GDP and population in the nearby areas (50-km radius buffer zones) of dams as a percentage of their respective regions in 2015. (A) 7,155 dams. (B) 632 recently constructed dams. (C) Correlation matrix of the results of A and B. Note that in 2015, the nearby areas of the 7,155 hydropower dams generated more than 1/3 (37%) of global GDP and hosted almost 1/3 (28%) global population, though they occupied only 10% of land area of the six continents. The 632 recently constructed dams generated 5% of global GDP, hosted 4% of the population, and occupied 1% of land area. North America and Europe led in economy and population hosted in NAHD for all dams, and South America tops others substantially in economy and population in NAHD for recently constructed dams.