Growing world population

by Jürg Rohrer
2007-03-102019-10-12

One of the major problems for our future is the ever growing number of people living on Earth. We are referring to this in several articles on this site. Below you can find first a graph about the population by geographical area and by year, starting in 1950 until the year 2050.

The second graph shows the population density by geographical area by year, i.e. the number of people living per square kilometre. Further down, we provide lists of the current and predicted population by country. Click on one of the links below to jump directly to a list or graph:

Data source is the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/). Data last updated 08-24-2006.

World population by geographical area from 1950 to 2050

Population density by year and by geographical area:

Population by country for 2007 and 2050 (alphabetical order)

	2007	2050
Afghanistan	31'889'923	81'933'479
Albania	3'600'523	4'016'945
Algeria	33'333'216	43'983'870
American Samoa	57'663	35'129
Andorra	71'822	69'129
Angola	12'263'596	24'746'652
Anguilla	13'677	15'921
Antigua and Barbuda	69'481	69'259
Argentina	40'301'927	48'740'060
Armenia	2'971'650	2'943'441
Aruba	72'194	69'990
Australia	20'434'176	24'175'783
Austria	8'199'783	7'520'950
Azerbaijan	8'120'247	9'955'428
Bahamas, The	305'655	324'052
Bahrain	708'573	973'412
Bangladesh	150'448'339	279'955'405
Barbados	280'946	274'523
Belarus	9'724'723	7'738'613
Belgium	10'392'226	9'882'599
Belize	294'385	541'734
Benin	8'078'314	16'356'458
Bermuda	66'163	66'025
Bhutan	2'327'849	4'653'447
Bolivia	9'119'152	13'772'819
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4'552'198	3'891'669
Botswana	1'639'131	1'411'662
Brazil	190'010'647	228'426'737
Brunei	386'511	600'998
Bulgaria	7'322'858	4'651'477
Burkina Faso	14'326'203	43'656'786
Burma	47'373'958	54'430'334
Burundi	8'390'505	22'852'556
Cambodia	14'131'858	25'089'909
Cameroon	18'060'382	34'908'839
Canada	33'390'141	41'429'579
Cape Verde	423'613	380'614
Cayman Islands	46'600	90'230
Central African Republic	4'369'038	6'502'151
Chad	10'238'807	29'547'665
Chile	16'284'741	19'244'843
China	1'321'851'888	1'424'161'948
Colombia	44'227'550	64'534'230
Comoros	710'960	1'835'099
Congo (Brazzaville)	3'800'610	9'618'358
Congo (Kinshasa)	64'606'759	183'177'415
Cook Islands	21'750	24'930
Costa Rica	4'133'884	5'696'700
Cote d'Ivoire	18'013'409	32'400'664
Croatia	4'493'312	3'864'201
Cuba	11'416'987	10'477'677
Cyprus	788'457	841'102
Czech Republic	10'228'744	8'540'221
Denmark	5'468'120	5'575'147
Djibouti	496'374	993'011
