Population · 1980—2026
The World's Most Populous Countries
The 100 most populous countries in the world, with each country's share of the world population, plus an animated chart of the top 10 from 1980 to 2026. Data from the United Nations.
Million people · UN projection
Annual snapshots. Select a year to explore how the ranking changes.
The 100 most populous countries in 2026
| Rank | Country | Population | Share of world | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  India | 1.48B | 17.8% | +40% |
| 2 |  China | 1.41B | 17.0% | +11% |
| 3 |  United States | 349.0M | 4.2% | +24% |
| 4 |  Indonesia | 287.9M | 3.5% | +33% |
| 5 |  Pakistan | 259.3M | 3.1% | +67% |
| 6 |  Nigeria | 242.4M | 2.9% | +92% |
| 7 |  Brazil | 213.6M | 2.6% | +23% |
| 8 |  Bangladesh | 177.8M | 2.1% | +32% |
| 9 |  Russia | 143.4M | 1.7% | −2% |
| 10 |  Ethiopia | 138.9M | 1.7% | +106% |
| 11 |  Mexico | 133.0M | 1.6% | +35% |
| 12 |  Japan | 122.4M | 1.5% | −4% |
| 13 |  Egypt | 120.1M | 1.4% | +64% |
| 14 |  Philippines | 117.7M | 1.4% | +48% |
| 15 |  DR Congo | 116.5M | 1.4% | +131% |
| 16 |  Vietnam | 102.2M | 1.2% | +32% |
| 17 |  Iran | 93.2M | 1.1% | +40% |
| 18 |  Turkey | 87.9M | 1.1% | +34% |
| 19 |  Germany | 83.6M | 1.0% | +2% |
| 20 |  Tanzania | 72.6M | 0.87% | +112% |
| 21 |  Thailand | 71.6M | 0.86% | +14% |
| 22 |  United Kingdom | 69.9M | 0.84% | +18% |
| 23 |  France | 66.7M | 0.80% | +12% |
| 24 |  South Africa | 65.5M | 0.79% | +39% |
| 25 |  Italy | 58.9M | 0.71% | +3% |
| 26 |  Kenya | 58.6M | 0.71% | +91% |
| 27 |  Myanmar | 55.2M | 0.66% | +22% |
| 28 |  Colombia | 53.9M | 0.65% | +38% |
| 29 |  Sudan | 53.3M | 0.64% | +92% |
| 30 |  Uganda | 52.8M | 0.64% | +120% |
| 31 |  South Korea | 51.6M | 0.62% | +10% |
| 32 |  Algeria | 48.0M | 0.58% | +55% |
| 33 |  Iraq | 48.0M | 0.58% | +97% |
| 34 |  Spain | 47.9M | 0.58% | +17% |
| 35 |  Argentina | 46.0M | 0.55% | +24% |
| 36 |  Afghanistan | 45.0M | 0.54% | +124% |
| 37 |  Yemen | 43.0M | 0.52% | +119% |
| 38 |  Canada | 40.5M | 0.49% | +31% |
| 39 |  Angola | 40.2M | 0.48% | +148% |
| 40 |  Ukraine | 39.5M | 0.48% | −20% |
| 41 |  Morocco | 38.8M | 0.47% | +36% |
| 42 |  Poland | 37.8M | 0.46% | −1% |
| 43 |  Uzbekistan | 37.7M | 0.45% | +52% |
| 44 |  Mozambique | 36.6M | 0.44% | +102% |
| 45 |  Malaysia | 36.4M | 0.44% | +58% |
| 46 |  Ghana | 35.7M | 0.43% | +82% |
| 47 |  Saudi Arabia | 35.2M | 0.42% | +117% |
| 48 |  Peru | 34.9M | 0.42% | +31% |
| 49 |  Madagascar | 33.5M | 0.40% | +103% |
| 50 |  Côte d'Ivoire | 33.5M | 0.40% | +89% |
| 51 |  Cameroon | 30.6M | 0.37% | +105% |
| 52 |  Nepal | 29.6M | 0.36% | +21% |
| 53 |  Niger | 28.8M | 0.35% | +150% |
| 54 |  Venezuela | 28.6M | 0.34% | +17% |
| 55 |  Australia | 27.2M | 0.33% | +42% |
| 56 |  North Korea | 26.6M | 0.32% | +13% |
| 57 |  Syria | 26.5M | 0.32% | +59% |
| 58 |  Mali | 25.9M | 0.31% | +124% |
| 59 |  Burkina Faso | 24.6M | 0.30% | +106% |
| 60 |  Sri Lanka | 23.3M | 0.28% | +21% |
| 61 |  Taiwan | 23.0M | 0.28% | +3% |
| 62 |  Malawi | 22.8M | 0.27% | +101% |
| 63 |  Zambia | 22.5M | 0.27% | +125% |
