada. Blood sausage, morcilla, is found in both cured and fresh varieties. They are made with pork meat and blood, usually adding rice, garlic, paprika and other spices. There are many regional variations, and in general they are either fried or cooked in cocidos.

Fresh sausage may be red or white. Red sausages contain paprika (pimentón in Spanish) and are usually fried; they can also contain other spices such as garlic, pepper or thyme. The most popular type of red sausage is perhaps "txistorra", a thin and long paprika sausage originating in Navarre. White sausages do not contain paprika and can be fried, boiled in wine, or, more rarely, in water.
"See the section Nordic countries above"

The cervelat, a cooked sausage, is often referred to as Switzerland's national sausage. A great number of regional sausage specialties exist as well.

In most of Latin America, a few basic types of sausages are consumed, with slight regional variations on each recipe. These are "chorizo" (raw, rather than cured and dried like its Spanish namesake), "longaniza" (usually very similar to "chorizo" but longer and thinner), "morcilla" or "relleno" (blood sausage), and "salchichas" (often similar to hot dogs or Vienna sausages). Beef tends to be more predominant than in the pork-heavy Spanish equivalents.

In Argentina and Uruguay, many sausages are consumed. Eaten as part of the traditional "asado", "chorizo" (beef and/or pork, flavored with spices) and "morcilla" (blood sausage or black pudding) are the most popular. Both share a Spanish origin. One local variety is the "salchicha argentina" (Argentine sausage), "criolla" or "parrillera" (literally, barbecue-style), made of the same ingredients as the chorizo but thinner. There are hundreds of salami-style sausages. Very popular is the "salame tandilero", from the city of Tandil. Other types include "longaniza", "cantimpalo" and "soppressata".

Vienna sausages are eaten as an appetizer or in hot dogs (called panchos), which are usually served with different sauces and salads. Leberwurst is usually found in every market. Weisswurst is also a common dish in some regions, eaten usually with mashed potatoes or "chucrut" (sauerkraut).

"Longaniza" is the most common type of sausage, or at least the most common name in Chile for sausages that also could be classified as chorizo. The Chilean variety is made of four parts pork to one part bacon (or less) and seasoned with finely ground garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, paprika and chilli sauce. The cities of Chillán and San Carlos are known among Chileans for having the best "longanizas".

Another traditional sausage is the "prieta", the Chilean version of blood sausage, generally known elsewhere in Latin America as "morcilla". In Chile, it contains onions, spices and sometimes walnut or rice and is usually eaten at "asados" or accompanied by simple boiled potatoes. It sometimes has a very thick skin so is cut open lengthwise before eating. "Vienesa"s or Vienna sausages are also very common and are mainly used in the "completo", the Chilean version of the hot dog.

A grilled chorizo served with a buttered "arepa" is one of the most common street foods in Colombia. Butifarras Soledeñas are sausages from Soledad, Atlántico, Colombia. In addition to the standard Latin American sausages, dried pork sausages are served cold as a snack, often to accompany beer drinking. These include "cábanos" (salty, short, thin, and served individually), "butifarras" (of Catalan origin; spicier, shorter, fatter and moister than cábanos, often eaten raw, sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice) and "salchichón" (a long, thin and heavily processed sausage served in slices).

The most common Mexican sausage by far is "chorizo". It is fresh and usually deep red in color (in most of the rest of Latin America, chorizo is uncolored and coarsely chopped). Some chorizo is so loose that it spills out of its casing as soon as it is cut; this crumbled "chorizo" is a popular filling for torta sandwiches, eggs, breakfast burritos and tacos. "Salchichas", "longaniza" (a long, thin, lightly spiced, coarse chopped pork sausage), moronga (a type of blood pudding) and head cheese are also widely consumed.

In El Salvador, chorizos are quite common, and the ones from the city of Cojutepeque are particularly well known there. The links, especially of those from Cojutepeque, are separated with corn husks tied in knots (see photo). Like most chorizos in Latin America, they are sold raw, and must be cooked.

North American breakfast or country sausage is made from uncooked ground pork, breadcrumbs and salt mixed with pepper, sage, and other spices. It is widely sold in grocery stores in a large synthetic plastic casing, or in links which may have a protein casing. It is also available sold by the pound without a casing. It can often be found on a smaller scale in rural regions, especially in southern states, where it is either in fresh patties or in links with either natural or synthetic casings as well as smoked. This sausage is most similar to English-style sausages and has been made in the United States since colonial days. It is commonly sliced into small patties and pan-fried, or cooked and crumbled into scrambled eggs or gravy. Scrapple is a pork-based breakfast meat that originated in the Mid-Atlantic States. Other uncooked sausages are available in certain regions in link form, including Italian, bratwurst, chorizo, and linguica.

In Louisiana, there is a variety of sausage that is unique to its heritage, a variant of andouille. Unlike the original variety native to Northern France, Louisiana andouille has evolved to be made mainly of pork butt, not tripe, and tends to be spicy with a flavor far too strong for the mustard sauce that traditionally accompanies French andouille: prior to casing, the meat is heavily spiced with cayenne and black pepper. The variety from Louisiana is known as Tasso ham and is often a staple in Cajun and Creole cooking. Traditionally it is smoked over pecan wood or sugar cane as a final step before being ready to eat. In Cajun cuisine, boudin is also popular. Sausages made in the French tradition are popular in Québec, Ontario, and parts of the Prairies, where butchers offer their own variations on the classics. Locals of Flin Flon are especially fond of the Saucisse de Toulouse, which is often served with poutine.

Hot dogs, also known as frankfurters or wieners, are the most common pre-cooked sausage in the United States and Canada. Another popular variation is the corn dog, which is a hot dog that is deep fried in cornmeal batter and served on a stick. A common and popular regional sausage in New Jersey and surrounding areas is pork roll, usually thinly sliced and grilled as a breakfast meat.