Dominica	68'925	81'961
Dominican Republic	9'365'818	14'657'962
East Timor	1'084'971	1'942'734
Ecuador	13'755'680	20'332'088
Egypt	80'264'543	126'920'512
El Salvador	6'939'688	12'039'149
Equatorial Guinea	551'201	1'063'071
Eritrea	4'906'585	10'164'076
Estonia	1'315'912	861'913
Ethiopia	76'511'887	144'716'331
Faroe Islands	47'511	53'050
Fiji	918'675	1'447'573
Finland	5'238'460	4'819'615
France	61'083'916	61'017'122
French Guiana	203'321	317'377
French Polynesia	278'633	390'581
Gabon	1'454'867	3'221'749
Gambia, The	1'688'359	4'068'861
Gaza Strip	1'482'405	4'209'026
Georgia	4'646'003	3'784'724
Germany	82'400'996	73'607'121
Ghana	22'931'299	38'735'638
Gibraltar	27'967	25'617
Greece	10'706'290	10'035'935
Greenland	56'344	56'644
Grenada	89'971	87'136
Guadeloupe	456'698	528'062
Guam	173'456	242'692
Guatemala	12'728'111	22'995'434
Guernsey	65'573	60'606
Guinea	9'947'814	28'713'509
Guinea-Bissau	1'472'041	2'895'666
Guyana	769'095	597'806
Haiti	8'706'497	19'807'275
Honduras	7'483'763	12'641'869
Hong Kong S.A.R.	6'980'412	6'172'725
Hungary	9'956'108	8'374'619
Iceland	301'931	350'922
India	1'129'866'154	1'807'878'574
Indonesia	234'693'997	313'020'847
Iran	65'397'521	81'490'039
Iraq	27'499'638	56'360'779
Ireland	4'109'086	5'396'215
Isle of Man	75'831	80'131
Israel	6'426'679	8'516'835
Italy	58'147'733	50'389'841
Jamaica	2'780'132	3'499'068
Japan	127'467'972	99'886'568
Jersey	91'321	84'077
Jordan	6'053'193	11'772'789
Kazakhstan	15'284'929	15'099'700
Kenya	36'913'721	65'175'864
Kiribati	107'817	235'342
Korea, North	23'301'725	26'363'688
Korea, South	49'044'790	45'224'224
Kuwait	2'505'559	6'374'800
Kyrgyzstan	5'284'149	8'237'623
Laos	6'521'998	13'176'153
Latvia	2'259'810	1'544'073
Lebanon	3'921'278	4'940'731
Lesotho	2'012'649	1'448'643
Liberia	3'193'942	7'072'402
Libya	6'036'914	10'817'176
Liechtenstein	34'247	35'776
Lithuania	3'575'439	2'787'516
Luxembourg	480'222	720'603
Macau S.A.R.	456'989	487'488
Macedonia	2'055'915	1'990'728
Madagascar	19'448'815	56'513'827
Malawi	13'603'181	29'820'957
Malaysia	24'821'286	43'122'397
Maldives	369'031	815'031
Mali	11'995'402	40'002'414
Malta	401'880	395'639
Marshall Islands	61'782	102'761
Martinique	439'202	478'627
Mauritania	3'270'065	8'635'801
Mauritius	1'250'882	1'451'156
Mayotte	208'807	592'627
Mexico	108'700'891	147'907'650
Micronesia, Federated States of	107'862	74'296
Moldova	4'320'490	3'620'416
Monaco	32'671	32'964
Mongolia	2'874'127	4'086'025
Montenegro	684'736	577'654
Montserrat	9'538	11'908
Morocco	33'757'175	50'871'553
Mozambique	20'905'585	41'842'274
Namibia	2'055'080	1'795'852
Nauru	13'528	22'696
