Geography & Countries

The Most Populous Countries in the World

Every one of the 236 countries and territories the UN tracks, ranked by population in mid-2026. The ten biggest hold 57% of the world's 8.3 billion people, while 75 places have fewer than a million. Search for any country, or filter by continent or UN membership.

Incredible India 2.0, Ministry of Tourism video thumbnail

Pictured: India, #1 with 1.48 billion people.

Rank Country Population (2026) Continent Status Share of world Yearly change 2050 (projected)
1India1,476,625,576AsiaUN member17.79%+0.87%1.68B
2China1,412,914,088AsiaUN member17.02%-0.22%1.26B
3United States349,035,494North AmericaUN member4.20%+0.51%380.8M
4Indonesia287,886,782AsiaUN member3.47%+0.76%320.7M
5Pakistan259,299,792AsiaUN member3.12%+1.60%371.9M
6Nigeria242,431,832AfricaUN member2.92%+2.06%359.2M
7Brazil213,562,666South AmericaUN member2.57%+0.35%217.5M
8Bangladesh177,818,045AsiaUN member2.14%+1.21%214.7M
9Russia143,394,458EuropeUN member1.73%-0.42%136.1M
10Ethiopia138,902,185AfricaUN member1.67%+2.53%225.0M
11Mexico132,997,657North AmericaUN member1.60%+0.80%148.9M
12Japan122,427,731AsiaUN member1.47%-0.55%105.1M
13Egypt120,101,175AfricaUN member1.45%+1.47%161.6M
14Philippines117,724,472AsiaUN member1.42%+0.80%134.4M
15DR Congo116,452,162AfricaUN member1.40%+3.21%218.2M
16Vietnam102,177,431AsiaUN member1.23%+0.57%110.0M
17Iran93,168,498AsiaUN member1.12%+0.81%101.9M
18Türkiye87,926,082AsiaUN member1.06%+0.27%91.3M
19Germany83,644,258EuropeUN member1.01%-0.51%78.3M
20Tanzania72,563,780AfricaUN member0.87%+2.86%129.6M
21Thailand71,559,615AsiaUN member0.86%-0.08%66.4M
22United Kingdom69,931,528EuropeUN member0.84%+0.55%75.5M
23France66,746,400EuropeUN member0.80%+0.14%68.2M
24South Africa65,453,085AfricaUN member0.79%+1.09%79.2M
25Italy58,926,166EuropeUN member0.71%-0.37%51.9M
26Kenya58,636,412AfricaUN member0.71%+1.92%83.6M
27Myanmar55,184,819AsiaUN member0.66%+0.61%58.6M
28Colombia53,936,226South AmericaUN member0.65%+0.96%59.4M
29Sudan53,282,718AfricaUN member0.64%+3.14%85.2M
30Uganda52,761,470AfricaUN member0.64%+2.68%85.4M
31South Korea51,600,388AsiaUN member0.62%-0.13%45.1M
32Algeria48,028,334AfricaUN member0.58%+1.25%59.6M
33Iraq48,007,437AsiaUN member0.58%+2.10%71.9M
34Spain47,850,792EuropeUN member0.58%-0.08%44.9M
35Argentina46,003,734South AmericaUN member0.55%+0.33%48.3M
36Afghanistan45,047,068AsiaUN member0.54%+2.74%76.9M
37Yemen42,961,653AsiaUN member0.52%+2.84%71.0M
38Canada40,467,727North AmericaUN member0.49%+0.85%45.6M
39Angola40,215,180AfricaUN member0.48%+3.01%74.3M
40Ukraine39,535,848EuropeUN member0.48%+1.43%32.0M
41Morocco38,762,441AfricaUN member0.47%+0.86%43.4M
42Poland37,843,188EuropeUN member0.46%-0.78%32.8M
43Uzbekistan37,724,222AsiaUN member0.45%+1.81%52.2M
44Mozambique36,639,850AfricaUN member0.44%+2.83%63.5M
45Malaysia36,385,114AsiaUN member0.44%+1.13%44.3M
46Ghana35,697,557AfricaUN member0.43%+1.81%50.6M
47Saudi Arabia35,165,787AsiaUN member0.42%+1.73%47.7M
48Peru34,922,148South AmericaUN member0.42%+1.00%40.6M
49Madagascar33,522,051AfricaUN member0.40%+2.39%53.2M
50Côte d'Ivoire33,494,346AfricaUN member0.40%+2.39%55.7M
51Cameroon30,640,816AfricaUN member0.37%+2.55%51.1M
52Nepal29,629,409AsiaUN member0.36%+0.04%34.6M
53Niger28,814,878AfricaUN member0.35%+3.21%52.5M
54Venezuela28,633,710South AmericaUN member0.34%+0.41%31.1M
55Australia27,227,096OceaniaUN member0.33%+0.94%32.5M
56North Korea26,633,691AsiaUN member0.32%+0.24%25.8M