Other popular ready-to-eat sausages, often eaten in sandwiches, include salami, American-style bologna, Lebanon bologna, prasky, liverwurst, and head cheese. Pepperoni and Italian sausage are popular pizza toppings.

Australian sausages have traditionally been made with beef, pork and chicken, while recently game meats such as kangaroo have been used that typically have much less fat. English style sausages, known colloquially as "snags", come in two varieties: thin, that resemble an English 'breakfast' sausage, and thick, known as 'Merryland' in South Australia. These types of sausage are popular at barbecues, and can be purchased from any butcher or supermarket. Devon is a spiced pork sausage similar to Bologna sausage and Gelbwurst. It is usually made in a large diameter, and often thinly sliced and eaten cold in sandwiches.

Mettwurst and other German-style sausages are highly popular in South Australia, often made in towns like Hahndorf and Tanunda, due to the large German immigration to the state during early settlement. Mettwurst is usually sliced, and eaten cold on sandwiches or alone as a snack. A local variation on cabanossi, developed by Italian migrants after World War II using local cuts of meat, is a popular snack at parties. The Don small goods company developed a spiced snack-style sausage based on the cabanossi in 1991 called Twiggy Sticks.

Sausage rolls are a popular snack and party food, as are saveloys, cheerios, and locally manufactured cabanossi. Traditional sausages similar to English bangers are eaten throughout the country; these are usually made of finely ground beef or mutton with breadcrumbs, very mildly spiced, stuffed into an edible collagen casing which crisps and splits when fried. These may be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In recent years, many international and exotic sausages have also become widely available in NZ.

Sausages may be served as hors d'œuvres, in a sandwich, in a bread roll as a hot dog, wrapped in a tortilla, or as an ingredient in dishes such as stews and casseroles. It can be served on a stick (like the corn dog) or on a bone as well. Sausage without casing is called "sausage meat" and can be fried or used as stuffing for poultry, or for wrapping foods like Scotch eggs. Similarly, sausage meat encased in puff pastry is called a "sausage roll".

Sausages are almost always fried in oil, served for any meal, particularly breakfast or lunch and often "sweet sausages" have been created which are made with any of the above: dried fruit, nuts, caramel and chocolate, bound with butter and sugar. These sweet sausages are refrigerated rather than fried and usually, however, served for dessert rather than as part of a savory course. Sausages can also be modified to use indigenous ingredients. Mexican styles add oregano and the "guajillo" red pepper to the Spanish chorizo to give it an even hotter spicy touch. Certain sausages also contain ingredients such as cheese and apple, or types of vegetable.

Vegetarian and vegan sausages are also available in some countries, or can be made from scratch at home. These may be made from tofu, seitan, nuts, pulses, mycoprotein, soya protein, vegetables or any combination of similar ingredients that will hold together during cooking. These sausages, like most meat-replacement products, generally fall into two categories: some are shaped, colored, flavored, and spiced to replicate the taste and texture of meat as accurately as possible; others such as the Glamorgan sausage rely on spices and vegetables to lend their natural flavor to the product and no attempt is made to imitate meat. While not vegetarian, the soya sausage was invented 1916 in Germany. First known as "Kölner Wurst" ("Cologne Sausage") by later German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967).

Although the name "hagws" or "hagese" was first recorded in England c. 1430, the dish is considered traditionally of Scottish origin. It is even the national dish, as a result of Scots poet Robert Burns' poem "Address to a Haggis" of 1787. Haggis is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties", boiled and mashed separately, and a dram (a glass of Scotch whisky), especially as the main course of a Burns Supper.

Haggis

Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach though now often in an artificial casing instead. According to the 2001 English edition of the "Larousse Gastronomique": "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour".

It is believed that food similar to haggis (though not so named)—perishable offal quickly cooked inside an animal's stomach, all conveniently available after a hunt—was eaten from ancient times.

Haggis is popularly assumed to be of Scottish origin, but many countries have produced similar dishes, albeit with different names. However, the recipes as known and standardised now are distinctly Scottish. The first known written recipes for a dish of the name, made with offal and herbs, are as "hagese", in the verse cookbook "Liber Cure Cocorum" dating from around 1430 in Lancashire, north west England, and, as "hagws of a schepe" from an English cookbook also of c. 1430."For hagese"'.
Þe hert of schepe, þe nere þou take,
Þo bowel noght þou shalle forsake,
On þe turbilen made, and boyled wele,
Hacke alle togeder with gode persole,The Scottish poem, "Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy", which is dated before 1520 (the generally accepted date prior to the death of William Dunbar, one of the composers), refers to 'haggeis'.Thy fowll front had, and he that Bartilmo flaid;
The gallowis gaipis eftir thy graceles gruntill,
As thow wald for ane haggeis, hungry gled.An early printed recipe for haggis appears in 1615 in "The English Huswife" by Gervase Markham. It contains a section entitled "Skill in Oate meale".
Food writer Alan Davidson suggests that the ancient Romans were the first known to have made products of the haggis type. Haggis was "born of necessity, as a way to utilize the least expensive cuts of meat and the innards as well".

Clarissa Dickson Wright says that it "came to Scotland in a longship [i.e., from Scandinavia] even before Scotland was a single nation." She cites etymologist Walter William Skeat as further suggestion of possible Scandinavian origins: Skeat claimed that the "hag–" element of the word is derived from the Old Norse "haggw" or the Old Icelandic "hoggva" ("höggva" meaning 'to chop' in modern Icelandic), Modern Scots "hag", meaning 'to hew' or strike with a sharp weapon, relating to the chopped-up contents of the dish.

In her book, "The Haggis: A Little History", Dickson Wright suggests that haggis was invented as a way of cooking quick-spoiling offal near the site of a hunt, without the need to carry along an additional cooking vessel. The liver and kidneys could be grilled directly over a fire, but this treatment was unsuitable for the stomach, intestines, or lungs. Chopping up the lungs and stuffing the stomach with them and whatever fillers might have been on hand, then boiling the assembly — probably in a vessel made from the animal's hide — was one way to make sure these parts were not wasted.