Nepal	28'901'790	53'293'874
Netherlands	16'570'613	17'334'090
Netherlands Antilles	223'472	252'578
New Caledonia	221'943	290'682
New Zealand	4'115'771	4'842'397
Nicaragua	5'675'356	9'437'504
Niger	12'894'865	34'419'502
Nigeria	135'031'164	356'523'597
Northern Mariana Islands	84'546	143'132
Norway	4'627'926	4'966'385
Oman	3'204'897	8'337'734
Pakistan	169'270'617	294'995'104
Palau	20'842	26'300
Panama	3'242'173	5'038'122
Papua New Guinea	5'795'887	10'670'394
Paraguay	6'667'147	14'635'743
Peru	28'674'757	38'300'067
Philippines	91'077'287	147'630'852
Poland	38'518'241	32'084'570
Portugal	10'642'836	9'933'334
Puerto Rico	3'944'259	3'770'496
Qatar	907'229	1'239'216
Reunion	798'094	1'132'283
Romania	22'276'056	18'678'226
Russia	141'377'752	109'187'353
Rwanda	9'907'509	25'128'735
Saint Helena	7'543	7'247
Saint Kitts and Nevis	39'349	52'348
Saint Lucia	170'649	235'420
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	7'036	6'355
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	118'149	92'335
Samoa	176'615	170'739
San Marino	29'615	35'335
Sao Tome and Principe	199'579	502'489
Saudi Arabia	27'601'038	49'706'851
Senegal	12'521'851	27'519'852
Serbia	10'150'265	9'274'767
Seychelles	81'895	89'713
Sierra Leone	6'144'562	13'998'936
Singapore	4'553'009	4'635'110
Slovakia	5'447'502	4'943'616
Slovenia	2'009'245	1'596'947
Solomon Islands	566'842	1'110'514
Somalia	9'118'773	25'499'605
South Africa	43'997'828	33'002'952
Spain	40'448'191	35'564'293
Sri Lanka	20'926'315	24'920'558
Sudan	42'292'929	84'192'309
Suriname	470'784	617'249
Swaziland	1'133'066	751'328
Sweden	9'031'088	9'084'788
Switzerland	7'554'661	7'296'092
Syria	19'314'747	34'437'235
Taiwan	23'174'294	23'203'650
Tajikistan	7'076'598	12'132'365
Tanzania	38'139'640	71'949'135
Thailand	65'068'149	69'268'817
Togo	5'701'579	14'714'623
Tonga	116'921	188'340
Trinidad and Tobago	1'056'608	622'011
Tunisia	10'276'158	12'462'798
Turkey	71'158'647	86'473'786
Turkmenistan	5'136'262	9'626'193
Turks and Caicos Islands	21'746	42'384
Tuvalu	11'992	20'018
Uganda	30'262'610	128'007'514
Ukraine	46'299'862	33'573'842
United Arab Emirates	2'642'566	3'696'962
United Kingdom	60'776'238	63'977'435
United States	301'139'947	420'080'587
Uruguay	3'447'496	3'728'264
Uzbekistan	27'780'059	48'597'111
Vanuatu	211'971	310'486
Venezuela	26'084'662	37'106'394
Vietnam	85'262'356	107'772'641
Virgin Islands	108'448	103'303
Virgin Islands, British	23'552	34'038
Wallis and Futuna	16'309	20'434
West Bank	2'535'927	5'580'321
Western Sahara	382'617	996'674
Yemen	22'211'743	71'119'251
Zambia	11'477'447	18'435'053
Zimbabwe	12'311'143	12'221'257

