Population can turn out to be very beneficial or completely drastic for any given country. Every country needs to manage their overall population in such a manner that they don’t have to face any issues, politically or financially. Here is a list of the top 30 most populated countries in the world;
Most Populated Countries in the World
1# China
China is officially the most populated country in the world recording a population of over 1.42 billion in 2024. Many of China’s large cities come under the most densely populated cities in the world.
Even after recording such high populations, it still has not received the ‘High Human Development Index ranking’. One of the main reasons China has such high population is due to its economy growing rapidly which helped many people out of poverty. China’s population is 18.4% of the world.
2# India
Right behind China, India is at second number with a record population of 1.39 billion as of 2024. Having a growth rate of almost 1.0%, India is expected to supersede China in becoming #1.
The country has almost doubled its size over the last 40 years with Mumbai and Delhi having the most population in terms of cities. India has a positive 40 net change per day.
3# U.S.A
USA is marked as the 3rd most populous country in the world with a population of around 331.9 million. With a current growth rate of 0.1%, the stats show that the population is also on an upward trend due to high immigration.
However, a recent report claimed that the growth rate will fall in upcoming years. It owns roughly 4.25% of the world’s population.
4# Indonesia
With a population record of nearly 276.4 million, Indonesia is the ranked 4th in the list of the most populous countries.
The Chines Indonesian, although small in number, contribute a lot to the country. Indonesia is the world’s most populated Muslim country with 86.7% of them being Muslims. It has a growth rate of 1.00% which shows that it will soon be near USA.
5# Pakistan
Being one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world, Pakistan is ranked 5th with a population of nearly 225.2 million.
When compared with other countries within Asia, Pakistan has a growing rate of 1.9% higher than its neighboring countries. Alongside the rapid increase in population, there growth expectancy has also increased up to 67 over the past years.
6# Nigeria
Nigeria is ranked 6th in the list with a population of nearly 218.5 million as of 2024. Nigeria counts for 2.64% of the world’s population and with a massive growth rate of 2.64%, data suggests that they would soon rise up the chart. It has the highest population of African nation and has a decent life expectancy rate.
7# Brazil
Having almost 2.73% of the world’s population, Brazil is the 7th most populous country in the world with a population of 215.3 million as of 2024. It has a population density of nearly 25 people per kilometer square which also ranks 7th in the world. It has a growth rate of 0.7% with majority of the population being under 29 years old.
8# Bangladesh
Bangladesh, having a population of about 171.1 million is the 8th most populous country in the world. It has a growth rate 1.02% which shows that they are constantly increasing at a steady rate. 98% of the Bangladeshis are locals with Islam being the most practiced religion having 89.1% of the population. It has an impressive life expectancy of almost 74 years.
9# Russia
Representing nearly 1.87% of the world’s population, Russia comes next. Russia is the only country in the top 10 that has a negative growth rate ( -0.04% ). It has a population of 145.8 million with a 3 million decrease from the recent years. Over the past 35 years, Russia has always had a varying population tree with constant movements up and down.
10# Mexico
Finishing the top 10 is Mexico, having a population of nearly 127.5 million. It represents 1.65% of the world’s population.
The Mexican population has shown some rapid improvement over the past few years overtaking Japan and getting their way into the top 10. The country’s population is on a steady growth rate of 1.0% with a median age of only 29.2 years.
11# Japan
Japan is the only country that has a record negative growth rate over the past 5 consecutive years. Recording a population of nearly 123.9 million, Japan is ranked 11th in the list being recently taken over by Mexico. With the older population having 28% of the entire population, the growth rate will continue to decline further.
12# Ethiopia
Ethiopia, representing 1.47% of the world’s population is showing constant improvement over the past few years. Having a growth rate of nearly 2.5% , Ethiopia is hoping to eradicate poverty soon. Almost 3/5th of Ethiopians are 25 years or under clearly indicating that the country is on a growing trend with lots of youngsters.
13# Philippines
Having grown at a steady rate throughout recent years, Philippines is ranked 13th in the list. Philippines has a population of nearly 113.2 million as of 2024. It had an impressive growth rate of 1.72% in 2010 which gradually fell to 1.3% by 2024. Having a number of islands, it has people coming from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
14# Egypt
Being just behind Nigeria and Ethiopia on one of the most populated country in the Middle East and Africa, it holds an estimated population of above 102.88 million.
Egypt has a decent growth rate of 1.90% despite recent political and military concerns. It holds nearly 1.31% of the world’s population which tends to be decrease due to investment in family planning programs being conducted by the government.
15# Vietnam
Vietnam is ranked 15th in the list of most populated countries recording a population of 98.1 million. The growth rate of Vietnam has been on an upward trend since 2010, however, it slightly fell below 0.1% by 2024.
One of the main reasons of a healthy growth rate is due to its excellent sanitation facilities and decent health and care. The diversity in the ethnic backgrounds also helps Vietnam with population.
16# DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo, commonly known as DR Congo, is ranked 16th in the list having a population of close to 94.7 million.