57Syria26,472,497AsiaUN member0.32%+3.33%37.8M
58Mali25,932,275AfricaUN member0.31%+2.91%46.2M
59Burkina Faso24,601,700AfricaUN member0.30%+2.19%37.3M
60Sri Lanka23,348,315AsiaUN member0.28%+0.51%24.8M
61Taiwan23,011,292AsiaOther territory0.28%-0.44%19.4M
62Malawi22,785,535AfricaUN member0.27%+2.56%37.4M
63Zambia22,521,915AfricaUN member0.27%+2.77%38.1M
64Chad21,560,380AfricaUN member0.26%+2.65%38.9M
65Kazakhstan21,083,626AsiaUN member0.25%+1.15%26.5M
66Somalia20,305,907AfricaUN member0.24%+3.31%37.2M
67Chile19,945,850South AmericaUN member0.24%+0.43%20.3M
68Senegal19,366,548AfricaUN member0.23%+2.30%30.4M
69Guatemala18,967,978North AmericaUN member0.23%+1.50%24.7M
70Romania18,800,604EuropeUN member0.23%-0.57%16.0M
71Netherlands18,448,776EuropeUN member0.22%+0.56%19.0M
72Ecuador18,444,506South AmericaUN member0.22%+0.85%21.3M
73Cambodia18,051,220AsiaUN member0.22%+1.14%21.9M
74Zimbabwe17,273,580AfricaUN member0.21%+1.90%25.9M
75Guinea15,441,992AfricaUN member0.19%+2.27%23.4M
76Benin15,170,420AfricaUN member0.18%+2.40%24.4M
77Rwanda14,889,693AfricaUN member0.18%+2.20%22.7M
78Burundi14,729,157AfricaUN member0.18%+2.36%24.1M
79Bolivia12,749,291South AmericaUN member0.15%+1.33%16.1M
80South Sudan12,436,037AfricaUN member0.15%+2.03%18.3M
81Tunisia12,415,138AfricaUN member0.15%+0.54%13.1M
82Haiti12,037,506North AmericaUN member0.15%+1.10%14.7M
83Belgium11,774,642EuropeUN member0.14%+0.14%11.9M
84Dominican Republic11,609,500North AmericaUN member0.14%+0.77%13.0M
85Jordan11,589,532AsiaUN member0.14%+0.60%16.4M
86United Arab Emirates11,574,682AsiaUN member0.14%+2.02%15.4M
87Honduras11,184,760North AmericaUN member0.13%+1.63%14.8M
88Tajikistan10,978,598AsiaUN member0.13%+1.78%15.6M
89Papua New Guinea10,947,848OceaniaUN member0.13%+1.72%14.9M
90Cuba10,892,659North AmericaUN member0.13%-0.41%9.4M
91Sweden10,701,046EuropeUN member0.13%+0.42%11.3M
92Czechia10,527,781EuropeUN member0.13%-0.77%9.8M
93Azerbaijan10,454,855AsiaUN member0.13%+0.55%11.2M
94Portugal10,395,362EuropeUN member0.13%-0.16%9.8M
95Togo9,930,918AfricaUN member0.12%+2.15%15.6M
96Greece9,897,116EuropeUN member0.12%-0.42%8.8M
97Israel9,647,689AsiaUN member0.12%+1.37%13.1M
98Hungary9,585,818EuropeUN member0.12%-0.48%8.7M
99Austria9,107,266EuropeUN member0.11%-0.07%8.7M
100Switzerland9,007,798EuropeUN member0.11%+0.45%9.3M
101Sierra Leone8,996,744AfricaUN member0.11%+2.01%12.9M
102Belarus8,937,018EuropeUN member0.11%-0.67%7.5M
103Laos7,974,017AsiaUN member0.10%+1.28%9.8M
104Turkmenistan7,736,632AsiaUN member0.09%+1.55%9.6M
105Libya7,539,851AfricaUN member0.09%+1.09%9.3M
106Kyrgyzstan7,400,465AsiaUN member0.09%+1.45%9.6M
107Hong Kong (China)7,378,602AsiaOther territory0.09%-0.24%6.1M
108Nicaragua7,097,329North AmericaUN member0.09%+1.28%8.8M
109Paraguay7,095,280South AmericaUN member0.09%+1.17%8.6M
110Bulgaria6,667,659EuropeUN member0.08%-0.70%5.4M
111Serbia6,641,964EuropeUN member0.08%-0.70%5.5M
112Republic of the Congo6,637,786AfricaUN member0.08%+2.36%11.0M
113El Salvador6,391,254North AmericaUN member0.08%+0.40%6.7M
114Denmark6,023,520EuropeUN member0.07%+0.35%6.1M
115Singapore5,905,748AsiaUN member0.07%+0.60%6.1M
116Lebanon5,897,467AsiaUN member0.07%+0.82%7.0M
117Liberia5,853,949AfricaUN member0.07%+2.14%8.9M
118Central African Republic5,698,984AfricaUN member0.07%+3.37%10.6M
119Palestine5,692,790AsiaOther territory0.07%+1.85%8.5M
120Oman5,671,458AsiaUN member0.07%+3.22%7.8M
121Norway5,652,988EuropeUN member0.07%+0.53%5.9M