In the absence of hard facts as to haggis' origins, popular folklore has provided some notions. One is that the dish originates from the days of the old Scottish cattle drovers. When the men left the Highlands to drive their cattle to market in Edinburgh, the women would prepare rations for them to eat during the long journey down through the glens. They used the ingredients that were most readily available in their homes and conveniently packaged them in a sheep's stomach allowing for easy transportation during the journey. Other speculations have been based on Scottish slaughtering practices. When a chieftain or laird required an animal to be slaughtered for meat (whether sheep or cattle) the workmen were allowed to keep the offal as their share.

A joke sometimes maintained is that a haggis is a small Scottish animal with longer legs on one side, so that it can run around the steep hills of the Scottish highlands without falling over. According to one poll, 33 percent of American visitors to Scotland believed haggis to be an animal.

Haggis is traditionally served as part of the Burns supper on or near January 25, the birthday of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns. Burns wrote the poem "", which starts "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!" In Burns's lifetime haggis was a common dish of the poor as it was nourishing yet very cheap, being made from leftover parts of sheep otherwise discarded.

Haggis is widely available in supermarkets in Scotland all year, with cheaper brands normally packed in artificial casings, rather than stomachs. Sometimes haggis is sold in tins or a container which can be cooked in a microwave or conventional oven. Some commercial haggis is largely made from pig, rather than sheep, offal. Kosher haggis, not only pork-free but fully conformant to Jewish dietary laws, is produced.

Haggis is often served in Scottish fast-food establishments, in the shape of a large sausage and deep fried in batter. Together with chips, this comprises a "haggis supper". A "haggis burger" is a patty of fried haggis served on a bun. A "haggis pakora" is another deep fried variant, available in some Indian restaurants in Scotland. Haggis can be used as an ingredient in other dishes, even pizza, rather than the main part of a dish.

A traditional haggis recipe describes haggis as "sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and boiled". Ingredients are sheep stomach, heart and lungs of one lamb, onions, oatmeal, salt, pepper, stock, and water, with optional ingredients dried coriander, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It can be boiled, baked, or deep fried.

Since the 1960s various Scottish shops and manufacturers have made what they call vegetarian haggis, substituting various pulses, nuts and vegetables for the meat. There are also recipes for homemade vegetarian haggis. Oats and barley may be included as may different types of lentils, split peas, aduki beans, kidney beans, borlotti beans, peanuts, other nuts and mushrooms, onions, and carrots.

Haggis remains popular with Scottish immigrants in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, owing to the strong influence of Scottish culture, especially for Burns Suppers. It can easily be made in any country, but is sometimes imported from Scotland. A recipe from the Canadian province of New Brunswick uses pork and bakes it in a loaf pan.

In 1971 it became illegal to import haggis into the US from the UK due to a ban on food containing sheep lung, which constitutes 10 – 15 percent of the traditional recipe. The ban encompasses all lungs, as fluids such as stomach acid and phlegm may enter the lung during slaughter. The situation was further complicated in 1989 when all UK beef and lamb was banned from importation to the US due to a BSE crisis. In 2010 a spokeswoman for the US Department of Agriculture stated that they were reviewing the ban on beef and lamb products, but that the ban on food containing sheep lung would remain in force.

As haggis cannot be exported to the United States, it is instead made there, sometimes by Scottish companies. One such uses what is stated to be the same 150 year-old recipe and ingredients as in Scotland, except that sheep lung is not used, and the casing is always artificial.


Who is Jon Snow's father?

In "A Game of Thrones", Jon Snow is introduced as the 14-year-old illegitimate son of Eddard "Ned" Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and half-brother to Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. Jon is described as having strong Stark features with a lean build, long face, dark brown hair and grey eyes. Jon has the surname "Snow" (customarily used for illegitimate children in the North) and is resented by Ned's wife Catelyn, who views him as a constant reminder of Ned's infidelity. Jon is the same age as Robb and enjoys a warm relationship with his siblings, particularly the tomboy Arya (who resembles Jon and like him does not feel like she fits in). Ned treats Jon as much like his other children as propriety and his honor will allow. Still, as somewhat of an outsider, Jon has learned to be independent and to fend for himself when necessary. Jon idolizes his father, but is wounded by Ned's refusal to tell him about his mother. At the beginning of the story, Jon adopts the albino direwolf that he names Ghost. He later finds that at times he can "inhabit" the wolf and share its experiences.

Jon Snow (character)

Jon Snow is a fictional character in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation "Game of Thrones", in which he is portrayed by English actor Kit Harington. He is a prominent point of view character in the novels, and has been called one of the author's "finest creations" and most popular characters by "The New York Times". Jon is a main character in the TV series, and his storyline in the 2015 season 5 finale generated a strong reaction among viewers. Speculation about the character's parentage has also been a popular topic of discussion among fans of both the books and the TV series.

Jon is introduced in 1996's "A Game of Thrones" as the illegitimate son of Ned Stark, the honorable lord of Winterfell, an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional continent of Westeros. Knowing his prospects are limited by his status, Jon joins the Night's Watch, who guard the far northern borders from the wildlings who live beyond The Wall. As the rest of the Starks face grave adversity, Jon finds himself honor bound to remain with the Watch. In "A Clash of Kings" (1998), he joins a scouting party investigating the growing threat from the otherworldly "Others" beyond the Wall, and manages to infiltrate the wildlings. Jon learns of their plans to invade Westeros in "A Storm of Swords" (2000), and begins to fall in love with the fierce wildling woman Ygritte. He betrays them—and Ygritte—before they can attack, but the Night Watch's victory comes at a heavy price for Jon. Now the Lord Commander of the Watch, he appears briefly in 2005's "A Feast for Crows". Jon returns as a prominent character in a "A Dance with Dragons" (2011), working to negotiate an alliance between the Night's Watch and the wildlings. The growing animosity he has attracted from among the Watch finally catches up with him, and he is forced to face the dire consequences.