Population by country for 2007 and 2050 (ordered by population in 2050)

	2007	2050
India	1'129'866'154	1'807'878'574
China	1'321'851'888	1'424'161'948
United States	301'139'947	420'080'587
Nigeria	135'031'164	356'523'597
Indonesia	234'693'997	313'020'847
Pakistan	169'270'617	294'995'104
Bangladesh	150'448'339	279'955'405
Brazil	190'010'647	228'426'737
Congo (Kinshasa)	64'606'759	183'177'415
Mexico	108'700'891	147'907'650
Philippines	91'077'287	147'630'852
Ethiopia	76'511'887	144'716'331
Uganda	30'262'610	128'007'514
Egypt	80'264'543	126'920'512
Russia	141'377'752	109'187'353
Vietnam	85'262'356	107'772'641
Japan	127'467'972	99'886'568
Turkey	71'158'647	86'473'786
Sudan	42'292'929	84'192'309
Afghanistan	31'889'923	81'933'479
Iran	65'397'521	81'490'039
Germany	82'400'996	73'607'121
Tanzania	38'139'640	71'949'135
Yemen	22'211'743	71'119'251
Thailand	65'068'149	69'268'817
Kenya	36'913'721	65'175'864
Colombia	44'227'550	64'534'230
United Kingdom	60'776'238	63'977'435
France	61'083'916	61'017'122
Madagascar	19'448'815	56'513'827
Iraq	27'499'638	56'360'779
Burma	47'373'958	54'430'334
Nepal	28'901'790	53'293'874
Morocco	33'757'175	50'871'553
Italy	58'147'733	50'389'841
Saudi Arabia	27'601'038	49'706'851
Argentina	40'301'927	48'740'060
Uzbekistan	27'780'059	48'597'111
Korea, South	49'044'790	45'224'224
Algeria	33'333'216	43'983'870
Burkina Faso	14'326'203	43'656'786
Malaysia	24'821'286	43'122'397
Mozambique	20'905'585	41'842'274
Canada	33'390'141	41'429'579
Mali	11'995'402	40'002'414
Ghana	22'931'299	38'735'638
Peru	28'674'757	38'300'067
Venezuela	26'084'662	37'106'394
Spain	40'448'191	35'564'293
Cameroon	18'060'382	34'908'839
Syria	19'314'747	34'437'235
Niger	12'894'865	34'419'502
Ukraine	46'299'862	33'573'842
South Africa	43'997'828	33'002'952
Cote d'Ivoire	18'013'409	32'400'664
Poland	38'518'241	32'084'570
Malawi	13'603'181	29'820'957
Chad	10'238'807	29'547'665
Guinea	9'947'814	28'713'509
Senegal	12'521'851	27'519'852
Korea, North	23'301'725	26'363'688
Somalia	9'118'773	25'499'605
Rwanda	9'907'509	25'128'735
Cambodia	14'131'858	25'089'909
Sri Lanka	20'926'315	24'920'558
Angola	12'263'596	24'746'652
Australia	20'434'176	24'175'783
Taiwan	23'174'294	23'203'650
Guatemala	12'728'111	22'995'434
Burundi	8'390'505	22'852'556
Ecuador	13'755'680	20'332'088
Haiti	8'706'497	19'807'275
Chile	16'284'741	19'244'843
Romania	22'276'056	18'678'226
Zambia	11'477'447	18'435'053
Netherlands	16'570'613	17'334'090
Benin	8'078'314	16'356'458
Kazakhstan	15'284'929	15'099'700
Togo	5'701'579	14'714'623
Dominican Republic	9'365'818	14'657'962
Paraguay	6'667'147	14'635'743
Sierra Leone	6'144'562	13'998'936
Bolivia	9'119'152	13'772'819
Laos	6'521'998	13'176'153
Honduras	7'483'763	12'641'869
Tunisia	10'276'158	12'462'798
Zimbabwe	12'311'143	12'221'257
Tajikistan	7'076'598	12'132'365
El Salvador	6'939'688	12'039'149
Jordan	6'053'193	11'772'789
Libya	6'036'914	10'817'176
Papua New Guinea	5'795'887	10'670'394
Cuba	11'416'987	10'477'677
Eritrea	4'906'585	10'164'076
Greece	10'706'290	10'035'935
Azerbaijan	8'120'247	9'955'428
Portugal	10'642'836	9'933'334
Belgium	10'392'226	9'882'599
Turkmenistan	5'136'262	9'626'193
Congo (Brazzaville)	3'800'610	9'618'358
Nicaragua	5'675'356	9'437'504
Serbia	10'150'265	9'274'767
Sweden	9'031'088	9'084'788
Mauritania	3'270'065	8'635'801
Czech Republic	10'228'744	8'540'221
Israel	6'426'679	8'516'835
Hungary	9'956'108	8'374'619
Oman	3'204'897	8'337'734
Kyrgyzstan	5'284'149	8'237'623
Belarus	9'724'723	7'738'613
