, the most populous country in the world is India, followed closely by China, with both exceeding 1.4 billion.
Method
This list includes sovereign states, inhabited dependent territories and, in some cases, constituent countries of sovereign states, with inclusion within the list being primarily based on the ISO standard ISO 3166-1. For instance, the United Kingdom is considered a single entity, while the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are considered separately. In addition, this list includes certain states with limited recognition not found in ISO 3166-1. Also given in a percentage is each country's population compared with the world population, which the United Nations estimated at 8.232 billion as of 2025.
Figures used in this chart are based on the most up-to-date estimates or projections by the national census authority, where available, and are usually rounded off. Where updated national data are not available, figures are based on the estimates or projections for 2024 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Because the compiled figures are not collected at the same time in every country, or at the same level of accuracy, the resulting numerical comparisons may create misleading conclusions. Furthermore, the addition of figures from all countries may not equal the world total.
Areas that form integral parts of sovereign states, such as the countries of the United Kingdom, are counted as part of the sovereign states concerned. Not included are other entities that are not sovereign states, such as the European Union, and independent territories that do not have permanent populations, such as the Chagos Archipelago and various countries' claims to Antarctica.
Sovereign states and dependencies by population Note: A numbered rank is assigned to the 193 member states of the United Nations, plus the 2 observer states to the United Nations General Assembly. Dependent territories and constituent countries that are parts of sovereign states are not assigned a numbered rank. In addition, sovereign states with limited recognition are also included, but not assigned a numbered rank.
+ List of countries and territories by total population Location Population % ofworld Date the United Nations)Notes 8,232,000,000 UN projection India Official projection China Official estimate United States Official estimate Indonesia National annual projection Pakistan 2023 census result Nigeria Official projection Brazil Official estimate Bangladesh 2022 census result Russia Official estimate Mexico National quarterly estimate*data provided by INEGI → ENOE* Japan Monthly national estimate Democratic Republic of the Congo UN projection Philippines Official projection Ethiopia National annual projection Egypt Official estimate Vietnam Official estimate Iran Official estimate Turkey Official estimate Germany National quarterly estimate Thailand Preliminary census results Tanzania Official projection United Kingdom Official estimate France Yearly national estimate South Africa Official estimate Italy Monthly national estimate Kenya Official projection Colombia Official projection Sudan UN projection Myanmar 2024 census result South Korea Monthly national estimate Spain National quarterly estimate Algeria National annual projection Argentina National annual projection Iraq 2024 census result Uganda 2024 census result Afghanistan UN projection (see note) Canada National quarterly estimate Uzbekistan 2026 census result Angola National estimate Morocco National annual projection Poland Monthly national estimate Saudi Arabia Official estimate Mozambique National annual projection Malaysia National quarterly estimate Ghana National annual projection Peru Census 2025 Ivory Coast National annual projection Yemen Official estimate Madagascar National annual projection Nepal National annual projection Cameroon National annual projection Ukraine State migration service Venezuela UN projection Australia Official projection Niger National annual projection Syria Monthly estimate North Korea National annual projection Burkina Faso Official projection Mali Official projection Taiwan Official estimate Zambia Official estimate Sri Lanka Official estimate Malawi National annual projection Kazakhstan Official estimate Somalia UN projection Chile National annual projection Chad National annual projection Senegal National annual projection Romania Official estimate Guatemala National annual projection Ecuador National annual projection Netherlands Official estimate Cambodia Official projection Guinea Census July 2025 Zimbabwe Official projection South Sudan National annual projection Rwanda National annual projection Benin National annual projection Burundi Preliminary census result Tunisia National estimate Belgium Official estimate Jordan National estimate Haiti National annual projection Portugal Official estimate Bolivia 2024 census result United Arab Emirates Official estimate Czech Republic Official estimate Dominican Republic 2022 census result Tajikistan Official estimate Sweden Monthly national estimate Greece Official estimate Israel Monthly national estimate Azerbaijan Monthly national estimate Honduras National annual projection Papua New