Top 100 Countries by Population Growth Rate, 2025
2025 Population Growth Rate by Country and Economy: Latest Comparable Ranking
Data checked: May 4, 2026. The ranking is presented as a 2025 snapshot, while the underlying values are the latest broadly comparable 2024 annual population-growth rates from the World Bank WDI series. This keeps the comparison consistent across countries and economies instead of mixing provisional 2025 updates with older statistical releases.
Qatar has the highest population growth rate in the 2025 snapshot: 7.32%.
Population growth rate is one of the clearest ways to gauge demographic momentum because it combines births, deaths and net migration into one annual percentage. The ranking uses the World Bank WDI indicator SP.POP.GROW, population growth (annual %), with 2024 values used as the latest available annual reference year for the 2025 snapshot.
That distinction matters for interpretation. Demographic data do not update on a single global schedule, and public discussions often mix provisional national updates, migration shocks and older UN estimates. In the latest comparable view, Qatar leads at 7.32%, Chad follows at 4.95%, the United Arab Emirates ranks third at 4.68%, and Moldova has the weakest current reading at −2.28%.
The top of the table is split between migration-driven Gulf economies and very young African populations with high natural increase. The lower end of the global ranking tells a different story: aging, low fertility and emigration are already pushing several countries into outright population decline.
Top 10 fastest-growing countries and economies
The top 10 does not represent one single demographic model. Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman rise to the top because net migration can move annual totals quickly in labor-importing economies. Chad, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia sit near the top for a different reason: very young populations and high natural increase still drive strong expansion.
Qatar
Qatar is the clearest migration-led outlier in the current ranking. In smaller labor-importing states, annual population growth can swing much faster than fertility alone would allow.
Chad
Chad remains one of the strongest examples of youth-driven demographic expansion. High fertility and a very young age structure keep the annual growth rate elevated.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates shows how migration, investment and labor demand can rapidly reshape population totals in high-income urban economies.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia combines natural increase with sizable labor-market inflows, making it one of the most important large-country growth stories in the current table.
Oman
Oman’s position is another reminder that similar growth rates can reflect very different demographic mechanisms from one country to another.
Syria
Syria’s reading should be handled with caution because conflict, displacement, return flows and revisions can all affect one-year estimates.
Somalia
Somalia remains in the high-growth cluster primarily because of natural increase, which creates long-run labor-force potential but also heavy service pressure.
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic illustrates how fast population growth in low-income settings can be more about infrastructure strain than market depth.
Niger
Niger remains a textbook case of rapid demographic expansion. Even gradual fertility decline still leaves annual growth high because the youth base is so large.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo combines high fertility with continental scale, which gives its long-run population path global significance.
Table 1. Top 10 fastest-growing countries and economies
| Rank | Country | Growth rate | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 7.32% | MENA |
| 2 | Chad | 4.95% | Africa |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 4.68% | MENA |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 4.63% | MENA |
| 5 | Oman | 4.50% | MENA |
| 6 | Syria | 4.47% | MENA |
| 7 | Somalia | 3.48% | Africa |
| 8 | Central African Republic | 3.40% | Africa |
| 9 | Niger | 3.28% | Africa |
| 10 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3.24% | Africa |
Latest comparable annual values, using 2024 as the working 2025 snapshot. Data checked: May 4, 2026.
Chart 1. Top 20 countries by annual population growth
Qatar stands well above the rest of the Top 20, followed by a compact group of Gulf and African countries. Canada is the main large advanced-economy exception outside the Gulf cluster: migration has pushed it into a range more often associated with much younger populations.
The chart compares the Top 20 annual population-growth rates in the latest comparable dataset.
Full ranking: Top 100 countries and economies by population growth rate
The ranking below can be filtered, sorted and narrowed to Top 10, Top 20 or the full Top 100.