On the HBO series "Game of Thrones", Jon's storyline follows the character's plot arc from the novel series, though season 6 and season 7 of the TV adaptation continue on from the events of Martin's latest published installment. Harington was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role in 2016. He was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television in 2012, 2016 and 2017.

David Orr of "The New York Times" describes Jon as "a complex, thoughtful and basically good character". David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the creators and executive producers of the television adaptation of the series, explain that Jon is one of several characters in the series who must "face hard truths about the world they live in, and adapt themselves to those truths" because "The struggle many of them face is how to do that without losing their grip on who they are." Ned Stark teaches all his children about leadership, selflessness, duty and honor. Following his father's example becomes more difficult as Jon faces challenges to his identity as a man, a Stark, and a brother of the Night's Watch. Benioff and Weiss note that "Jon Snow tries to live with honor, while knowing that honor often gets his family members murdered." Writing for "Variety" about the season 6 episode "Battle of the Bastards", Laura Prudom suggests that Jon "has the same shortcomings" as his father: "he fights with honor against opponents who are all too willing to use that predictable morality against him".

Jon is a prominent point of view character in the novels, and has been called one of Martin's "finest creations". Jon is introduced as the illegitimate son of a Northern lord who, realizing he is an outsider in his own family, follows his uncle to the far north and accepts the honorable duty of serving in the Night's Watch. But as much as he is a second-class Stark at home, initially his fellow recruits and brothers of the Watch set him apart as privileged and aloof. Jon adapts, soon proving himself to be wise, compassionate, and a natural leader. Over the course of the series, Jon's loyalty to the Watch and its vows, his family, and even Westeros itself are tested as he becomes embroiled in the efforts of the wildlings from Beyond the Wall to force their way back into the Seven Kingdoms. He lives among them as a spy for the Watch, sympathetic to their cause and becoming romantically involved with the tenacious Ygritte. However he ultimately betrays them to defend The Wall. Later, as the newest Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he pursues an alliance with the wildlings.

Several reviews of 2011's "A Dance with Dragons" noted the return to the narrative of Jon, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister, the three popular characters whom fans had missed most from the previous volume, "A Feast for Crows". These "favorites" had last been featured 11 years before in Martin's "A Storm of Swords". In "A Dance with Dragons", Jon's leadership of the Night's Watch is complicated by several unprecedented challenges, including a wildling alliance, the demands of would-be-king Stannis Baratheon and the conflicting factions developing within the Watch itself. "The New York Times" notes that "Jon’s leadership is the best hope of Westeros, so naturally he’s in imminent danger throughout "A Dance With Dragons"." James Hibberd of "Entertainment Weekly" called Jon's final chapter in "A Dance with Dragons" "a harsh chapter in terms of fan expectations. You go from this total high of Jon giving this rousing speech about going after the evil Ramsay Bolton, to this utter low of his men turning against him." Jon's presence in the forthcoming volume "The Winds of Winter" is uncertain.

Asked what he thought was Jon’s biggest "mistake", Martin replied:

The identity of Jon's mother has created much speculation among readers of the series, and guessing her identity was the test Martin gave Benioff and Weiss when they approached him in March 2006 about adapting his novels into a TV series. In the novels, Martin hints that she could be a servant named Wylla, or the noblewoman Ashara Dayne. The popular fan theory—called "R+L=J", an abbreviation of "Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon"—proposes that Jon is not the son of Ned at all, but is actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Ned's younger sister Lyanna Stark.

Though the character is presented as the illegitimate son of Ned Stark, David Orr voiced the doubt of some readers when he wrote in "The New York Times" in 2011, "Jon Snow is presented as the illegitimate son of the Stark patriarch, although it's uncertain whether Stark is indeed his father." Actor Sean Bean, who portrays Ned in the HBO television series, said when asked in a 2014 interview about returning to the series to appear in flashbacks, "I've definitely got some unfinished business that needs to be resolved there. I'm obviously not Jon Snow's dad. And you need that to be revealed at some point, don't you?" The uncertainty arises from anecdotal evidence in the texts interpreted by readers to connect the mysterious maternity of Ned's son with the vague backstory of his sister Lyanna.

As recounted by Ned in "A Game of Thrones", at a tourney years before the events of the novel, Rhaegar had shown public favor to Lyanna in the presence of his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell. When Rhaegar and Lyanna disappeared a year later, her father Rickard and eldest brother Brandon confronted Rhaegar's father, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, demanding that his son return the abducted Lyanna. Aerys had Rickard and Brandon brutally executed for their insolence, inciting Ned and his friend Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and Lyanna's betrothed, to rebel against Aerys. In what later became known as Robert's Rebellion, Aerys was overthrown and Rhaegar was killed by Robert in single combat. After a bloody battle against three of Aerys' Kingsguard protecting the Tower of Joy in Dorne, Ned found Lyanna inside, in a "bed of blood." She died shortly after eliciting a promise from Ned. Once the war was won, he returned to Winterfell with his illegitimate son Jon.

The R+L=J theory posits that rather than Rhaegar kidnapping Lyanna, they fell in love and ran away together. Living for a year in the Tower of Joy, they conceived a child—Jon. Rhaegar was killed in battle by Robert, and Lyanna died in childbirth. Ned promised Lyanna on her deathbed to claim the baby as his own to protect him from Robert, who sought to exterminate all Targaryens out of hatred and to secure his claim to the throne.

