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Most populous countries in the world

Ranking of the 197 countries by population, with each country's share of the world population

The Earth has about 8.2 billion inhabitants, very unevenly distributed: India and China each exceed 1.4 billion inhabitants, and the ten most populous countries alone account for more than half of humanity. At the other extreme, Vatican City has fewer than a thousand inhabitants. This ranking presents the 197 countries of the world in descending order of population, with each country's share of the world population.

# Country Population % of world Capital
1 India India 1,450,935,791 17.8 % New Delhi
2 China China 1,408,975,000 17.3 % Beijing
3 United States United States 340,110,988 4.2 % Washington D.C.
4 Indonesia Indonesia 283,487,931 3.5 % Jakarta
5 Pakistan Pakistan 251,269,164 3.1 % Islamabad
6 Nigeria Nigeria 232,679,478 2.9 % Abuja
7 Brazil Brazil 211,998,573 2.6 % Brasilia
8 Bangladesh Bangladesh 173,562,364 2.1 % Dhaka
9 Russia Russia 143,533,851 1.8 % Moscow
10 Ethiopia Ethiopia 132,059,767 1.6 % Addis Ababa
11 Mexico Mexico 130,861,007 1.6 % Mexico City
12 Japan Japan 123,975,371 1.5 % Tokyo
13 Egypt Egypt 116,538,258 1.4 % Cairo
14 Philippines Philippines 115,843,670 1.4 % Manila
15 Democratic Republic of Congo Democratic Republic of Congo 109,276,265 1.3 % Kinshasa
16 Vietnam Vietnam 100,987,686 1.2 % Hanoi
17 Iran Iran 91,567,738 1.1 % Tehran
18 Turkey Turkey 85,518,661 1.1 % Ankara
19 Germany Germany 83,510,950 1.0 % Berlin
20 Thailand Thailand 71,668,011 0.9 % Bangkok
21 United Kingdom United Kingdom 69,226,000 0.9 % London
22 Tanzania Tanzania 68,560,157 0.8 % Dodoma
23 France France 68,516,699 0.8 % Paris
24 South Africa South Africa 64,007,187 0.8 % Pretoria
25 Italy Italy 58,986,023 0.7 % Rome
26 Kenya Kenya 56,432,944 0.7 % Nairobi
27 Myanmar Myanmar 54,500,091 0.7 % Naypyidaw
28 Colombia Colombia 52,886,363 0.7 % Bogota
29 Korea, South Korea, South 51,751,065 0.6 % Seoul
30 Sudan Sudan 50,448,963 0.6 % Khartoum
31 Uganda Uganda 50,015,092 0.6 % Kampala
32 Spain Spain 48,807,137 0.6 % Madrid
33 Algeria Algeria 46,814,308 0.6 % Algiers
34 Iraq Iraq 46,042,015 0.6 % Baghdad
35 Argentina Argentina 45,696,159 0.6 % Buenos Aires
36 Afghanistan Afghanistan 42,647,492 0.5 % Kabul
37 Canada Canada 41,288,599 0.5 % Ottawa
38 Yemen Yemen 40,583,164 0.5 % Sana'a
39 Morocco Morocco 38,081,173 0.5 % Rabat
40 Angola Angola 37,885,849 0.5 % Luanda
41 Ukraine Ukraine 37,860,221 0.5 % Kiev
42 Poland Poland 36,554,707 0.4 % Warsaw
43 Uzbekistan Uzbekistan 36,361,859 0.4 % Tashkent
44 Malaysia Malaysia 35,557,673 0.4 % Kuala Lumpur
45 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 35,300,280 0.4 % Riyadh
46 Mozambique Mozambique 34,631,766 0.4 % Maputo
47 Ghana Ghana 34,427,414 0.4 % Accra
48 Peru Peru 34,217,848 0.4 % Lima
49 Madagascar Madagascar 31,964,956 0.4 % Antananarivo
50 Ivory Coast Ivory Coast 31,934,230 0.4 % Yamoussoukro
51 Nepal Nepal 29,651,054 0.4 % Kathmandu
52 Cameroon Cameroon 29,123,744 0.4 % Yaoundé
53 Venezuela Venezuela 28,405,543 0.3 % Caracas
54 Australia Australia 27,204,809 0.3 % Canberra
55 Niger Niger 27,032,412 0.3 % Niamey
56 Korea, North Korea, North 26,498,823 0.3 % Pyongyang
57 Syria Syria 24,672,760 0.3 % Damascus
58 Mali Mali 24,478,595 0.3 % Bamako
59 Burkina Faso Burkina Faso 23,548,781 0.3 % Ouagadougou
60 Taiwan Taiwan 23,519,518 0.3 % Taipei
61 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 21,916,000 0.3 % Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte
62 Malawi Malawi 21,655,286 0.3 % Lilongwe
63 Zambia Zambia 21,314,956 0.3 % Lusaka
64 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 20,592,571 0.3 % Astana
65 Chad Chad 20,299,123 0.2 % N'Djamena
66 Chile Chile 19,764,771 0.2 % Santiago
67 Romania Romania 19,069,340 0.2 % Bucharest
68 Somalia Somalia 19,009,151 0.2 % Mogadishu