| Rank | Country | Growth rate | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 7.32% | MENA |
| 2 | Chad | 4.95% | Africa |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 4.68% | MENA |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 4.63% | MENA |
| 5 | Oman | 4.50% | MENA |
| 6 | Syria | 4.47% | MENA |
| 7 | Somalia | 3.48% | Africa |
| 8 | Central African Republic | 3.40% | Africa |
| 9 | Niger | 3.28% | Africa |
| 10 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3.24% | Africa |
| 11 | Angola | 3.04% | Africa |
| 12 | Yemen | 2.98% | MENA |
| 13 | Canada | 2.96% | Americas |
| 14 | Mali | 2.94% | Africa |
| 15 | Mozambique | 2.92% | Africa |
| 16 | Mauritania | 2.88% | Africa |
| 17 | Malta | 2.87% | Europe |
| 18 | Tanzania | 2.87% | Africa |
| 19 | Afghanistan | 2.84% | Asia |
| 20 | Zambia | 2.81% | Africa |
| 21 | Uganda | 2.75% | Africa |
| 22 | Cameroon | 2.61% | Africa |
| 23 | Burundi | 2.58% | Africa |
| 24 | Ethiopia | 2.58% | Africa |
| 25 | Malawi | 2.58% | Africa |
| 26 | Benin | 2.46% | Africa |
| 27 | Côte d’Ivoire | 2.44% | Africa |
| 28 | Madagascar | 2.44% | Africa |
| 29 | Equatorial Guinea | 2.40% | Africa |
| 30 | Guinea | 2.40% | Africa |
| 31 | Republic of the Congo | 2.40% | Africa |
| 32 | Solomon Islands | 2.37% | Oceania |
| 33 | Palestine | 2.36% | MENA |
| 34 | Senegal | 2.32% | Africa |
| 35 | Armenia | 2.31% | Asia |
| 36 | Gambia | 2.28% | Africa |
| 37 | Vanuatu | 2.27% | Oceania |
| 38 | Burkina Faso | 2.25% | Africa |
| 39 | Namibia | 2.24% | Africa |
| 40 | Togo | 2.24% | Africa |
| 41 | Gibraltar | 2.21% | Europe |
| 42 | Guinea-Bissau | 2.21% | Africa |
| 43 | Gabon | 2.16% | Africa |
| 44 | Liberia | 2.16% | Africa |
| 45 | Rwanda | 2.14% | Africa |
| 46 | Iraq | 2.12% | MENA |
| 47 | Sierra Leone | 2.12% | Africa |
| 48 | Nigeria | 2.08% | Africa |
| 49 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 2.00% | Africa |
| 50 | Australia | 1.99% | Oceania |
| 51 | Singapore | 1.99% | Asia |
| 52 | Uzbekistan | 1.97% | Asia |
| 53 | Kenya | 1.96% | Africa |
| 54 | Tajikistan | 1.92% | Asia |
| 55 | Comoros | 1.89% | Africa |
| 56 | Ghana | 1.88% | Africa |
| 57 | Eritrea | 1.86% | Africa |
| 58 | Papua New Guinea | 1.78% | Oceania |
| 59 | Zimbabwe | 1.78% | Africa |
| 60 | Turkmenistan | 1.75% | Asia |
| 61 | Egypt | 1.73% | MENA |
| 62 | Kyrgyzstan | 1.71% | Asia |
| 63 | Honduras | 1.68% | Americas |
| 64 | New Zealand | 1.67% | Oceania |
| 65 | Botswana | 1.64% | Africa |
| 66 | Luxembourg | 1.58% | Europe |
| 67 | Ireland | 1.57% | Europe |
| 68 | Guatemala | 1.54% | Americas |
| 69 | Pakistan | 1.51% | Asia |
| 70 | Liechtenstein | 1.50% | Europe |
| 71 | Kiribati | 1.49% | Oceania |
| 72 | Belize | 1.44% | Americas |
| 73 | Algeria | 1.40% | MENA |
| 74 | Bolivia | 1.37% | Americas |
| 75 | Djibouti | 1.36% | Africa |
| 76 | Laos | 1.36% | Asia |
| 77 | Nicaragua | 1.35% | Americas |
| 78 | Andorra | 1.33% | Europe |
| 79 | Seychelles | 1.31% | Africa |
| 80 | Switzerland | 1.31% | Europe |
| 81 | Kazakhstan | 1.28% | Asia |
| 82 | Israel | 1.27% | MENA |
| 83 | Panama | 1.27% | Americas |
| 84 | Mongolia | 1.25% | Asia |
| 85 | South Africa | 1.25% | Africa |
| 86 | Cambodia | 1.23% | Asia |
| 87 | Paraguay | 1.23% | Americas |
| 88 | Malaysia | 1.22% | Asia |
| 89 | Bangladesh | 1.21% | Asia |
| 90 | Macao SAR, China | 1.20% | Asia |
| 91 | Haiti | 1.15% | Americas |
| 92 | Lesotho | 1.12% | Africa |
| 93 | Portugal | 1.10% | Europe |
| 94 | Peru | 1.09% | Americas |
| 95 | Colombia | 1.07% | Americas |
| 96 | United Kingdom | 1.07% | Europe |
| 97 | Iran | 1.05% | MENA |
| 98 | Libya | 1.03% | MENA |
| 99 | Spain | 1.02% | Europe |
| 100 | Eswatini | 1.00% | Africa |
Source basis: World Bank World Development Indicators, population growth (annual %), latest comparable 2024 annual values used as the working 2025 reference year. Data checked: May 4, 2026.