HBO's "Game of Thrones" has included in its adaptation many of the "hints" identified by this theory. In the season 6 finale, "The Winds of Winter", Bran Stark has a vision of the past which shows Ned reuniting with a dying Lyanna in the Tower of Joy. Lyanna makes him promise to protect her son—Jon. An infographic subsequently posted on the HBO-controlled website MakingGameofThrones.com confirmed Rhaegar as Jon's father. Journalists later commented on the significance of two plot points in the season 7 episode "Eastwatch". One of Daenerys Targaryen's dragons, Drogon, approaches Jon calmly and allows the King in the North to pet him, seemingly recognizing him as a Targaryen. Later, Gilly learns from a book at the Citadel that a High Septon annulled Rhaegar's marriage, and married him to someone else in Dorne, suggesting the possibility that Jon is the legitimate son of Rhaegar and Lyanna. The season 7 finale episode "The Dragon and the Wolf" confirmed that Jon is indeed the legitimate son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, and that his birth name is actually Aegon Targaryen.

Jon Snow is first introduced in "A Game of Thrones" (1996), as he and his five siblings adopt six orphaned direwolf cubs. Known by all as Ned Stark's illegitimate son and with Ned's wife Catelyn despising him, Jon has always felt removed from the rest of the Stark family. He resolves to join the Night's Watch, as his status as a bastard prevents him from holding lands or marrying into a good family. At The Wall, the other recruits resent Jon's aura of superiority, but he makes amends by helping them master swordplay. He also befriends Samwell Tarly, a cowardly lordling who, despite being helpless with weapons, displays an aptitude for book learning. Jon's independence and his compassion for the recruits invite the ire of the harsh master-at-arms Alliser Thorne, who sees Jon as a threat to his authority. Jon gains the notice of the Lord Commander, Jeor Mormont, who names Jon his personal squire and grooms Jon for command. After learning of his father's execution, Jon resolves to desert the Night's Watch and join his half brother Robb, but the other recruits convince Jon to remain loyal to his Night's Watch vows. The next night, Jon saves Mormont's life by killing an undead wight. Mormont then orders a Great Ranging beyond the Wall to learn more of this new threat.

In 1998's "A Clash of Kings", Mormont leads a party of Night's Watch rangers beyond the Wall to investigate the disappearance of Jon's uncle Benjen, assess the intentions of the wildling leader Mance Rayder and learn more of the threat posed by the Others. Jon is sent out with a scouting party led by Qhorin Halfhand. On the journey, Jon comes upon a wildling lookout and takes the warrior girl Ygritte captive; though told to kill her, Jon lets her escape. Jon and Qhorin are subsequently captured by the wildlings. Qhorin, who faces certain execution at Mance's hands, commands Jon to infiltrate the wildlings and learn their plans, at any cost. Jon pretends to disavow the Night's Watch, and the wildlings force him to fight Qhorin to the death to earn their trust. With Qhorin's silent consent, Jon kills him with the aid of Ghost.

As "A Storm of Swords" (2000) begins, Jon has gained the trust of the wildlings by killing Qhorin, and marches with their host. He learns that Mance intends to breach the Wall and march south to escape the Others, crushing the Night's Watch if necessary. Jon finds himself torn between his growing love for Ygritte and his vows of celibacy. After climbing over The Wall with Ygritte and Tormund Giantsbane, Jon deserts them to warn the Watch of the impending attack. He helps defend Castle Black against the wildlings' initial attacks despite his lack of men and weapons. Ygritte is killed in the fighting, leaving Jon stricken. When the battle is won, Jon is arrested for desertion by Thorne and Janos Slynt, but is freed after convincing the judges of his loyalty. Still suspicious, Thorne orders that Jon be sent to kill Mance under the pretense of parley, but Jon's task is interrupted by the arrival of Stannis Baratheon's army. Stannis offers to legitimize Jon and declare him Lord of Winterfell if he will align the North with Stannis. Though greatly tempted at the prospect of becoming a true Stark, Jon again chooses to remain loyal to his Night's Watch vows. With Sam's help, Jon is elected to the position of Lord Commander by acclamation.

Jon is not a POV character in 2005's "A Feast for Crows", but appears briefly from Sam's perspective as he sends Sam away from Castle Black with the Watch's Maester Aemon and Mance's newborn son to protect them from sacrifice by the Red Priestess Melisandre. Jon also gives Sam the specific mission of traveling to the Citadel in Oldtown to become a maester, so that he may better understand the threat of the Others and eventually succeed Maester Aemon.

In "A Dance with Dragons" (2011), after sending Sam away to the Citadel to become a Maester, Jon successfully negotiates the peaceful surrender of the remains of Mance's army. He promises to settle the wildlings in sparsely populated regions of the North, and allows some of them to join the Watch to garrison the many abandoned Night's Watch fortresses. Many members of the Watch dislike the idea of allowing their ancient enemies through the Wall and welcoming them into their ranks. Jon attempts to juggle the integration of the wildlings, growing unrest within the Night's Watch, and Stannis' attempts to use the Watch in his war for the Iron Throne, while trying to maintain the Watch's strict political neutrality. Already agitated by these unprecedented developments, a group of officers led by Slynt openly defies Jon's orders. When Slynt refuses to submit, Jon executes the man himself. Stannis explains to Jon his plan to attack the Dreadfort, but Jon advises him to instead rally the Mountain Clans and attack Deepwood Motte, the fortress of House Glover recently captured by the Ironborn. Stannis does so, winning the support of the Glovers and the Mormonts. Jon learns that his sister Arya is being married to Ramsay Bolton so that the Boltons may claim Winterfell. Unaware that the bride is actually Jeyne Poole, Jon sends Mance to rescue her while Stannis marches on Winterfell. Jon later receives a letter from Ramsay claiming that Stannis has been defeated and Mance is a prisoner. Ramsay demands hostages, else he will march on the Wall and kill Jon. Jon decides to seek out and kill Ramsay himself, but he is stabbed by his Night's Watch brothers seeking to uphold the Watch's neutrality before he can leave Castle Black.

Jon's presence in the forthcoming volume "The Winds of Winter" is uncertain; when asked in 2011 by "Entertainment Weekly" "Why did you kill Jon Snow?", author Martin responded "Oh, you think he’s dead, do you?" Asked later whether Jon was killed or will survive, Martin responded with a laugh, "I will not comment on that."

