Markets
This Map Shows the Most Extreme Comparison of Population Density We’ve Seen
You may have heard that the majority of the world’s population actually lives within a relatively small circle that covers China, India, Japan, and other parts of Southeast Asia.
That’s a pretty extreme example of population density – but here’s one that is even more impressive.
It’s quite simple actually: it compares parts of the most expansive regions (Canada, Russia, non-coastal USA, Greenland, Australia, and others) with a tiny chunk of land that holds close to 400 million people.
An Extreme Comparison of Population Density
The following image comes to us from Metrocosm, the website of data visualization expert Max Galka.
Bangladesh and three provinces in India, which are highlighted in red, take up just 160,000 sq. mi (415,000 sq. km) – that’s smaller than California. Together they hold more population than all of the blue territories on the map.
That’s right, the blue area contains the entirety of many significant countries, such as Canada, Australia, Norway, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia. The blue even includes parts of China, the United States, and most of Russia.
Getting More Extreme
Here’s the kicker – the disparity is only getting more intense. Take a look at the following map of the fastest growing cities, showing the rate of new citizens per hour:
Dhaka, the largest city in Bangladesh, is one of the fastest growing cities in the world with a growth rate of 74 people per hour. Kolkata (India) is also up there, adding 32 citizens every hour.
Meanwhile, the cities within the blue area of the original map do not have the same kind of growth happening at all.
For the Numbers Geeks
Here are the original calculations, from Metrocosm, for the blue and red areas of the original map in case you are interested. It’s worth noting that the data was retrieved in 2015, so it is slightly out of date.
The “Blue” Regions
Jurisdiction | Region | Population |
---|---|---|
Canada | All | 35,010,000 |
Saudi Arabia | All | 28,123,000 |
Australia | All | 22,280,000 |
Russia | Siberian Federal District | 19,254,300 |
Niger | All | 18,124,000 |
Kazakhstan | All | 16,137,000 |
Mali | All | 14,478,000 |
Zambia | All | 14,440,000 |
Russia | Northwestern Federal District | 13,583,800 |
Chad | All | 12,620,000 |
Russia | Ural Federal District | 12,082,700 |
Bolivia | All | 10,610,000 |
Somalia | All | 10,295,000 |
Sweden | All | 9,437,000 |
Brazil | Pará | 8,073,924 |
Papua New Guinea | All | 7,440,000 |
Paraguay | All | 6,844,000 |
Russia | Far Eastern Federal District | 6,291,900 |
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | All | 5,918,217 |
China | Qinghai | 5,626,722 |
Turkmenistan | All | 5,411,000 |
Finland | All | 5,408,000 |
Norway | All | 4,985,000 |
Ireland | All | 4,804,000 |
New Zealand | All | 4,436,000 |
Central African Republic | All | 4,191,429 |
Brazil | Amazonas | 3,873,743 |
Mauritania | All | 3,623,000 |
Republic of the Congo | All | 3,609,851 |
Uruguay | All | 3,412,000 |
Brazil | Mato Grosso | 3,224,357 |
Lithuania | All | 3,173,000 |
Oman | All | 3,110,000 |
China | Tibet | 3,002,166 |
United States | Utah | 2,942,902 |
United States | Kansas | 2,904,021 |
Mongolia | All | 2,809,000 |
Brazil | Mato Grosso do Sul | 2,619,657 |
Namibia | All | 2,352,000 |
Latvia | All | 2,210,000 |
Botswana | All | 2,068,000 |
United States | Nebraska | 1,881,503 |
Brazil | Rondônia | 1,748,531 |
Argentina | Mendoza | 1,741,610 |
United States | Idaho | 1,634,464 |
Gabon | All | 1,597,000 |
Brazil | Tocantins | 1,496,880 |
Estonia | All | 1,338,000 |
Argentina | Salta | 1,215,207 |
Argentina | Chaco | 1,053,466 |
United States | Montana | 1,023,579 |
Argentina | Corrientes | 993,338 |
Cyprus | All | 911,000 |
Argentina | Santiago del Estero | 896,461 |
United States | South Dakota | 853,175 |
Fiji | All | 828,046 |
Brazil | Acre | 790,101 |
Guyana | All | 757,000 |
Brazil | Amapá | 750,912 |
United States | North Dakota | 739,482 |
United States | Alaska | 736,732 |
Argentina | San Juan | 680,427 |
Argentina | Jujuy | 672,260 |
Argentina | Río Negro | 633,374 |
Greece | Crete | 620,000 |
United States | Wyoming | 584,153 |
Argentina | Neuquén | 550,334 |
Suriname | All | 540,000 |
Argentina | Formosa | 527,895 |
Western Sahara | All | 507,160 |
Argentina | Chubut | 506,668 |
Brazil | Roraima | 496,936 |
Solomon Islands | All | 472,419 |
Argentina | San Luis | 431,588 |
Argentina | Catamarca | 367,820 |
Bahamas | All | 360,000 |
Iceland | All | 347,000 |
Belize | All | 335,000 |
Argentina | La Rioja | 331,847 |
France | Corsica | 322,000 |
Argentina | La Pampa | 316,940 |
Argentina | Santa Cruz | 272,524 |
Vanuatu | All | 267,000 |
New Caledonia | All | 266,000 |
French Guiana | All | 250,377 |
Guam | All | 165,124 |
Chile | Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena | 159,152 |
Argentina | Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur | 126,190 |
Micronesia | All | 103,549 |
Kiribati | All | 102,351 |
Chile | Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo | 98,413 |
Greenland | All | 57,475 |
Northern Mariana Islands | All | 53,855 |
Galapagos | All | 25,000 |
Palau | All | 20,918 |
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | All | 3,000 |
Svalbard | All | 2,642 |
Norfolk Island | All | 2,169 |
French Southern and Antarctic Lands | All | 0 |
South Georgia South Sandwich Islands | All | 0 |
The “Red” Regions
Jurisdiction | Region | Population |
---|---|---|
Bangladesh | All | 172,019,000 |
India | Bihar | 99,000,000 |
India | West Bengal | 90,320,000 |
India | Jharkhand | 32,000,000 |
Mining
Ranked: The World’s Top Diamond Mining Countries, by Carats and Value
Who are the leaders in rough diamond production and how much is their diamond output worth?

