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World population

World population data for each country is given in this section. Firstly, we will give an overview of the world population. Further, we will analyse with some statistics and maps. For information to the density of population, we refer you to this article.

World population interactive map

Discover the world population data with our interactive world map or explore our guide for the interactive map

Table of contents

• The current world population
• History of the world population
• Population by continent in 2016
• Most populated countries in 2020
• Most populated cities in the world in 2020
• Population data for each country
• Other interesting link to explore

The current world population

On the 1 January 2020 the world population was around 7.7 billions with an annual grow rate of +1.1%. In other words, this represents a growth of 80 million each year (220 000 each day).

History of the world population

The world population has growth dramatically this 2 last centuries. In short, we estimate that it took over 200 000 years of human history to reach 1 billion and only 200 years to reach 7 billion.

This growth in the modern history starts with the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions where the life expectancy of children increased dramatically.

Vaccination, improvements in medicine and sanitation in the 2 last centuries also explain this growth.

Since the 20th century, the developing countries experienced extremely rapid population growth due to economic development and improvements in public health.

An example is China that went from 580 million in 1953 to 1.3 billion.

The same observation can be done for India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The current population is about 1.63 billion altogether. but it was only 389 million in 1941.

Another remarkable example is Java that went from 5 million in 1815 to 140 million today.

Population by continent in 2016

Asia is from far the most populated continent with nearly 60% of the population. Then the second most populated continent is Africa with more than 15%. Then we find Europe, North America and South America. Oceania represent less than 1% of the world population. The last continent, Antartica, is not taken into account because it has only fluctuating international population of about 1000 people based mainly in polar science stations.

Most populated countries in 2020

Most of the countries only represent between 0 and 1% of the world population. The second category (1% – 2 %) contain only Mexico, Japan Bangladesh and Russia. In the third category (2% – 5%), we have USA, Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria. To finish the last category (5% – 18%) only contain China and India. These 2 countries have each one nearly 18% of the world population. There is a gate of nearly 14% between them and the third most populate country. China and India represent together nearly 40% of the world population.

Most populated cities in the world in 2020

The top 10 most populated cities in the world with their number of residents are:

1. Tokyo (Japan): 37,435,191
2. Delhi (India): 29,399,141
3. Shanghai (China): 26,317,104
4. Sao Paulo (Brazil): 21,846,507
5. Mexico city (Mexico): 21,671,908
6. Cairo (Egypt): 20,484,965
7. Dhaka (Bangladesh): 20,283,552
8. Mumbai (India): 20,185,064
9. Beijing (China): 20,035,455
10. Osaka (Japan): 19,222,665

It is of course unsurprising that the majority of the most populous cities in the world are in the most populated countries of the world (China and India).

Most of these cities are in Asia. Only 3 are not, with 2 in South America and 1 in Africa.

The most populated city in Europe is Istanbul with more than 14.5 million residents. In the second place we find Moscow (more than 12 million) and then Paris with 11 million.

For North America, We have the city of Mexico on the first place and that we can find on our top 10 of the most populated cities of the world. Then in the second place we have New York with 20,182,305 and in the 3^th place Los Angeles (13,340,068).

Population data for each country

The population data for each country is shown in the list below. The land area and the density of population of each country are also indicated. The proportion of the population of each country against the world population is also indicated in %.

Other interesting link to explore

Density of population per country: Map, analysis and data about the density of population in the world for each country