69 Senegal Senegal 18,501,984 0.2 % Dakar
70 Guatemala Guatemala 18,406,359 0.2 % Guatemala City
71 Ecuador Ecuador 18,135,478 0.2 % Quito
72 Netherlands Netherlands 17,994,237 0.2 % Amsterdam
73 Cambodia Cambodia 17,638,801 0.2 % Phnom Penh
74 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 16,634,373 0.2 % Harare
75 Guinea Guinea 14,754,785 0.2 % Conakry
76 Benin Benin 14,462,724 0.2 % Porto Novo
77 Rwanda Rwanda 14,256,567 0.2 % Kigali
78 Burundi Burundi 14,047,786 0.2 % Bujumbura
79 Bolivia Bolivia 12,413,315 0.2 % Sucre
80 Tunisia Tunisia 12,277,109 0.2 % Tunis
81 South Sudan South Sudan 11,943,408 0.1 % Juba
82 Belgium Belgium 11,876,844 0.1 % Brussels
83 Haiti Haiti 11,772,557 0.1 % Port-au-Prince
84 Jordan Jordan 11,552,876 0.1 % Amman
85 Dominican Republic Dominican Republic 11,427,557 0.1 % Santo Domingo
86 Cuba Cuba 10,979,783 0.1 % Havana
87 Czech Republic Czech Republic 10,882,164 0.1 % Prague
88 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 10,876,981 0.1 % Abu Dhabi
89 Honduras Honduras 10,825,703 0.1 % Tegucigalpa
90 Portugal Portugal 10,701,636 0.1 % Lisbon
91 Tajikistan Tajikistan 10,590,927 0.1 % Dushanbe
92 Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 10,576,502 0.1 % Port Moresby
93 Sweden Sweden 10,569,709 0.1 % Stockholm
94 Greece Greece 10,388,805 0.1 % Athens
95 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 10,202,850 0.1 % Baku
96 Israel Israel 9,974,400 0.1 % Jerusalem
97 Hungary Hungary 9,562,314 0.1 % Budapest
98 Togo Togo 9,515,236 0.1 % Lomé
99 Austria Austria 9,178,482 0.1 % Vienna
100 Belarus Belarus 9,133,712 0.1 % Minsk
101 Switzerland Switzerland 9,034,102 0.1 % Bern
102 Sierra Leone Sierra Leone 8,642,022 0.1 % Freetown
103 Laos Laos 7,769,819 < 0.1 % Vientiane
104 Turkmenistan Turkmenistan 7,494,498 < 0.1 % Ashgabat
105 Libya Libya 7,381,023 < 0.1 % Tripoli
106 Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan 7,224,614 < 0.1 % Bishkek
107 Paraguay Paraguay 6,929,153 < 0.1 % Asunción
108 Nicaragua Nicaragua 6,916,140 < 0.1 % Managua
109 Serbia Serbia 6,587,202 < 0.1 % Belgrade
110 Bulgaria Bulgaria 6,444,366 < 0.1 % Sofia
111 El Salvador El Salvador 6,338,193 < 0.1 % San Salvador
112 Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo 6,332,961 < 0.1 % Brazzaville
113 Singapore Singapore 6,036,860 < 0.1 % Singapore
114 Denmark Denmark 5,976,992 < 0.1 % Copenagen
115 Lebanon Lebanon 5,805,962 < 0.1 % Beirut
116 Finland Finland 5,637,214 < 0.1 % Helsinki
117 Liberia Liberia 5,612,817 < 0.1 % Monrovia
118 Norway Norway 5,572,272 < 0.1 % Oslo
119 Slovakia Slovakia 5,422,069 < 0.1 % Bratislava
120 Ireland Ireland 5,380,257 < 0.1 % Dublin
121 New Zealand New Zealand 5,338,500 < 0.1 % Wellington
122 Central African Republic Central African Republic 5,330,690 < 0.1 % Bangui
123 Palestine Palestine 5,289,152 < 0.1 % East Jerusalem
124 Oman Oman 5,281,538 < 0.1 % Muscat
125 Mauritania Mauritania 5,169,395 < 0.1 % Nouakchott
126 Costa Rica Costa Rica 5,129,910 < 0.1 % San José
127 Kuwait Kuwait 4,973,861 < 0.1 % Kuwait City
128 Panama Panama 4,515,577 < 0.1 % Panama City
129 Croatia Croatia 3,866,300 < 0.1 % Zagreb
130 Georgia Georgia 3,673,850 < 0.1 % Tbilisi
131 Eritrea Eritrea 3,535,603 < 0.1 % Asmara
132 Mongolia Mongolia 3,524,788 < 0.1 % Ulaanbaatar
133 Uruguay Uruguay 3,386,588 < 0.1 % Montevideo
134 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,164,253 < 0.1 % Sarajevo
135 Armenia Armenia 3,033,500 < 0.1 % Yerevan
136 Namibia Namibia 3,030,131 < 0.1 % Windhoek
137 Lithuania Lithuania 2,888,055 < 0.1 % Vilnius
138 Qatar Qatar 2,857,822 < 0.1 % Doha
139 Jamaica Jamaica 2,839,175 < 0.1 % Kingston
140 Gambia Gambia 2,759,988 < 0.1 % Banjul
141 Albania Albania 2,714,617 < 0.1 % Tirana
142 Gabon Gabon 2,538,952 < 0.1 % Libreville
143 Botswana Botswana 2,521,139 < 0.1 % Gaborone
144 Moldova Moldova 2,389,275 < 0.1 % Chisinau
