World Population by Country (2025): Top 100 Most Populous Nations Ranked
In 2025 the world’s population is estimated at just over 8 billion people. The distribution of those people is extremely uneven: a small group of very large countries accounts for the majority of humanity, while most states fall into the mid-size or small range. This first block focuses on the ten most populous countries in 2025 and quantifies how much of the world’s population they concentrate.
India and China alone host more than one in three people on the planet. When the next eight countries are added — the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia and Ethiopia — the top-10 group accounts for roughly three fifths of global population. The remaining 190-plus countries and territories share the other ~42 percent.
| Rank | Country | 2025 population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 1,463,870,000 |
| 2 | China | 1,416,100,000 |
| 3 | United States | 347,276,000 |
| 4 | Indonesia | 285,721,000 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 255,220,000 |
| 6 | Nigeria | 237,528,000 |
| 7 | Brazil | 212,812,000 |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 175,687,000 |
| 9 | Russia | 143,997,000 |
| 10 | Ethiopia | 135,472,000 |
Note: figures are analytical estimates for 2025, rounded and harmonised from official UN and World Bank demographic series. Small discrepancies versus national statistics may occur.
Beyond the Top 10: structure of the 2025 population ranking
Once the top ten are accounted for, the global population ranking becomes more diverse. Asia still dominates the list, but fast-growing African states are steadily moving up, while many European and East Asian economies now appear as mid-sized countries in pure population terms. The extended ranking highlights these regional patterns and shows how population size is distributed across the first hundred countries.
From rank 11 to about rank 40, population values range from roughly 120 million down to 40 million, spanning a mix of upper-middle-income economies (Mexico, Brazil, South Africa), rapidly growing low-income countries (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Uganda) and ageing high-income states (Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom). Below that range, many countries have between 10 million and 40 million inhabitants — still large enough to matter in global markets and geopolitics, but no longer part of the demographic “mega-league”.
A key feature of today’s demographic map is the gradual shift of population weight toward Africa and South Asia. While China’s population has started to decline, countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are still growing quickly. This shift will increasingly shape global labour supply, urbanisation and demand for infrastructure over the coming decades.
| Country | 2025 population | Region |
|---|---|---|
| India | 1,463,870,000 | Asia |
| China | 1,416,100,000 | Asia |
| United States | 347,276,000 | Northern America |
| Indonesia | 285,721,000 | Asia |
| Pakistan | 255,220,000 | Asia |
| Nigeria | 237,528,000 | Africa |
| Brazil | 212,812,000 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Bangladesh | 175,687,000 | Asia |
| Russia | 143,997,000 | Europe / Asia |
| Ethiopia | 135,472,000 | Africa |
| Mexico | 131,947,000 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Japan | 123,103,000 | Asia |
| Egypt | 118,366,000 | Africa |
| Philippines | 116,787,000 | Asia |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 112,832,000 | Africa |
| Vietnam | 101,599,000 | Asia |
| Iran | 92,417,700 | Asia |
| Turkey | 87,685,400 | Asia / Europe |
| Germany | 84,075,100 | Europe |
| Thailand | 71,619,900 | Asia |
| Tanzania | 70,545,900 | Africa |
| United Kingdom | 69,551,300 | Europe |
| France | 66,650,800 | Europe |
| South Africa | 64,747,300 | Africa |
| Italy | 59,146,300 | Europe |
| Kenya | 57,532,500 | Africa |
| Myanmar | 54,850,600 | Asia |
| Colombia | 53,425,600 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| South Korea | 51,667,000 | Asia |