Ranked: World Diamond Mining By Country, Carat, and Value
Only 22 countries in the world engage in rough diamond production—also known as uncut, raw or natural diamonds—mining for them from deposits within their territories.
This chart, by Sam Parker illustrates the leaders in rough diamond production by weight and value. It uses data from Kimberly Process (an international certification organization) along with estimates by Dr. Ashok Damarupurshad, a precious metals and diamond specialist in South Africa.
Rough Diamond Production, By Weight
Russia takes the top spot as the world’s largest rough diamond producer, mining close to 42 million carats in 2022, well ahead of its peers.
Russia’s large lead over second-place Botswana (24.8 million carats) and third-ranked Canada (16.2 million carats) indicates that the country’s diamond production is circumventing sanctions due to the difficulties in tracing a diamond’s origin.
Here’s a quick breakdown of rough diamond production in the world.
Rank | Country | Rough Diamond Production (Carats) |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 41,923,910 |
2 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 24,752,967 |
3 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 16,249,218 |
4 | 🇨🇩 DRC | 9,908,998 |
5 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 9,660,233 |
6 | 🇦🇴 Angola | 8,763,309 |
7 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 4,461,450 |
8 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 2,054,227 |
9 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | 727,737 |
10 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | 688,970 |
11 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 375,533 |
12 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 158,420 |
13 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 128,771 |
14 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 118,044 |
15 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 83,382 |
16 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 82,500 |
17 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | 52,165 |
18 | 🇨🇮 Cote D'Ivoire | 3,904 |
19 | 🇨🇬 Republic of Congo | 3,534 |
20 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 2,431 |
21 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 1,665 |
22 | 🇲🇱 Mali | 92 |
Total | 120,201,460 |
Note: South Africa’s figures are estimated.
As with most other resources, (oil, gold, uranium), rough diamond production is distributed unequally. The top 10 rough diamond producing countries by weight account for 99.2% of all rough diamonds mined in 2022.
Diamond Mining, by Country
However, higher carat mined doesn’t necessarily mean better value for the diamond. Other factors like the cut, color, and clarity also influence a diamond’s value.
Here’s a quick breakdown of diamond production by value (USD) in 2022.
Rank | Country | Rough Diamond Value (USD) |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | $4,975M |
2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | $3,553M |
3 | 🇦🇴 Angola | $1,965M |
4 | 🇨🇦 Canada | $1,877M |
5 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | $1,538M |
6 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | $1,234M |
7 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | $424M |
8 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | $314M |
9 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | $143M |
10 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | $110M |
11 | 🇨🇩 DRC | $65M |
12 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | $30M |
13 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | $18M |
14 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | $15M |
15 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | $14M |
16 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | $6M |
17 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | $3M |
18 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | $0.25M |
19 | 🇨🇬 Republic of Congo | $0.20M |
20 | 🇨🇮 Cote D'Ivoire | $0.16M |
21 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | $0.10M |
22 | 🇲🇱 Mali | $0.06M |
Total | $16,290M |
Note: South Africa’s figures are estimated. Furthermore, numbers have been rounded and may not sum to the total.
Thus, even though Botswana only produced 59% of Russia’s diamond weight in 2022, it had a trade value of nearly $5 billion, approximately 1.5 times higher than Russia’s for the same year.
Another example is Angola, which is ranked 6th in diamond production, but 3rd in diamond value.
Both countries (as well as South Africa, Canada, and Namibia) produce gem-quality rough diamonds versus countries like Russia and the DRC whose diamonds are produced mainly for industrial use.
Which Regions Produce the Most Diamonds in 2022?
Unsurprisingly, Africa is the largest rough diamond producing region, accounting for 51% of output by weight, and 66% by value.
Rank | Region | Share of Rough Diamond Production (%) | Share of Rough Diamond Value (%) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Africa | 51.4% | 66.4% |
2 | Europe | 34.9% | 32.9% |
3 | North America | 13.5% | 52.8% |
4 | South America | 0.2% | 2.4% |
However diamond mining in Africa is a relatively recent phenomenon, fewer than 200 years old. Diamonds had been discovered—and prized—as far back as 2,000 years ago in India, later on spreading west to Egyptian pharaohs and the Roman Empire.
By the start of the 20th century, diamond production on a large scale took off: first in South Africa, and decades later in other African countries. In fact between 1889–1959, Africa produced 98% of the world’s diamonds.
And in the latter half of the 20th century, the term blood diamond evolved from diamonds mined in African conflict zones used to finance insurgency or crime.
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