145 Lesotho Lesotho 2,337,423 < 0.1 % Maseru
146 Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau 2,201,352 < 0.1 % Bissau
147 Slovenia Slovenia 2,126,324 < 0.1 % Ljubljana
148 Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea 1,892,516 < 0.1 % Malabo
149 Latvia Latvia 1,862,441 < 0.1 % Riga
150 North Macedonia North Macedonia 1,792,179 < 0.1 % Skopje
151 Bahrain Bahrain 1,588,670 < 0.1 % Manama
152 Kosovo Kosovo 1,527,324 < 0.1 % Pristina
153 East Timor East Timor 1,400,638 < 0.1 % Dili
154 Estonia Estonia 1,371,986 < 0.1 % Tallinn
155 Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 1,368,333 < 0.1 % Port of Spain
156 Cyprus Cyprus 1,358,282 < 0.1 % Nicosia
157 Mauritius Mauritius 1,259,509 < 0.1 % Port Louis
158 Eswatini Eswatini 1,242,822 < 0.1 % Mbabane
159 Djibouti Djibouti 1,168,722 < 0.1 % Djibouti
160 Fiji Fiji 928,784 < 0.1 % Suva
161 Comoros Comoros 866,628 < 0.1 % Moroni
162 Guyana Guyana 831,087 < 0.1 % Georgetown
163 Solomon Islands Solomon Islands 819,198 < 0.1 % Honiara
164 Bhutan Bhutan 791,524 < 0.1 % Thimphu
165 Luxembourg Luxembourg 677,717 < 0.1 % Luxembourg
166 Suriname Suriname 634,431 < 0.1 % Paramaribo
167 Montenegro Montenegro 623,831 < 0.1 % Podgorica
168 Malta Malta 574,346 < 0.1 % Valletta
169 Maldives Maldives 527,799 < 0.1 % Malé
170 Cape Verde Cape Verde 524,877 < 0.1 % Praia
171 Brunei Brunei 462,721 < 0.1 % Bandar Seri Begawan
172 Belize Belize 417,072 < 0.1 % Belmopan
173 Iceland Iceland 404,610 < 0.1 % Reykjavík
174 Bahamas Bahamas 401,283 < 0.1 % Nassau
175 Vanuatu Vanuatu 327,777 < 0.1 % Port Vila
176 Barbados Barbados 282,467 < 0.1 % Bridgetown
177 São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe 235,536 < 0.1 % São Tomé
178 Samoa Samoa 218,019 < 0.1 % Apia
179 Saint Lucia Saint Lucia 179,744 < 0.1 % Castries
180 Kiribati Kiribati 134,518 < 0.1 % Tarawa
181 Seychelles Seychelles 121,354 < 0.1 % Victoria
182 Grenada Grenada 117,207 < 0.1 % St. George's
183 Micronesia Micronesia 113,160 < 0.1 % Palikir
184 Tonga Tonga 104,175 < 0.1 % Nukualofa
185 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 100,616 < 0.1 % Kingstown
186 Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda 93,772 < 0.1 % St. John's
187 Andorra Andorra 81,938 < 0.1 % Andorra la Vella
188 Dominica Dominica 66,205 < 0.1 % Roseau
189 Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis 46,843 < 0.1 % Basseterre
190 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 40,197 < 0.1 % Vaduz
191 Monaco Monaco 38,631 < 0.1 % Monaco
192 Marshall Islands Marshall Islands 37,548 < 0.1 % Majuro
193 San Marino San Marino 33,977 < 0.1 % San Marino
194 Palau Palau 17,695 < 0.1 % Melekeok
195 Nauru Nauru 11,947 < 0.1 % Yaren
196 Tuvalu Tuvalu 9,646 < 0.1 % Funafuti
197 Vatican City Vatican City 882 < 0.1 % Vatican City

Frequently asked questions

What is the most populous country in the world?

India is the most populous country in the world with over 1.45 billion inhabitants. It overtook China (about 1.41 billion) in 2023. The United States completes the podium with about 340 million inhabitants.

What are the 5 most populous countries in the world?

The five most populous countries in the world are India, China, the United States, Indonesia (about 280 million inhabitants) and Pakistan (about 240 million). Together, these five are home to nearly half of humanity.

What is the world population?

The world population is estimated at about 8.2 billion inhabitants in 2026. It continues to grow, driven mainly by Africa and South Asia, and is expected to approach 10 billion by 2050 according to the UN.

What is the least populous country in the world?

Vatican City is the least populous country in the world, with fewer than a thousand inhabitants. Among the least populous sovereign states are also Nauru, Tuvalu and Palau, each under 20,000 inhabitants.

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