| Sudan | 51,662,100 | Africa |
| Uganda | 51,384,900 | Africa |
| Spain | 47,890,000 | Europe |
| Algeria | 47,435,300 | Africa |
| Iraq | 47,020,800 | Asia |
| Argentina | 45,851,400 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Afghanistan | 43,844,100 | Asia |
| Yemen | 41,773,900 | Asia |
| Canada | 40,126,700 | Northern America |
| Angola | 39,040,000 | Africa |
| Ukraine | 38,980,400 | Europe |
| Morocco | 38,430,800 | Africa |
| Poland | 38,140,900 | Europe |
| Uzbekistan | 37,053,400 | Asia |
| Malaysia | 35,977,800 | Asia |
| Mozambique | 35,631,700 | Africa |
| Ghana | 35,064,300 | Africa |
| Peru | 34,576,700 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Saudi Arabia | 34,566,300 | Asia |
| Madagascar | 32,740,700 | Africa |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 32,711,500 | Africa |
| Cameroon | 29,879,300 | Africa |
| Nepal | 29,618,100 | Asia |
| Venezuela | 28,516,900 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Niger | 27,917,800 | Africa |
| Australia | 26,974,000 | Oceania |
| North Korea | 26,571,000 | Asia |
| Syria | 25,620,400 | Asia |
| Mali | 25,198,800 | Africa |
| Burkina Faso | 24,074,600 | Africa |
| Sri Lanka | 23,229,500 | Asia |
| Taiwan | 23,112,800 | Asia |
| Malawi | 22,216,100 | Africa |
| Zambia | 21,913,900 | Africa |
| Chad | 21,003,700 | Africa |
| Kazakhstan | 20,843,800 | Asia / Europe |
| Chile | 19,859,900 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Somalia | 19,654,700 | Africa |
| Senegal | 18,932,000 | Africa |
| Romania | 18,908,600 | Europe |
| Guatemala | 18,687,900 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Netherlands | 18,346,800 | Europe |
| Ecuador | 18,289,900 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Cambodia | 17,848,000 | Asia |
| Zimbabwe | 16,950,800 | Africa |
| Guinea | 15,099,700 | Africa |
| Benin | 14,814,500 | Africa |
| Rwanda | 14,569,300 | Africa |
| Burundi | 14,390,000 | Africa |
| Bolivia | 12,581,800 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Tunisia | 12,348,600 | Africa |
| South Sudan | 12,188,800 | Africa |
| Haiti | 11,906,100 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Belgium | 11,758,600 | Europe |
| Jordan | 11,520,700 | Asia |
| Dominican Republic | 11,520,500 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| United Arab Emirates | 11,346,000 | Asia |
| Honduras | 11,005,800 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Cuba | 10,937,200 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| Tajikistan | 10,786,700 | Asia |
| Papua New Guinea | 10,762,800 | Oceania |
| Sweden | 10,656,600 | Europe |
| Czechia | 10,609,200 | Europe |
| Portugal | 10,411,800 | Europe |
| Azerbaijan | 10,397,700 | Asia / Europe |
| Greece | 9,938,840 | Europe |
| Togo | 9,721,610 | Africa |
| Hungary | 9,632,290 | Europe |
| Israel | 9,517,180 | Asia |
| Austria | 9,113,570 | Europe |
| Belarus | 8,997,600 | Europe |
How much of the world lives in the Top 10 — and how this share changes over time
Summing the shares of global population for the ten largest countries produces a combined share of roughly 58 percent in 2025. The remaining 42 percent is distributed across the next 190-plus countries and territories, with a long “tail” of states that each account for less than 0.5 percent of the global total. This concentration is high but not absolute: it has been edging down over time as demographic growth in smaller countries has outpaced that of some of the traditional giants.
The line chart below shows two related time series: estimated world population (in billions) and the approximate share of that total living in the ten most populous countries, from 1990 to 2025. World population has grown steadily over this period, from just over 5 billion to a little above 8 billion. The share of the Top-10 group, however, has slipped by a few percentage points as population growth has become more geographically dispersed.
Note: the Top-10 share is approximate and uses a consistent group of ten countries as of 2025. Both series are rounded and smoothed to emphasise long-term trends rather than exact annual values.