Martin told "Rolling Stone" in 2014 that some early inquiries he received about adapting "A Song of Ice and Fire" suggested identifying the story's "important character" and focusing on that individual plot line: Jon and Daenerys Targaryen being the two most popular choices. Martin was not interested in sacrificing so much of the overall story. When the pilot for the HBO adaptation went into production years later, one of the first parts cast was Jon, with Kit Harington announced in the role in July 2009. Alfie Allen and Iwan Rheon had also auditioned for the role, and were brought into the show to play Theon Greyjoy and Ramsay Snow instead, respectively. In October 2014, Harington and several other key cast members, all contracted for six seasons of the series, renegotiated their deals to include a potential seventh season and salary increases for seasons five, six, and seven. "The Hollywood Reporter" called the raises "huge", noting that the deal would make the performers "among the highest-paid actors on cable TV". "Deadline Hollywood" put the number for season five at "close to $300,000 an episode" for each actor, and "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote in June 2016 that the performers would each be paid "upward of $500,000 per episode" for seasons seven and the potential eight. In 2017, Harington became one of the highest paid actors on television and will earn £2 million per episode for the show.

As the series premiered, "TV Guide" called Harington a "soulful heartthrob" whose Jon is idolized by his younger siblings and who "seeks purpose" by joining the Night's Watch. Creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss later noted that Jon "tries to live with honor, while knowing that honor often gets his family members murdered". They explained that he is one of several characters in the series who must "face hard truths about the world they live in, and adapt themselves to those truths. The struggle many of them face is how to do that without losing their grip on who they are." Matt Fowler of IGN wrote in 2013 that while Jon and Daenerys' storylines in season 1 and season 2 "felt very separate" from the rest of the series' plot, for the first time in season 3, "Jon's entire situation felt incorporated into the larger picture." Fowler also added that Jon's "oath-breaking romance with Ygritte added a lot of heat to the story". In May 2015, "International Business Times" called Jon "clearly the most popular character" of the series.

In a 2015 interview Benioff said, "The problem with Jon is, he’s not a cautious man. It's the problem with him, and also the reason we love him. He is a hero, but heroes are inherently incautious." Weiss added, "At the end of the day, Jon is his father’s son, he’s a person who’s honorable to a fault and does the right thing even when the right thing is extremely dangerous to him personally." In the June 2015 season 5 finale "Mother's Mercy", Jon is stabbed to death by Alliser Thorne and several men of the Night's Watch after being labeled a traitor. With Martin's 2011 novel "A Dance with Dragons" vague on Jon's fate, Harington confirmed the character's death in an interview with "Entertainment Weekly", saying "I’ve been told I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m not coming back next season." He added, "I loved how they brought [the orphan boy] Olly in to be the person who kills me. I love how the storyline with Thorne was wrapped up." Benioff also said of the episode:

Writing for "The New York Times", Jeremy Egner called Jon's demise "the biggest death on the show" since Ned Stark's beheading in season 1. Amid strong fan reaction over Jon's death on social media, immediately following the episode journalists began theorizing how the show could resurrect the character. Nate Jones of Vulture.com noted:
A July 2015 sighting of Harington arriving in Belfast, a primary filming location for the series where other actors were arriving for season 6 script read-throughs, prompted further speculation about the character's return. However, a story in "Vanity Fair" pointed out that Charles Dance had been seen in Belfast the previous year after his character Tywin Lannister's death as well, and he only appeared in the first episode of the subsequent season as a corpse. Another photo that showed Harington on set in Belfast in a costume that varied from the Night's Watch outfit was published on September 25, 2015. A season 6 "Game of Thrones" promotional poster released in November 2015 featured a bloodied Jon.

Jon is resurrected by Melisandre in "Home", the May 2016 second episode of season 6. Though calling it a "predictable move" for a television series, David Sims of "The Atlantic" praised the plot development as "the right choice" for the show's narrative. In a subsequent interview with "Entertainment Weekly", Harington said:
Joanna Robinson of "Vanity Fair" credited Jon's much-discussed cliffhanger death as a primary factor behind "Game of Thrones" subsequent 25% ratings increase for season 6. Harington's performance in season 6 earned the actor his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination in July 2016. Harington as Jon has the most screen time of any other character in the seven seasons released to date.

Following the plot of "A Game of Thrones", in the first season Jon, the bastard son of Ned Stark, joins the Night's Watch. He arrives at the Wall, with his direwolf Ghost in tow, to find that the order is a shadow of its former self. Raised to be a talented fighter with a strong sense of justice and honor, Jon is at first contemptuous of his fellow recruits, who are mostly lowborn, untrained criminals and exiles. In "Lord Snow", he is persuaded by Tyrion Lannister to put aside his prejudices, and helps some of the others with their weapons training. Jon befriends Samwell Tarly, who is more an intellectual than a fighter. Jon takes his vows but is disappointed to be made steward to Lord Commander Jeor Mormont rather than a ranger in "You Win or You Die". Sam points out that he is likely being groomed for command. Jon saves Mormont from a wight in "The Pointy End", and in "Baelor" is given House Mormont's ancestral blade Longclaw, a sword made of Valyrian steel, in thanks. Jon learns of his father's execution for treason in "Fire and Blood", and though tempted to leave the Wall to help his family, his sense of duty ultimately compels him to stay.

In the second season, Jon witnesses the wildling Craster, a man with many wives who marries his own daughters, sacrifice his newborn son to the White Walkers in "The Night Lands". Later, as part of a small scouting party led by Night's Watch ranger Qhorin Halfhand, Jon is tasked to kill a wildling prisoner, the woman warrior Ygritte. He finds himself unable to do so in "The Old Gods and the New", and she escapes, only to capture him with her comrades in "The Prince of Winterfell". Qhorin orders Jon to pretend to defect and join the wildlings to discover their plans. In "Valar Morghulis", Qhorin stages a fight and secretly instructs Jon to kill him to gain the wildlings' trust. Jon does, and is taken to meet Mance Rayder, the wildlings' King-Beyond-the Wall.

