How recent are these population figures?

They are approximate UN mid-year estimates rounded to the nearest convenient figure. Populations change continuously through births, deaths and migration, so treat values as the order-of-magnitude reference rather than a live census count.

How is population density calculated?

Density here is population divided by total area in square kilometres, giving people per km². Some sources use land area instead of total area, which raises density for countries with large water bodies, so small differences between sources are expected.

Why do China and India rank so close together?

Both have populations above 1.4 billion. India overtook China around 2023 as the most populous country, while China's population has begun to decline slowly, so the two are within a few tens of millions of each other.

Which countries are the most densely populated?

City-states and micro-states such as Monaco and Singapore have the highest densities because they pack large populations into tiny areas. Among larger countries, Bangladesh stands out with a very high density.

Are dependent territories included?

This reference focuses on sovereign states. Dependent territories and special administrative regions are generally excluded or folded into their parent state, so totals here are for independent countries.

What is the Country Population Reference?

Searchable population reference with UN estimates and density (people per km²) for major countries, sortable by population or name, from India and China to small island states. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Country Population Reference

Name: Country Population Reference
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Country population reference

This reference shows approximate UN population estimates for major countries alongside their population density in people per square kilometre. It answers everyday questions like “how many people live in Nigeria?” and “which country is most densely populated?” without needing to open a statistical yearbook.

How it works

Each country entry carries a population figure and a total area. The tool derives density with a simple formula:

density = population / area_km2

Population values are mid-year UN estimates rounded for readability; area is total area in square kilometres. Sorting by population reveals the demographic giants — countries above one billion, then the 100–300 million tier, down to smaller states. Sorting by name gives a plain alphabetical lookup.

Because populations are estimates that drift over time, the tool is best for ranking and rough magnitude rather than exact head-counts. Density is sensitive to whether total or land area is used, so values are indicative.

Understanding population tiers

Global population is strikingly unequal across countries. A handful of demographic giants account for most of humanity:

Above 1 billion: India and China together hold more than a third of the world’s population.
300 million to 1 billion: The United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Bangladesh — a second tier of very large countries that together add another substantial share.
50–300 million: A broad middle tier covering most of Europe, a large share of Africa, and major Asian countries.
Below 1 million: Dozens of small states, island nations, and city-states make up most of the count of countries by number but a tiny fraction of world population.

The UN projects that global population will continue to grow for decades, driven primarily by Sub-Saharan Africa, while some high-income countries — Japan, South Korea, several European states — are already seeing population decline.

Population density: what it tells you

Density (people per km²) captures how spread out a population is, not just how large it is. Two countries can have similar populations but radically different settlement patterns:

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most densely populated large countries — a population of roughly 170 million in an area smaller than England. Agricultural land is intensely farmed, cities are extremely crowded, and riverine flooding affects large portions of the country.

Australia has a similar population to Brazil’s São Paulo state alone, spread across a continent. Most of Australia is effectively uninhabited desert; nearly all the population clusters in coastal cities. Its density is among the lowest in the world for a sizable country.

Singapore is an extreme: a city-state with no agricultural hinterland, where essentially all land is urban. Its density is comparable to the densest cities of larger countries, but that density applies to the entire territory.

Density also interacts with terrain and habitability. Canada is large and sparsely settled, but much of the north is permafrost; effective density in the habitable southern band is far higher than the national figure suggests.

India and China: the demographic comparison

India overtook China as the world’s most populous country around 2023, according to UN estimates. The two nations have been within a few tens of millions of each other for decades, but their demographic trajectories now diverge. China’s total fertility rate has fallen well below the replacement level of roughly 2.1 children per woman, and its working-age population is shrinking. India’s fertility rate has also declined substantially but remains slightly above replacement, and its population is younger on average — meaning its workforce will continue to grow for longer.

This demographic difference has significant economic implications: India is expected to have one of the world’s largest working-age populations for several more decades, while China faces increasing pressure on its pension system from an ageing society.

Tips

Sort by population for the demographic ranking; sort by density to compare settlement intensity.
A large area does not imply low density if most of it is habitable — compare Netherlands and Canada.
For exact, current figures (compliance, grant applications, academic research), confirm against the latest national census or the UN World Population Prospects release, available from the UN Population Division.