| 64 |  Chad | 21.6M | 0.26% | +153% |
| 65 |  Kazakhstan | 21.1M | 0.25% | +36% |
| 66 |  Somalia | 20.3M | 0.24% | +130% |
| 67 |  Chile | 19.9M | 0.24% | +29% |
| 68 |  Senegal | 19.4M | 0.23% | +94% |
| 69 |  Guatemala | 19.0M | 0.23% | +62% |
| 70 |  Romania | 18.8M | 0.23% | −15% |
| 71 |  Netherlands | 18.4M | 0.22% | +15% |
| 72 |  Ecuador | 18.4M | 0.22% | +45% |
| 73 |  Cambodia | 18.1M | 0.22% | +45% |
| 74 |  Zimbabwe | 17.3M | 0.21% | +45% |
| 75 |  Guinea | 15.4M | 0.19% | +83% |
| 76 |  Benin | 15.2M | 0.18% | +110% |
| 77 |  Rwanda | 14.9M | 0.18% | +81% |
| 78 |  Burundi | 14.7M | 0.18% | +128% |
| 79 |  Bolivia | 12.7M | 0.15% | +48% |
| 80 |  South Sudan | 12.4M | 0.15% | +106% |
| 81 |  Tunisia | 12.4M | 0.15% | +27% |
| 82 |  Haiti | 12.0M | 0.15% | +45% |
| 83 |  Belgium | 11.8M | 0.14% | +15% |
| 84 |  Jordan | 11.6M | 0.14% | +115% |
| 85 |  United Arab Emirates | 11.6M | 0.14% | +231% |
| 86 |  Dominican Republic | 11.6M | 0.14% | +35% |
| 87 |  Honduras | 11.2M | 0.13% | +70% |
| 88 |  Tajikistan | 11.0M | 0.13% | +75% |
| 89 |  Cuba | 10.9M | 0.13% | −2% |
| 90 |  Papua New Guinea | 10.9M | 0.13% | +98% |
| 91 |  Sweden | 10.7M | 0.13% | +21% |
| 92 |  Azerbaijan | 10.5M | 0.13% | +28% |
| 93 |  Czechia | 10.5M | 0.13% | +3% |
| 94 |  Portugal | 10.4M | 0.13% | +1% |
| 95 |  Togo | 9.9M | 0.12% | +93% |
| 96 |  Greece | 9.9M | 0.12% | −8% |
| 97 |  Israel | 9.6M | 0.12% | +58% |
| 98 |  Hungary | 9.6M | 0.12% | −6% |
| 99 |  Austria | 9.1M | 0.11% | +14% |
| 100 |  Sierra Leone | 9.0M | 0.11% | +103% |
Population on July 1, 2026, a United Nations projection. Share of the world population of 8.30 billion, and change since 2000.
Questions and answers
Which country has the largest population in the world?
India has the largest population in the world, with 1.48 billion people in 2026. China is second with 1.41 billion, followed by the United States with 349 million.
When did India overtake China?
According to the United Nations, India has been the most populous country in the world since 2022: 1,425.4 million people on July 1 of that year, against 1,425.2 million for China. China had been first every year from 1980 to 2021.
How much of the world lives in the 10 most populous countries?
The 10 most populous countries are home to 57% of the world population in 2026: 4.70 billion people out of 8.30 billion. In 1980 the top 10 held 63%. India and China alone account for 35% of humanity.
Which countries have entered or left the top 10?
Japan (in the top 10 until 2019) has left the top 10 since 1980. Ethiopia (since 2024) has entered it. Mexico was in it from 2020 to 2023. Russia took the place of the Soviet Union in 1992.
Where do the population figures come from?
The figures are those of the United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024: the population of each country on July 1 of each year. They are estimates until 2023 and projections (medium variant) from 2024 to 2026.
Countries are ranked as they existed at the time: the Soviet Union until 1991, Russia from 1992.