In the third season, Jon pledges his loyalty to Mance and travels with the wildlings, learning that they intend to scale the Wall and force their way back into Westeros. Jon's feelings for Ygritte begin to intensify, and they have sex in "Kissed by Fire". When Jon refuses to kill an innocent man to prove his loyalty in "The Rains of Castamere", he is attacked by the other wildlings, but escapes. In "Mhysa", he is tracked by Ygritte, who shoots him with three arrows before he is able to escape again and return to Castle Black.

In "Two Swords", Alliser Thorne and Janos Slynt call for Jon's execution for defecting to the wildlings, but Maester Aemon is convinced of Jon's loyalty to the Watch and sets him free. In "First of His Name", Jon leads an expedition to Craster's Keep, where some men of the Watch have mutinied and murdered Lord Commander Mormont. After defeating the mutineers, Jon is reunited with Ghost. Tormund's wildlings attack Castle Black while Mance's army besieges the Wall in "The Watchers on the Wall". The wildlings are successfully repelled, though Ygritte is shot and dies in Jon's arms. Before Jon can negotiate with or kill Mance, Stannis Baratheon's army arrives and routs the wildling camp, taking Mance prisoner in the season finale "The Children".

In "The Wars to Come", Stannis enlists Jon as an intermediary between himself and Mance, hoping to add the wildling army to his own. Mance refuses to submit to Stannis, and the wildling king is burned at the stake by the red priestess Melisandre. In "The House of Black and White", Stannis offers to legitimize Jon and make him lord of Winterfell in exchange for his support. Jon is voted the new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, initially tying with his nemesis Thorne but having the tie settled by Maester Aemon. Jon's intent to welcome the wildlings into Westeros and grant them lands by the Wall further enrages Thorne's faction of the Watch, who hold a deep seated hatred for the wildlings. In "Hardhome", Jon travels by ship north of the Wall to the eponymous wildling village, seeking their support for his plan to ally the Night's Watch and the wildlings against the growing threat of the White Walkers. As some of the wildling clans board Stannis' ships to travel south, a massive force of wights, led by White Walkers and their Night King, attacks the village. Jon kills a White Walker with Longclaw, learning that weapons forged with Valyrian steel can destroy them completely. Jon and his group barely make it out alive, with only a fraction of the wildling forces. Jon then permits the wildling forces to pass through the Wall into the North. Shortly after returning to Castle Black in the season finale "Mother's Mercy", Jon is summoned to hear news of his missing uncle Benjen, but is instead stabbed to death by Thorne and his group of mutineers.

In "The Red Woman", Davos Seaworth, Dolorous Edd, and other brothers of the Watch loyal to Jon barricade themselves in a room with Ghost and Jon's body, and an attack by Thorne and his men is thwarted by the arrival of Tormund and his wildlings. Davos encourages Melisandre to attempt to resurrect Jon in "Home", and though the ritual at first seems to fail, Jon suddenly awakens. After hanging Thorne, Olly, Bowen Marsh, and Othell Yarwyck for their treason in "Oathbreaker", Jon gives command of the Watch to Edd and prepares to leave Castle Black. In "Book of the Stranger", he is reunited with his half-sister Sansa Stark, who has fled her abusive husband Ramsay Bolton and now seeks Jon's aid in crushing the Boltons. Jon is hesitant until a threatening message arrives from Ramsay demanding Sansa's return, and announcing Ramsay's possession of their brother Rickon. Jon, Sansa, Davos, Tormund, and Brienne of Tarth set off to recruit an army to take back Winterfell and rescue Rickon from Ramsay in "The Broken Man", but their forces grow to only half the size of Bolton's. As the armies face each other in "Battle of the Bastards", Ramsay murders Rickon to enrage Jon, who rushes in with murderous fury. A devastating battle ensues in which the outnumbered Stark forces are nearly slaughtered, until the Knights of the Vale from House Arryn arrive with Sansa and Petyr Baelish, and attack the Bolton army from the rear. Jon chases Ramsay back into Winterfell and beats him savagely, stopping before killing him. Sansa subsequently feeds Ramsay to his own hounds. In the season finale episode "The Winds of Winter", Bran Stark has a vision of the past which shows Ned reuniting with a dying Lyanna in the Tower of Joy. She makes him swear to protect her son—Jon. Meanwhile, the Northern lords name Jon the King in the North.

Attempting to bolster the North's defenses in "Dragonstone", Jon is frustrated when his authority is undermined by Sansa, who does not want him to repeat the mistakes that got their father Ned and brother Robb killed. Jon dismisses a message from Cersei Lannister that he swear his allegiance to her. In "Stormborn", he receives an invitation to Dragonstone from Tyrion on Daenerys Targaryen's behalf. Subsequently, receiving a message from Sam that a hoard of obsidian lies beneath the ancient Targaryen castle, Jon decides to meet Daenerys, leaving a surprised Sansa as his regent. At Dragonstone, he declines swearing fealty to Daenerys in "The Queen's Justice", and instead asks for her assistance fighting the White Walkers. She demurs, but permits him to mine the obsidian. In "Eastwatch", Daenerys is surprised when her dragon Drogon approaches Jon and allows the King in the North to pet him. Determined to convince Cersei that their true enemy is the army of the dead, Jon leads an expedition north of the Wall to capture a wight and bring it south to King's Landing. They manage to do so in "Beyond the Wall", but are surrounded by a horde of the Night King's minions. Daenerys arrives with her dragons, but the Night King kills one of them with an ice spear, forcing the others to flee without Jon. He is saved by the reappearance of his uncle Benjen, who is overtaken by the dead as Jon escapes back to the Wall. Daenerys vows to fight the White Walkers with Jon, and he agrees to swear fealty to her as his queen. In "The Dragon and the Wolf", the two negotiate a truce with Cersei, who agrees to join them in fighting the Night King's forces. Bran learns that Jon was born Aegon Targaryen, the legitimate son and heir of Daenerys' brother Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Meanwhile, Jon and Daenerys finally give in to their growing feelings for each other and have sex, unaware that they are related by blood.