Countries with the weakest current rates
The lower end of the global distribution is just as important as the fastest-growing group. In several European countries and a few small states, the demographic cycle has already turned negative. That tends to show up later in school enrollment, labor availability, housing turnover, military-age cohorts and pension-system stress.
| Rank from bottom | Country | Growth rate | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moldova | -2.28% | Europe |
| 2 | Tuvalu | -1.75% | Oceania |
| 3 | Albania | -1.54% | Europe |
| 4 | Latvia | -0.94% | Europe |
| 5 | Monaco | -0.84% | Europe |
| 6 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | -0.70% | Americas |
| 7 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | -0.66% | Europe |
| 8 | Japan | -0.56% | Asia |
| 9 | Belarus | -0.55% | Europe |
| 10 | Greece | -0.50% | Europe |
Methodology
The ranking uses the World Bank World Development Indicators series SP.POP.GROW, population growth (annual %). The indicator is derived from total population and uses sources including the United Nations Population Division, national statistical offices, Eurostat and the United Nations Statistics Division. Because a full global 2025 annual ranking is not yet closed across all countries and economies, the latest comparable broad year is 2024, which is used here as the latest available reference year for a 2025 snapshot.
The ordering on this page follows the latest comparable cross-country and cross-economy values for the indicator. The global aggregate growth rate is about 0.95%, Qatar records 7.32%, and Moldova records -2.28%. Values are shown as annual percentages and rounded to two decimals. Region labels are analytical groupings added for filtering and readability; they are not a replacement for official World Bank regional classifications.
The biggest limitation is interpretation. One-year population growth can reflect very different underlying realities. In the Gulf, migration can dominate the annual change. In many African countries, natural increase still drives the result. In fragile states, conflict, displacement, return flows and estimation revisions can affect the latest reading. That is why population growth is best read alongside fertility, median age, dependency ratios, total population size and net migration.
Interpretation note: a high growth rate is not automatically “good,” and a low or negative rate is not automatically “bad.” The economic meaning depends on jobs, productivity, housing supply, age structure and the balance between natural increase and migration.
Insights and interpretation
The first big pattern is concentration. The fastest current growth rates are concentrated in migration-led Gulf economies and in younger African countries where natural increase remains high. That means the same headline number can imply very different policy priorities.
The second pattern is demographic divergence. Large parts of Africa are still in a strong expansion phase, while several European countries and parts of East Asia are already shrinking. The world is no longer moving through one shared demographic cycle.
The third pattern is the growing role of migration. Canada’s position inside the top 20 is the clearest reminder that migration policy can push a mature high-income economy far above its traditional demographic profile in a short period.
The fourth pattern is scale versus speed. A small country can post a very high percentage change, but a giant country with a modest rate can still add more people in absolute terms. That is why annual percentage rankings should always be read alongside total population size.
The fifth pattern is structural strain at both ends. Very fast growth can overwhelm schools, transport, health systems and housing if investment lags. Negative growth can undermine tax bases, labor supply, regional balance and pension sustainability. Demographic pressure looks different at the top and bottom of the ranking, but both matter.
What it means for readers: population growth is a useful early signal for migration trends, housing demand, consumer markets, labor supply and long-run economic potential. It does not tell the whole story, but it quickly shows where demand, workforce pressure or aging risk is likely to build next.
FAQ about population growth rate by country
Which country has the highest population growth rate in the 2025 snapshot?
Qatar has the highest population growth rate in the 2025 snapshot, at 7.32%. The figure is based on the latest comparable 2024 annual World Bank WDI data used as the reference year for the snapshot.
Why is Qatar first by such a large margin?
Because this indicator reflects total population change, not only births and deaths. In smaller labor-importing states, migration can push annual growth far above what natural increase alone would produce.
Does fast population growth automatically mean a strong economy?
No. It can mean a larger future labor force and consumer market, but it can also create major pressure on housing, schools, transport and food systems if productivity and infrastructure do not keep up.
Why is Canada so high in the ranking?
Canada is the standout high-income migration case. Its recent population growth has been lifted by strong inflows, which makes it very different from most mature developed economies.
Is population growth rate the same as fertility rate?
No. Fertility tracks births per woman. Population growth rate is broader and captures fertility, mortality and migration together as the annual percentage change in total population.
Why use 2024 for a 2025 ranking?
Because 2024 is the latest broadly comparable annual year currently available across the global dataset. It is used as the 2025 snapshot reference because a fully closed 2025 world ranking is not yet available.
Why do some European countries already have negative growth?
Usually because low fertility, aging and outward migration or weak net inflows combine to push total population lower year by year.
Which indicators should be read together with population growth?
Median age, fertility rate, dependency ratio, net migration, urbanization and employment growth. Together they show whether demographic momentum is likely to become an advantage, a fiscal burden or a mixed outcome.
Sources
- World Bank — Population growth (annual %), indicator SP.POP.GROW.
Definition and metadata for the core indicator.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW - World Bank metadata PDF for SP.POP.GROW.
Technical note stating that the series is derived from total population and uses UN Population Division, national statistical offices, Eurostat and the UN Statistics Division.
https://data360files.worldbank.org/data360-data/metadata/WB_WDI/WB_WDI_SP_POP_GROW.pdf - United Nations — World Population Prospects 2024.
Main international demographic benchmark for cross-country estimates and projections.
https://population.un.org/wpp/
Values and ordering follow the World Bank WDI indicator listed above. Data checked: May 4, 2026.