Guinea 2024 census result Hungary Official estimate Cuba Official estimate Sierra Leone National annual projection Austria National quarterly estimate Switzerland National quarterly estimate Belarus Official estimate Togo 2022 census result Laos National annual projection Libya UN projection Hong Kong (China) National estimate Kyrgyzstan Monthly national estimate Turkmenistan 2022 census result Nicaragua Official estimate Serbia Official estimate Central African Republic National annual projection Bulgaria Official estimate Singapore National annual projection Republic of the Congo 2023 census result Paraguay 2022 census result Denmark Monthly national estimate El Salvador 2024 census result Lebanon Official estimate Finland Monthly national estimate Norway National quarterly estimate Palestine National annual projection Ireland National estimate Slovakia National quarterly estimate Oman Monthly national estimate New Zealand National quarterly estimate Liberia 2022 census result Costa Rica National annual projection Mauritania 2023 census result Kuwait Official estimate Panama 2023 census result Georgia Official estimate Croatia Official estimate Eritrea UN projection (see note) Mongolia National annual projection Uruguay National annual projection Bosnia and Herzegovina Official estimate Qatar Monthly national estimate Puerto Rico (US) Annual projection Armenia Official estimate Namibia 2023 Census Lithuania Monthly national estimate Jamaica 2022 census result Botswana Official estimate Gabon National annual projection Gambia Preliminary census results Moldova Official estimate Albania Official estimate Slovenia National quarterly estimate Lesotho Official survey Guinea-Bissau National annual projection Latvia Monthly national estimate North Macedonia Official estimate Equatorial Guinea Official estimate Bahrain Official estimate Kosovo 2024 national census Timor-Leste National annual projection Trinidad and Tobago Official estimate Estonia Official estimate Mauritius National estimate Eswatini Official projection Djibouti 2024 census result Cyprus Official estimate Guyana Official estimate Comoros Official estimate Fiji National annual projection Bhutan National annual projection Solomon Islands National annual projection Luxembourg Official estimate Macau (China) National quarterly estimate Montenegro Official estimate Suriname Official estimate Western Sahara (disputed) UN projection Malta Official estimate Maldives 2022 census result Cape Verde 2021 census result Northern Cyprus Official projection Brunei Official estimate Belize Official estimate Bahamas 2022 census result Iceland National quarterly estimate Transnistria Official estimate Vanuatu National annual projection French Polynesia (France) National annual projection New Caledonia (France) National annual projection Barbados Official estimate Abkhazia Official estimate São Tomé and Príncipe Preliminary census result Samoa 2021 Census Saint Lucia Official estimate Curaçao (Netherlands) Official estimate Guam (US) 2020 census result Seychelles Official estimate Kiribati National annual projection Aruba (Netherlands) Official estimate Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2023 census result Grenada Preliminary Census results Jersey (UK) 2021 census result Antigua and Barbuda Official estimate Tonga 2021 census result Andorra Monthly national estimate Cayman Islands (UK) National annual projection U.S. Virgin Islands (US) 2020 census result Isle of Man (UK) Official estimate Micronesia 2023 Census Dominica Official estimate Guernsey (UK) National quarterly estimate Bermuda (UK) National annual projection Greenland (Denmark) National quarterly estimate South Ossetia Official estimate Faroe Islands (Denmark) Monthly national estimate Turks and Caicos Islands (UK) Official estimate Saint Kitts and Nevis 2022 census result American Samoa (US) 2020 census result Northern Mariana Islands (US) 2020 census result Marshall Islands 2021 Census Sint Maarten (Netherlands) Official estimate Liechtenstein National estimate British Virgin Islands (UK) UN projection Monaco Census Gibraltar (UK) Preliminary census results San Marino Monthly national estimate Saint Martin (France) Official estimate Palau 2021 Census Anguilla (UK) Official estimate Cook Islands (New Zealand) 2021 Census Nauru 2021 Census Wallis and Futuna (France) 2023 Census Tuvalu 2022 Census Saint Barthélemy (France) Official estimate Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France) Official estimate Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK) 2021 Census Montserrat (UK) 2023 census result Falkland Islands (UK) 2021 census result Tokelau (New Zealand) 2025 Census Norfolk Island (Australia) 2021 Census Christmas Island (Australia) 2021 Census Niue (New Zealand) 2022 Census Vatican City Official figure Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia) 2021 Census Pitcairn Islands (UK) Official estimate
See also List of countries by population (United Nations) Demographics of the world List of countries and dependencies by area List of countries and dependencies by population density List of countries by population growth rate List of countries by number of births
Explanatory notes
References