Harington was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role in 2016. He said, "It is a serious understatement to say that I am somewhat stunned... For my work on "Game of Thrones" to be recognized in this way is an emotional moment for me. I could not be more humbled." Harington was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television for the role in 2012, 2016, and 2017. His other nominations include the Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2012, the Young Hollywood Award for Actor of the Year in 2013, and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2016. IGN also nominated Jon Snow as its Best TV Hero in 2011.

Jon Snow (character)


What does a population mean?

In biology, a population is the number of all the organisms of the same group or species, which live in a particular geographical area, and have the capability of interbreeding. The area of a sexual population is the area where inter-breeding is potentially possible between any pair within the area, and where the probability of interbreeding is greater than the probability of cross-breeding with individuals from other areas.

Population

In sociology, population refers to a collection of humans. Demography is a social science which entails the statistical study of human populations.
Population in simpler terms is the number of people in a city or town, region, country or world; population is usually determined by a process called census (a process of collecting, analyzing, compiling and publishing data)

This article refers mainly to human population.

In population genetics a sex population is a set of organisms in which any pair of members can breed together. This means that they can regularly exchange gametes to produce normally-fertile offspring, and such a breeding group is also known therefore as a "Gamo deme". This also implies that all members belong to the same species.
If the Gamo deme is very large (theoretically, approaching infinity), and all gene alleles are uniformly distributed by the gametes within it, the Gamo deme is said to be panmictic. Under this state, allele (gamete) frequencies can be converted to genotype (zygote) frequencies by expanding an appropriate quadratic equation, as shown by Sir Ronald Fisher in his establishment of quantitative genetics.

This seldom occurs in Nature: localization of gamete exchange – through dispersal limitations, preferential mating, cataclysm, or other cause – may lead to small actual Gamo demes which exchange gametes reasonably uniformly within themselves but are virtually separated from their neighboring Gamo demes. However, there may be low frequencies of exchange with these neighbors. This may be viewed as the breaking up of a large sexual population (panmictic) into smaller overlapping sexual populations. This failure of panmixia leads to two important changes in overall population structure: (1) the component Gamo demos vary (through gamete sampling) in their allele frequencies when compared with each other and with the theoretical panmictic original (this is known as dispersion, and its details can be estimated using expansion of an appropriate binomial equation); and (2) the level of homozygosity rises in the entire collection of Gamo demes. The overall rise in homozygosity is quantified by the inbreeding coefficient ("f" or "φ"). Note that all homozygotes are increased in frequency – both the deleterious and the desirable. The mean phenotype of the Gamo demes collection is lower than that of the panmictic original – which is known as inbreeding depression. It is most important to note, however, that some dispersion lines will be superior to the panmictic original, while some will be about the same, and some will be inferior. The probabilities of each can be estimated from those binomial equations. In plant and animal breeding, procedures have been developed which deliberately utilize the effects of dispersion (such as line breeding, pure-line breeding, backcrossing). It can be shown that dispersion-assisted selection leads to the greatest genetic advance ("ΔG"=change in the phenotypic mean), and is much more powerful than selection acting without attendant dispersion. This is so for both allogamous (random fertilization) and autogamous (self-fertilization) Gamo demes.

In ecology, the population of a certain species in a certain area can be estimated using the Lincoln Index.

According to the United States Census Bureau the world's population was about 7.55 billion in 2019 and that the 7 billion number was surpassed on 12 March 2012. According to a separate estimate by the United Nations, Earth’s population exceeded seven billion in October 2011, a milestone that offers unprecedented challenges and opportunities to all of humanity, according to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

According to papers published by the United States Census Bureau, the world population hit 6.5 billion on 24 February 2006. The United Nations Population Fund designated 12 October 1999 as the approximate day on which world population reached 6 billion. This was about 12 years after world population reached 5 billion in 1987, and 6 years after world population reached 5.5 billion in 1993. The population of countries such as Nigeria, is not even known to the nearest million, so there is a considerable margin of error in such estimates.

Researcher Carl Haub calculated that a total of over 100 billion people have probably been born in the last 2000 years.

Population growth increased significantly as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace from 1700 onwards. The last 50 years have seen a yet more rapid increase in the rate of population growth due to medical advances and substantial increases in agricultural productivity, particularly beginning in the 1960s, made by the Green Revolution. In 2017 the United Nations Population Division projected that the world's population will reach about 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.

In the future, the world's population is expected to peak, after which it will decline due to economic reasons, health concerns, land exhaustion and environmental hazards. According to one report, it is very likely that the world's population will stop growing before the end of the 21st century. Further, there is some likelihood that population will actually decline before 2100. Population has already declined in the last decade or two in Eastern Europe, the Baltics and in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The population pattern of less-developed regions of the world in recent years has been marked by gradually increasing birth rates. These followed an earlier sharp reduction in death rates. This transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates is often referred to as the demographic transition.

Human population control is the practice of altering the rate of growth of a human population. Historically, human population control has been implemented with the goal of increasing the rate of population growth. In the period from the 1950s to the 1980s, concerns about global population growth and its effects on poverty, environmental degradation, and political stability led to efforts to reduce population growth rates. While population control can involve measures that improve people's lives by giving them greater control of their reproduction, a few programs, most notably the Chinese government's one-child per family policy, have resorted to coercive measures.

In the 1978s, tension grew between population control advocates and women's health activists who advanced women's reproductive rights as part of a human rights-based approach. Growing opposition to the narrow population control focus led to a significant change in population control policies in the early 1980s.