122Finland5,621,738EuropeUN member0.07%-0.03%5.4M
123Mauritania5,461,319AfricaUN member0.07%+2.75%9.4M
124Slovakia5,451,342EuropeUN member0.07%-0.43%4.9M
125Ireland5,356,950EuropeUN member0.06%+0.92%6.0M
126New Zealand5,287,479OceaniaUN member0.06%+0.68%5.8M
127Costa Rica5,174,789North AmericaUN member0.06%+0.42%5.4M
128Kuwait5,102,773AsiaUN member0.06%+1.53%6.4M
129Panama4,625,718North AmericaUN member0.06%+1.19%5.6M
130Croatia3,822,345EuropeUN member0.05%-0.67%3.2M
131Georgia3,804,641AsiaUN member0.05%-0.05%3.7M
132Eritrea3,682,669AfricaUN member0.04%+2.10%5.7M
133Mongolia3,556,798AsiaUN member0.04%+1.13%4.5M
134Uruguay3,382,537South AmericaUN member0.04%-0.06%3.3M
135Puerto Rico3,222,688North AmericaOther territory0.04%-0.39%2.5M
136Qatar3,173,560AsiaUN member0.04%+1.85%4.2M
137Namibia3,153,246AfricaUN member0.04%+1.95%4.5M
138Bosnia and Herzegovina3,114,241EuropeUN member0.04%-0.82%2.5M
139Moldova2,961,254EuropeUN member0.04%-1.16%2.4M
140Armenia2,930,915AsiaUN member0.04%-0.73%2.5M
141Gambia2,884,079AfricaUN member0.03%+2.20%4.3M
142Jamaica2,833,404North AmericaUN member0.03%-0.13%2.5M
143Lithuania2,797,338EuropeUN member0.03%-1.16%2.3M
144Albania2,751,025EuropeUN member0.03%-0.74%2.2M
145Gabon2,647,399AfricaUN member0.03%+2.09%4.1M
146Botswana2,603,388AfricaUN member0.03%+1.61%3.4M
147Lesotho2,389,336AfricaUN member0.03%+1.10%3.0M
148Guinea-Bissau2,297,808AfricaUN member0.03%+2.15%3.4M
149Slovenia2,114,574EuropeUN member0.03%-0.12%2.0M
150Equatorial Guinea1,984,468AfricaUN member0.02%+2.37%3.1M
151Latvia1,835,934EuropeUN member0.02%-0.95%1.5M
152North Macedonia1,804,062EuropeUN member0.02%-0.54%1.5M
153Bahrain1,675,572AsiaUN member0.02%+1.96%2.1M
154Kosovo1,666,991EuropeOther territory0.02%-0.43%1.6M
155Trinidad and Tobago1,513,268North AmericaUN member0.02%+0.14%1.4M
156Timor-Leste1,436,923AsiaUN member0.02%+1.30%1.9M
157Cyprus1,382,334AsiaUN member0.02%+0.84%1.5M
158Estonia1,331,062EuropeUN member0.02%-0.98%1.2M
159Eswatini1,269,858AfricaUN member0.02%+1.09%1.5M
160Mauritius1,265,058AfricaUN member0.02%-0.25%1.1M
161Djibouti1,199,459AfricaUN member0.01%+1.30%1.5M
162Fiji937,281OceaniaUN member0.01%+0.44%1.0M
163Comoros899,010AfricaUN member0.01%+1.83%1.3M
164Réunion886,298AfricaOther territory0.01%+0.44%941K
165Solomon Islands858,287OceaniaUN member0.01%+2.34%1.3M
166Guyana840,890South AmericaUN member0.01%+0.59%941K
167Bhutan802,214AsiaUN member<0.01%+0.69%882K
168Macao (China)723,188AsiaOther territory<0.01%+0.16%669K
169Luxembourg687,448EuropeUN member<0.01%+1.03%791K
170Suriname645,256South AmericaUN member<0.01%+0.84%734K
171Montenegro626,233EuropeUN member<0.01%-1.03%533K
172Western Sahara610,813AfricaOther territory<0.01%+1.65%777K
173Malta549,011EuropeUN member<0.01%+0.66%536K
174Maldives531,517AsiaUN member<0.01%+0.35%590K
175Cabo Verde529,629AfricaUN member<0.01%+0.44%566K
176Brunei469,775AsiaUN member<0.01%+0.74%520K
177Belize428,645North AmericaUN member<0.01%+1.35%517K
178Bahamas404,628North AmericaUN member<0.01%+0.40%424K
179Iceland402,329EuropeUN member<0.01%+1.02%433K
180Guadeloupe372,453North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.36%326K
181Mayotte347,536AfricaOther territory<0.01%+3.12%645K
182Vanuatu342,564OceaniaUN member<0.01%+2.21%534K
183Martinique337,711North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.80%282K
184French Guiana318,871South AmericaOther territory<0.01%+1.66%472K
185New Caledonia297,892OceaniaOther territory<0.01%+0.87%341K