What the 2025 population ranking means for policy and the global economy
Population size is not a verdict on development success, but it strongly conditions the challenges and opportunities that governments face. Megapopulous countries must deliver jobs, infrastructure and services at very large scale. At the other extreme, small states often grapple with limited domestic markets and fiscal bases. The 2025 ranking reinforces three broad messages for policy makers.
First, most of the world’s people now live in middle-income countries. India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh and many others combine relatively modest per-capita incomes with very large populations. Policy in these states will largely determine future global trajectories in emissions, energy demand, food security and digital connectivity. Second, population growth is increasingly concentrated in younger, lower-income countries in Africa and parts of South Asia, while many high-income and upper-middle-income economies are ageing and stabilising or shrinking in absolute numbers.
Finally, the declining but still high share of the Top-10 group in world population implies that global governance cannot be understood solely as a dialogue among a few large countries. Smaller and mid-sized states collectively host hundreds of millions of people and play critical roles in regional stability, trade networks and migration systems.
Implications for labour markets, cities and social systems
In fast-growing countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the absolute number of young people entering the labour force each year is already very high and will continue to rise. If productivity-enhancing investments in education, health and infrastructure keep pace, this can generate a sizeable demographic dividend. If they do not, the same dynamics may translate into high unemployment, underemployment and pressure on urban services.
In contrast, many of the high-income and upper-middle-income economies in the ranking — including Japan, Germany, Italy and, increasingly, China — are confronting population ageing and in some cases outright decline. Policy debates there revolve around how to finance pensions and health systems, how to adapt labour markets and migration rules, and how to maintain productivity as the working-age share of the population falls. The 2025 population table makes clear that these structural shifts are no longer confined to a few outliers but affect a broad range of countries.
- Planning must be demographic, not static. Countries at different points in the demographic transition require very different policy mixes. Rapidly growing populations call for long-term investment in schools, housing, transport, energy and job creation. Ageing populations require reforms in pensions, long-term care and labour-market participation.
- The centre of gravity is shifting toward the Global South. As population growth slows or reverses in much of Europe and East Asia, demographic and economic weight is moving toward South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. International trade, climate and development strategies need to factor this rebalancing into infrastructure corridors, industrial policy and skills partnerships.
- Urbanisation will continue to drive demand for infrastructure. Most additional people in growing countries will live in cities. Whether megacities remain livable — and whether secondary cities emerge as balanced alternatives — will depend on zoning, transport planning, access to basic services and climate-resilient design.
- Population numbers are inputs, not destiny. High population density can be an asset when paired with good governance, connectivity and human capital. Conversely, low density and small domestic markets can be offset by regional integration, openness to trade and well-designed migration frameworks.
How to use this ranking in analysis and decision-making
For researchers, the 2025 population ranking is a baseline for constructing per-capita indicators, weighting regional aggregates and modelling future scenarios. For businesses, it highlights current and emerging consumer markets, labour pools and locations for production or service hubs. For policy makers and civil society, it provides a factual backdrop for debates on topics as varied as climate negotiations, global health security, migration agreements and educational cooperation.
It is important to emphasise that these figures are statistical estimates, not exact census counts, particularly for countries where recent enumeration has been disrupted by conflict, natural disasters or institutional constraints. Users of the data should therefore pay attention to the underlying sources, revision schedules and the uncertainty bands documented by the official statistical agencies.
All numbers in tables and charts are rounded to the nearest thousand or appropriate decimal and may differ slightly from national statistics. For rigorous applications — such as fiscal planning, electoral apportionment or detailed demographic modelling — users should always consult the latest releases from national statistical offices and the international organisations listed above.
Download data & charts: World Population Ranking 2025
ZIP archive with tables and chart images used in “World Population Ranking 2025: Top 200 Countries by Population Size”.
- CSV files: Top 10, Top 100 countries by population, and the 1990–2025 trend.
- XLSX file: all tables in a single Excel workbook for further analysis.
- PNG charts: Top 10 bar chart and the line chart “World population vs. Top 10 share”.