Despite inflicting heavy damages during the Second Congo War in 1998, DR Congo has still managed to generate a positive growth rate throughout the years. It currently holds 1.15% of the world’s population and has a growth rate of nearly 3.19% which is the highest amongst all the countries in top 20.
17# Iran
Having a growth rate of nearly 1%, Iran is ranked as the 17th most populated country in the world. It has an estimated population of around 88.5 million and holds 1.08% of the world’s population.
Dominated by Muslims, 98.5% of Iran’s population follow the religion of Islam. One of the main reasons for its population is the fact that Iran has one of the largest refugee population in the world which increases its population by nearly a million.
18# Turkey
Turkey is ranked 18th on the list of the most populated countries in the world having a population of almost 84.5 million. The population is growing at a steady rate of 0.8% and is certainly going to increase in the upcoming years.
Over the period of 50 years, the life expectancy has increased over leaps and bounds and has reach to almost 74 years. The higher life expectancy is a major reason for the rising growth rate.
19# Germany
Being only a touch behind Iran, Germany is next in the list with a population 84 million as of 2024. However, stats do show that Germany will not be overtaking Iran in the upcoming years since it has a very slow growth rate that is continuously decreasing over the past 10 years. The median age in Germany is exactly 45.7 years and it also holds nearly 1.07% of the world’ population.
20# Thailand
Thailand is the 20th country in the list having a population of 71.6 million as of 2024. Thailand’s growth was generally on an upward trend throughout the past years, however, with government raising awareness for the family planning programs, the growth rate has decreased to a record 0.2% and is expected to stay the same for the next few years.
21#United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is 21st in this list with a population of 67.5 million as of 2024, which is the largest it has ever been and is expected to grow up to more than 70 million by 2031. The major reason for this population boost is, of course, the natural change, but migrators from all parts of the world have also played a significant role. It has a growth rate of about 7.4% and makes up about 0.87% of the world’s population.
22# France
France is next to the United Kingdom and lands at 22nd position with a population of 65.6 million as of 2024. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Germany with 90% of its population being peasants. The growth rate of France is 0.15%. It also makes up 0.95% of the world’s population. France happens to have a low birth rate because of having a low fertility rate as there are fewer women of childbearing age.
23# Tanzania
Tanzania; being the largest country in the East of Africa, lands at 23rd with a population of 65.4 million as of 2024. Tanzania’s population is growing at a fast pace with a growth rate of 2.96%. The government, however, has developed measures to control this population growth. The main cause of this rapid growth seems to be poverty and unemployment.
24# South Africa
The population of South Africa as of 2024 is 60.6 million which lands this country at 24th with the largest population by age group being teenagers and has a growth rate of 1.2%. It is very densely populated, and the population is expected to increase even more because of the great quality of life and access to the necessities.
It also has a very high rate of teen pregnancies and a low mortality rate which further adds to the growth in its population.
25# Italy
The population of Italy as of 2024 is 59 million, with a growth rate of -0.6%. The country has had a decline in their population of 0.34% from 2021 and is expected to decline further because of having more old-aged individuals and falling birth rates.
The life expectancy in Italy is 83 years. The future of population growth or decline depends on the birth rates that they are trying to increase.
26# Kenya
Kenya is in the 26th position with a population of 56.8 million. And the population growth rate of 2.2%. The country’s population is expected to grow at an exponential rate, and the main reason for that is considered to be the decline in crude mortality rates.
Even though Africa has a high crude mortality rate, Kenya seems to have the lowest in East Africa, with 5.5 deaths per 1000 individuals.
27# Myanmar
Myanmar has a population of 54.2 million, which makes it 27th on this list. 90% of their population is Buddhists, and their growth rate is 0.7%. The reason for this small growth rate is considered to be poverty which is increasing, with 40% of individuals living below the poverty line. Also, the delayed marriages and delayed family building because of poor quality of life add to the decline in population.
28# South Korea
South Korea is 28th on this list and has a population of about 51.8 million and a growth rate of -0.2%. South Korea has had a significant shrink in its population in the past years and is expected to decline further, the reason of which is most of the population is old.
They also have a low birth rate because of high inflation, unemployment, and high land prices. It also happens to have the lowest fertility rate in the world, with women birthing 0.81 births during their lives as of 2021.
29# Colombia
Colombia is next to South Korea and lands at 29th position with a population of 51.8 million. It has a growth rate of 0.7%. Colombia has had a crumbling population rate in the past years with both considerable growth and declines, however, from the last few years; it has maintained the increased pattern in its growth rate, which is expected to continue in the future too.
30# Spain
Spain is the 30th most populated country in the world, with a population of 47.43 million as of 2024. It also has a very high life expectancy of 82 years. The main reason behind it is the good climate conditions, good diets, better relationships etc.
Spain, however, has a low population growth rate of -0.1%. The main reason behind it is its large number of emigrants because of low wages and unemployment. The country also has low birth rates, which adds to this list.
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