186French Polynesia283,076OceaniaOther territory<0.01%+0.22%285K
187Barbados282,725North AmericaUN member<0.01%+0.04%264K
188São Tomé and Príncipe244,994AfricaUN member<0.01%+1.97%365K
189Samoa220,528OceaniaUN member<0.01%+0.56%273K
190Curaçao185,440North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.03%173K
191Saint Lucia180,487North AmericaUN member<0.01%+0.19%172K
192Guam170,185OceaniaOther territory<0.01%+0.70%191K
193Kiribati138,445OceaniaUN member<0.01%+1.43%183K
194Seychelles134,959AfricaUN member<0.01%+1.64%142K
195Grenada117,362North AmericaUN member<0.01%+0.05%113K
196Micronesia114,182OceaniaUN member<0.01%+0.44%126K
197Aruba108,164North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+0.02%100K
198Jersey104,106EuropeOther territory<0.01%+0.11%105K
199Tonga103,291OceaniaUN member<0.01%-0.43%105K
200Saint Vincent and the Grenadines99,244North AmericaUN member<0.01%-0.68%89K
201Antigua and Barbuda94,626North AmericaUN member<0.01%+0.44%95K
202Isle of Man84,054EuropeOther territory<0.01%-0.08%78K
203Andorra83,753EuropeUN member<0.01%+1.02%82K
204United States Virgin Islands83,400North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.88%71K
205Cayman Islands77,196North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+1.78%104K
206Dominica65,511North AmericaUN member<0.01%-0.55%63K
207Guernsey64,610EuropeOther territory<0.01%+0.21%63K
208Bermuda64,459North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.15%57K
209Faroe Islands56,527EuropeOther territory<0.01%+0.94%63K
210Greenland55,628North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.21%50K
211Turks and Caicos Islands47,148North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+0.63%51K
212Saint Kitts and Nevis46,992North AmericaUN member<0.01%+0.15%44K
213American Samoa45,318OceaniaOther territory<0.01%-1.54%38K
214Sint Maarten (Dutch part)44,447North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+1.19%51K
215Northern Mariana Islands42,914OceaniaOther territory<0.01%-1.44%43K
216Gibraltar40,866EuropeOther territory<0.01%+1.85%50K
217Liechtenstein40,368EuropeUN member<0.01%+0.60%43K
218British Virgin Islands39,936North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+0.51%40K
219Monaco38,087EuropeUN member<0.01%-0.66%37K
220Marshall Islands35,075OceaniaUN member<0.01%-3.33%25K
221San Marino33,605EuropeUN member<0.01%+0.10%34K
222Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba31,913North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+1.83%35K
223Saint Martin (French part)23,898North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-4.18%19K
224Palau17,614OceaniaUN member<0.01%-0.27%16K
225Anguilla14,817North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+0.60%15K
226Cook Islands12,826OceaniaOther territory<0.01%-3.29%9,337
227Nauru12,102OceaniaUN member<0.01%+0.63%16K
228Saint Barthélemy11,550North AmericaOther territory<0.01%+1.19%13K
229Wallis and Futuna11,113OceaniaOther territory<0.01%-0.72%10K
230Tuvalu9,362OceaniaUN member<0.01%-1.37%9,780
231Saint Pierre and Miquelon5,513North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-1.08%4,258
232Saint Helena5,147AfricaOther territory<0.01%-0.94%3,968
233Montserrat4,328North AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.72%3,692
234Falkland Islands3,465South AmericaOther territory<0.01%-0.12%3,176
235Tokelau2,691OceaniaOther territory<0.01%+3.18%3,821
236Niue1,822OceaniaOther territory<0.01%+0.08%1,966