Austria	8'199'783	7'520'950
Switzerland	7'554'661	7'296'092
Liberia	3'193'942	7'072'402
Central African Republic	4'369'038	6'502'151
Kuwait	2'505'559	6'374'800
Hong Kong S.A.R.	6'980'412	6'172'725
Costa Rica	4'133'884	5'696'700
West Bank	2'535'927	5'580'321
Denmark	5'468'120	5'575'147
Ireland	4'109'086	5'396'215
Panama	3'242'173	5'038'122
Norway	4'627'926	4'966'385
Slovakia	5'447'502	4'943'616
Lebanon	3'921'278	4'940'731
New Zealand	4'115'771	4'842'397
Finland	5'238'460	4'819'615
Bhutan	2'327'849	4'653'447
Bulgaria	7'322'858	4'651'477
Singapore	4'553'009	4'635'110
Gaza Strip	1'482'405	4'209'026
Mongolia	2'874'127	4'086'025
Gambia, The	1'688'359	4'068'861
Albania	3'600'523	4'016'945
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4'552'198	3'891'669
Croatia	4'493'312	3'864'201
Georgia	4'646'003	3'784'724
Puerto Rico	3'944'259	3'770'496
Uruguay	3'447'496	3'728'264
United Arab Emirates	2'642'566	3'696'962
Moldova	4'320'490	3'620'416
Jamaica	2'780'132	3'499'068
Gabon	1'454'867	3'221'749
Armenia	2'971'650	2'943'441
Guinea-Bissau	1'472'041	2'895'666
Lithuania	3'575'439	2'787'516
Macedonia	2'055'915	1'990'728
East Timor	1'084'971	1'942'734
Comoros	710'960	1'835'099
Namibia	2'055'080	1'795'852
Slovenia	2'009'245	1'596'947
Latvia	2'259'810	1'544'073
Mauritius	1'250'882	1'451'156
Lesotho	2'012'649	1'448'643
Fiji	918'675	1'447'573
Botswana	1'639'131	1'411'662
Qatar	907'229	1'239'216
Reunion	798'094	1'132'283
Solomon Islands	566'842	1'110'514
Equatorial Guinea	551'201	1'063'071
Western Sahara	382'617	996'674
Djibouti	496'374	993'011
Bahrain	708'573	973'412
Estonia	1'315'912	861'913
Cyprus	788'457	841'102
Maldives	369'031	815'031
Swaziland	1'133'066	751'328
Luxembourg	480'222	720'603
Trinidad and Tobago	1'056'608	622'011
Suriname	470'784	617'249
Brunei	386'511	600'998
Guyana	769'095	597'806
Mayotte	208'807	592'627
Montenegro	684'736	577'654
Belize	294'385	541'734
Guadeloupe	456'698	528'062
Sao Tome and Principe	199'579	502'489
Macau S.A.R.	456'989	487'488
Martinique	439'202	478'627
Malta	401'880	395'639
French Polynesia	278'633	390'581
Cape Verde	423'613	380'614
Iceland	301'931	350'922
Bahamas, The	305'655	324'052
French Guiana	203'321	317'377
Vanuatu	211'971	310'486
New Caledonia	221'943	290'682
Barbados	280'946	274'523
Netherlands Antilles	223'472	252'578
Guam	173'456	242'692
Saint Lucia	170'649	235'420
Kiribati	107'817	235'342
Tonga	116'921	188'340
Samoa	176'615	170'739
Northern Mariana Islands	84'546	143'132
Virgin Islands	108'448	103'303
Marshall Islands	61'782	102'761
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	118'149	92'335
Cayman Islands	46'600	90'230
Seychelles	81'895	89'713
Grenada	89'971	87'136
Jersey	91'321	84'077
Dominica	68'925	81'961
Isle of Man	75'831	80'131
Micronesia, Federated States of	107'862	74'296
Aruba	72'194	69'990
Antigua and Barbuda	69'481	69'259
Andorra	71'822	69'129
Bermuda	66'163	66'025
Guernsey	65'573	60'606
Greenland	56'344	56'644
Faroe Islands	47'511	53'050
Saint Kitts and Nevis	39'349	52'348
Turks and Caicos Islands	21'746	42'384
Liechtenstein	34'247	35'776
San Marino	29'615	35'335
American Samoa	57'663	35'129
Virgin Islands, British	23'552	34'038
Monaco	32'671	32'964
Palau	20'842	26'300
Gibraltar	27'967	25'617
Cook Islands	21'750	24'930
Nauru	13'528	22'696
Wallis and Futuna	16'309	20'434
Tuvalu	11'992	20'018
Anguilla	13'677	15'921
Montserrat	9'538	11'908
Saint Helena	7'543	7'247
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	7'036	6'355

