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Mapping Asia’s Population Change Over Three Decades (1990–2023)

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Mapping Asia’s Population Change Over Three Decades

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More than 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, home to 4.2 billion people and some of the world’s densest cities. But has this always been the case?

This map visualizes the relative population change in each Asian country between 1990 and 2023. Data for this graphic is sourced from the UN’s World Population Prospects 2024, and all figures are rounded.

Ranked: Asian Countries by Population Growth (1990–2023)

Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, are some of the leaders among Asian countries with the highest population growth since 1990. The Gulf region has seen an influx of foreign workers since the 1970s oil shock. Subsequent economic diversification into manufacturing, construction, and tourism created jobs that nationals were less likely to do, leading to immigrants from neighboring South Asia to fill the gaps.

RankCountry% Change
(1990–2023)
2023 Population
(Thousands)
1🇶🇦 Qatar5372,979
2🇦🇪 UAE39810,642
3🇦🇫 Afghanistan22441,455
4🇯🇴 Jordan20011,439
5🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia19133,264
6🇧🇭 Bahrain1881,570
7🇾🇪 Yemen18439,391
8🇰🇼 Kuwait1614,839
9🇴🇲 Oman1565,049
10🇮🇶 Iraq14045,074
11🇵🇸 Palestine1375,409
12🇰🇭 Cambodia12717,424
13🇲🇻 Maldives123526
14🇵🇰 Pakistan102247,504
15🇮🇱 Israel949,256
16🇲🇾 Malaysia9035,126
17🇲🇴 Macao89714
18🇸🇬 Singapore855,789
19🇹🇲 Turkmenistan857,364
20🇹🇯 Tajikistan8110,390
21🇵🇭 Philippines78114,891
22🇧🇳 Brunei75459
23🇹🇱 Timor-Leste741,384
24🇱🇦 Laos707,665
25🇸🇾 Syria6723,595
26🇨🇾 Cyprus651,345
27🇺🇿 Uzbekistan6435,652
28🇮🇳 India621,438,070
29🇱🇧 Lebanon595,773
30🇹🇷 Türkiye5487,271
31🇲🇳 Mongolia523,432
32🇮🇷 Iran5090,609
33🇮🇩 Indonesia50281,190
34🇻🇳 Vietnam50100,352
35🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan497,074
36🇧🇩 Bangladesh49171,467
37🇳🇵 Nepal4829,695
38🇦🇿 Azerbaijan4110,318
39🇱🇰 Sri Lanka3822,972
40🇭🇰 Hong Kong357,443
41🇲🇲 Myanmar3354,134
42🇹🇭 Thailand3171,702
43🇧🇹 Bhutan31786
44🇰🇵 North Korea2426,418
45🇨🇳 China241,422,585
46🇰🇷 South Korea1851,749
47🇹🇼 Taiwan1523,317
48🇰🇿 Kazakhstan1420,330
49🇯🇵 Japan2124,371
50🇦🇲 Armenia-192,943
51🇬🇪 Georgia-303,807

However, how these workers have been treated has led to several investigations into human rights abuses. Some estimations said nearly 4,000 migrants died during the construction of soccer (football) stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.

Zooming out, nearly every Asian country added significantly to their residents in the last three decades. This includes some of the world’s most populous countries like India (+62%), China (+24%), Indonesia (+50%), and Pakistan (+102%).

In fact India overtook China as the most populous country in 2023, and though both countries’ birth rates have been falling for decades, India’s population will continue to grow at a slower rate. Meanwhile, China’s has already begun to shrink.

Finally, only Armenia and Georgia—two transcontinental countries—saw their population declines in this time period. Conflict is the primary reason, leading to economic repercussions, in turn fueling an exodus of people.

The Upsides and Downsides of Large Populations

Asia’s economic growth, particularly in China and India, has been fueled by this surging demand for goods and services. In fact, the continent now has the highest share of world GDP (36%), eclipsing second-largest North America (31%) by five percentage points.

At the same time, many parts of the continent are still struggling with food insecurity, poverty, and civil strife. Persistently high youth unemployment also signals that creating jobs for just a large populace remains a big challenge.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Wondering what this map looks like for other regions in the world? Check out Mapped: Population Change in the Americas (1990–2023) for a similar breakdown.

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