Top 20 Most Populous Countries
The world's 20 most populous countries, ranked on the United Nations' mid-2025 estimates from World Population Prospects 2024. Spanning Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe, these twenty states are home to roughly 69% of everyone alive today, which makes this the most basic map there is of how humanity is distributed.
Interesting Facts & Summary
India overtook China in 2023 and now leads by roughly 48 million people — about the entire population of Spain. The more interesting story is the shape of the list: 11 of the 20 seats are Asian, 4 African, 3 American, and only Germany and Russia remain from Europe. The shrinking side is easy to miss: China has declined every year since 2022, Japan has been losing people for more than a decade, and Thailand has now started to fall as well. Africa is rewriting the table from the bottom up: Nigeria (238 million) has already passed Brazil, and Ethiopia (135 million) has passed Japan.
| Rank | Country | Continent | Population (millions) | Share of world population | Data as of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
India | Asia | 1463.9 | 17.8% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) | |
China | Asia | 1416.1 | 17.2% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) | |
United States | North America | 347.3 | 4.2% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) | |
| 4 | Indonesia | Asia | 285.7 | 3.5% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 5 | Pakistan | Asia | 255.2 | 3.1% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 6 | Nigeria | Africa | 237.5 | 2.9% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 7 | Brazil | South America | 212.8 | 2.6% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 8 | Bangladesh | Asia | 175.7 | 2.1% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 9 | Russia | Europe (transcontinental) | 144 | 1.7% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 10 | Ethiopia | Africa | 135.5 | 1.6% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 11 | Mexico | North America | 131.9 | 1.6% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 12 | Japan | Asia | 123.1 | 1.5% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 13 | Egypt | Africa (transcontinental) | 118.4 | 1.4% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 14 | Philippines | Asia | 116.8 | 1.4% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 15 | DR Congo | Africa | 112.8 | 1.4% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 16 | Vietnam | Asia | 101.6 | 1.2% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 17 | Iran | Asia | 92.4 | 1.1% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 18 | Turkey | Asia (transcontinental) | 87.7 | 1.1% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 19 | Germany | Europe | 84.1 | 1.0% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
| 20 | Thailand | Asia | 71.6 | 0.9% | Mid-2025 (UN WPP 2024 revision) |
Sources
- S1 · United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population DivisionWorld Population Prospects 2024
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024, 2024 revision, mid-2025 estimates, retrieved 2026-05-31.
Accessed: 2026-05-31 - S2 · United NationsWorld Population Prospects Data Portal
United Nations, World Population Prospects Data Portal, retrieved 2026-05-31.
Accessed: 2026-05-31 - S3 · WorldometerCountries in the world by population
Worldometer, Countries in the world by population, retrieved 2026-05-31.
Accessed: 2026-05-31