The Top 10

#1

India — 1.48 billion

Nearly one in every five people on Earth (17.8%) lives in India, which passed China as the world's most populous country in 2023. It is still growing by almost 0.9% a year, and the UN projects about 1.68 billion Indians by 2050, so it should keep the top spot for decades.[1]

#2

China — 1.41 billion

China held the #1 spot for centuries, but its population is now shrinking, down about 0.2% a year. The UN projects it will fall to around 1.26 billion by 2050, a drop of roughly 150 million people, and still be the world's second-largest country.[1]

#3

United States — 349.0 million

The most populous country outside Asia, home to 4.2% of the world's people. Growth is slow, about 0.5% a year, and the UN projects roughly 381 million Americans by 2050. Pakistan is on course to overtake the US in the early 2050s.[1]

#4

Indonesia — 287.9 million

The world's largest island nation, spread across more than 17,000 islands, with more than half its people on just one of them, Java.[2] Its growth is slowing: on the UN's projections both Pakistan (around 2037) and Nigeria (around 2040) pass it, dropping Indonesia to #6 by 2050.[1]

#5

Pakistan — 259.3 million

Growing about 1.6% a year, the fastest of the world's five biggest countries. The UN projects about 372 million Pakistanis by 2050, enough to pass Indonesia in the late 2030s and the United States in the early 2050s.[1]

#6

Nigeria — 242.4 million

Africa's most populous country by a wide margin, home to about 15% of the continent's people. At roughly 2.1% a year, it is growing faster than anyone else in the top 10 except Ethiopia, and the UN projects about 359 million Nigerians by 2050.[1]

#7

Brazil — 213.6 million

Almost half of everyone in South America (48%) is Brazilian. Growth has slowed to about 0.35% a year, and the UN expects Brazil's population to level off at around 217 million by 2050.[1]

#8

Bangladesh — 177.8 million

Bangladesh fits nearly 178 million people into an area about the size of Iowa, around 148,000 km².[2] That works out to roughly 1,200 people per square kilometre, by far the most crowded of the world's large countries. It is growing about 1.2% a year.[1]

#9

Russia — 143.4 million

The world's largest country by area, covering about 11% of Earth's land,[2] but its population is shrinking by about 0.4% a year. On the UN's projections Ethiopia passes Russia in 2028, and Russia falls to about 136 million people by 2050.[1]

#10

Ethiopia — 138.9 million

The world's most populous landlocked country,[2] and the fastest-growing of the top 10 at about 2.5% a year. The UN projects about 225 million Ethiopians by 2050, enough to take Russia's #9 spot by 2028.[1]

Geography Countries Population World

Sources

  1. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024, medium variant (CC BY 3.0 IGO), read from the UN Population Division's official wpp2024 data package. Every population, share, growth and 2050 figure on this page comes from this one source. 2026 and 2050 figures are UN projections for 1 July of that year. The package stores end-of-year values; averaging two consecutive years reproduces the UN's published 1 July figures exactly (checked against 2025 for India, China, the US and the world). "Yearly change" compares mid-2026 with mid-2025. Continents follow the UN's regions: Central America and the Caribbean count as North America, and Türkiye, Cyprus and the Caucasus count as Asia. "Other territory" covers everything outside the 193 UN member states: dependent territories, Taiwan, Kosovo, Western Sahara and Palestine (a UN observer state). The Holy See (about 500 people) isn't in the UN's projection set, so it isn't listed.
  2. Geographic background (Indonesia's islands, Bangladesh's land area, Russia's share of Earth's land, Ethiopia as the most populous landlocked country) from general reference sources.