Ξ Energy efficiency | global warming solutions

8 thoughts on “Growing world population”

Anonymous 2008-02-04 at 05:20
population of China in 2050
I am from China. To my understand, China start one-child policy for the family since 1976. It will bring population downsize after 2020-2030 by my estimation.
I do not know the original source for your data, and would like to share your view.
Karf
Ph.D, Operations Specialist
Operations development group
ABB China Ltd.
1. juerg 2008-02-26 at 18:03
  One-Child policy in China
  Dear Karf,
  The source of the data above is the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/). Data last updated 08-24-2006.
  So the one-child policy in China is certainly taken into account for the above figures. This is the reason why the population of China is estimated to be almost the same in 2007 and 2050.
  Juerg
Anonymous 2009-07-09 at 00:41
Population reduction
You come so close in this excellent paper — but you stop short of recommending reduction of population! Why???
No one says it would be easy, and I have no particular strategy for bringing it about.
But I think your entire exposition would be made more meaningful if you could estimate global temperatures, carbon dioxide atmospheric levels, global carbon dioxide emissions, etc., projecting them decade by decade — but at different levels of world population. Take it back a half billion people at a time, all the way down to two billion people (that’s my personal estimate of where world population should be if we’re to have a “sustainable” civilization).
I have made the same criticism of the IPCC project. They have briefly alluded to the importance of population — but have stopped short of making any recommendations for addressing it. I felt that their SRES computer models could have been tweaked so as to show outcomes varying with different specific levels of world population.
That’s not to say that I don’t agree with all the other measures you recommend. I do. But I’m really skeptical that we’ll ever be successful if we don’t simultaneously bring down world population.
George F. Gitlitz, M.D.
Sarasota, FL
gandsgitlitz@cs.com
1. juerg 2009-07-09 at 09:52
  World population and global warming
  Dear George,
  I agree with what you are saying. This was the reason why we took all the effort to provide a "global warming simulation tool" as a spreadsheet model. For this model, there are 3 parameters you can play with:
  - When to start with the reduction of greenhouse gases
  - Increase or decrease in percent per year of the world-wide average carbon footprint (CO2 emissions per capita)
  - Size of world population (increase or decrease in percent per year)
  At this link, you can download the global warming simulation model as Excel or OpenOffice spreadsheet.
  At this link, you can find some commented results of the global warming simulation model. However the reduction of the world population as you suggested was not taken into account. But if you download the model, you can easily do this yourself.
  Best regards
  Juerg
2. Anonymous 2009-10-28 at 00:39
  Population and Global Warming
  I recently queried a person involved with the IPCC reports with regard to world population vis-a-vis global warming. He sent me a glib answer that human respiration has nothing to do with increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (because it is a closed system– the food eaten was a product of photosynthesis, so the carbon released by human respiration has sort of been paid forward by the plants that died to create the food the human consumed), and basically said case closed! I am no scientist, but that makes no sense to me. Since 1750 the population has increased at a huge rate, and concidentally, so has carbon emissions– almost an identical curve. I believe that human over population has lead to any number of effects. If the globe is warming due to carbon emissions, it seems as or more likely that human population/respiration and yes, burning of fossil fuels taken together are the problem. Fewer people, fewer carbon emissions. I find very few people willing to allow for the continued population increase as the root source for any “global warming” that is not caused by natural cycles, sun spots, etc. Can you comment?
  Jeff
  jeff@mcvickers.net
3. 1. juerg 2009-11-30 at 20:47
    World population increase and climate change
    Jeff,
    The increasing world population is indeed a major problem as stated in the main article above. However it is not really respiration of these people which is causing problems, it is rather the need of these people for food, water, space, energy, etc. The earth cannot sustain an ever increasing number of people with ever increasing demands per capita. The ressources of the earth are limited and so is the number of people it can sustain.
    I think the person you queried misunderstood your question. Probably he or she wanted only point out that global warming has very little to do with respiration of people.
    Juerg
  3. Anonymous 2010-08-11 at 11:29
    What impacts world population increase
    As you fly in a jet place from say one continent to another, take a look through the window and try to comprehend and contemplate the vast uninhabited space of our Earth, even in the most populated countries. It is massive. It simply seems infinite. So, let’s not forget about our incapacities, greed, wars, corruption, destruction and love-of-dominating of others and instead, we put the blame of our mistakes on Earth and its God-given size.
    Allah says (Allah? God? What does He have to do with this you may say now): Corruption is appeared in land and sea as a result of what people “accomplished”. Take a look at our seas. Take a look at our destroyed lands and countries. The destruction and devastation we are currently living are actually the direct impact of the decisions and will of a few, very few, who control the wealth of the world, yet they seem the most hungriest for more. The rest of the population simply seem to them to be overweight that they are better off without.
    They are stupid! They don’t know how to differentiate between fat and life-sustaining matter, us.
    Mohsen Madi
  5. Anonymous 2010-12-24 at 22:15
    What impacts world population increase
    The above graphs indicate a declining European population, maybe there is a link between a populations size and the availability and standard of their populations education?

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