Demographics
Mapped: The Population of India’s States Compared with Countries
The Population of India’s States Compared with Countries
In a world with eight billion people, even the numbers of the largest population centers like China and India can start to lose their impact.
The visualization above looks to give people a different frame of reference to think about the country’s massive population figures.
The Population Breakdown
Similar to other big countries, the gap between India’s largest and smallest states is quite wide.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous country subdivision in the world at 232 million people, while Sikkim, in the northeast of the country, is the least populated state in India (0.7 million).
Here are India’s 28 states and 8 union territories compared to other countries and territories with comparable sizes:
State | Population (2022) | Country | Population (2022) |
---|---|---|---|
Uttar Pradesh | 232M | 🇧🇷 Brazil + 🇪🇨 Ecuador | 234M |
Bihar | 129M | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 132M |
Maharashtra | 125M | 🇯🇵 Japan | 126M |
West Bengal | 101M | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 107M |
Madhya Pradesh | 85M | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 87M |
Tamil Nadu | 84M | 🇩🇪 Germany | 84M |
Rajasthan | 80M | 🇺🇦 Ukraine + 🇵🇱 Poland | 81M |
Gujarat | 70M | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 70M |
Karnataka | 70M | 🇬🇧 UK | 69M |
Andhra Pradesh | 54M | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | 55M |
Odisha | 47M | 🇪🇸 Spain | 47M |
Jharkhand | 40M | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 42M |
Telangana | 38M | 🇲🇾 Malaysia + 🇸🇬 Singapore | 39M |
Assam | 36M | 🇨🇦 Canada | 39M |
Kerala | 35M | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 36M |
Chhattisgarh | 32M | 🇵🇪 Peru | 34M |
Punjab | 31M | 🇦🇺 Australia + 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 31M |
Haryana | 29M | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 28M |
Delhi | 19M | 🇷🇴 Romania | 19M |
Jammu and Kashmir | 15M | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 15M |
Uttarakhand | 12M | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | 12M |
Himachal Pradesh | 7.5M | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 7.6M |
Tripura | 4.2M | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 4.0M |
Meghalaya | 3.8M | 🇪🇷 Eritrea | 3.7M |
Manipur | 3.4M | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 3.5M |
Nagaland | 2.1M | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 2.1M |
Puducherry | 1.6M | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 1.8M |
Arunachal Pradesh | 1.7M | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 1.8M |
Goa | 1.5M | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | 1.5M |
Mizoram | 1.3M | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 1.3M |
Chandigarh | 1.2M | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 1.3M |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu | 0.8M | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 0.8M |
Sikkim | 0.7M | 🇲🇴 Macao | 0.7M |
Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 0.4M | 🇧🇸 Bahamas | 0.4M |
Lakshadweep | 0.07M | 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands | 0.07M |
Hypothetically, if India’s states were to all became countries today, they would take up half the spots in a ranking of the world’s top 20 most populous countries.
A number of Indian states match up evenly against some very large countries, including Maharashtra (Japan), West Bengal (Egypt), and Tamil Nadu (Germany). Of course, the largest is Uttar Pradesh (Brazil+Chile), which also happens to measure up to neighboring Pakistan.
For people living in countries such as Canada or Australia, it may be humbling to know that these countries are equal to a smallish Indian state.
The Big Get Bigger
According to United Nations projections, India is on track to become the most populous country in the world in 2023.
The population of India’s growth is fueled by several factors, including declining mortality rates, increased life expectancy, and high birth rates. While India’s population growth has slowed in recent years due to factors such as urbanization and increasing access to contraception, the country’s population is still expected to continue growing at a significant rate for the foreseeable future.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Population projections for India are from indiacensus.net. Population figures for comparison countries are from the UN’s World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision (medium-fertility variant), accessed via Worldometers‘ live tracker. All population figures shown are 2022 projections.
Data note: Because there are only so many countries, the populations of comparison countries may not perfectly match that of the various Indian states and union territories. Numbers are rounded.
Map note: A number of borders and regions in India are disputed with other countries. Our depiction of borders is a good faith, apolitical attempt at reflecting the “de facto” situation in each region.
Demographics
Charted: The World’s Working Poor, by Country (1991-2021)
This graphic shows the regional breakdown of the world’s working poor, and how this demographic has changed since 1995.

Charting Three Decades of the World’s Working Poor
Poverty is often associated with unemployment—however, millions of working people around the world are living in what’s considered to be extreme poverty, or less than $1.90 per day.
Thankfully, the world’s population of poor workers has decreased substantially over the last few decades. But how exactly has it changed since 1991, and where is the majority of the working poor population living today?
This graphic by Gilbert Fontana uses data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to show the regional breakdown of the world’s working poor, and how this demographic has changed in the last few decades.
From Asia to Africa
In 1991, about 808 million employed people were living in extreme poverty, or nearly 15% of the global population at the time.
As the graphic above shows, a majority of this population lived in Eastern Asia, most notably in China, which was the world’s most populous country until only very recently.
However, thanks to China’s economic reforms, and political reforms like the National “8-7” Poverty Reduction Plan, millions of people in the country were lifted out of poverty.
Today, Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the world’s highest concentration of working poor. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the region and zoom in on select countries.
Zooming in on Sub-Saharan Africa
As of 2021, 11 of the 49 countries that make up Sub-Saharan Africa had a working poverty rate that made up over half their population.
Here’s a look at these 11 countries, and the percentage of their working population that lives in extreme poverty:
Rank | Country | Working Poverty Rate (% of total population) |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇧🇮 Burundi | 79% |
2 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 76% |
3 | 🇨🇩 DR Condo | 69% |
4 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | 65% |
5 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 63% |
6 | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | 61% |
7 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | 61% |
8 | 🇨🇬 Congo | 59% |
9 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 56% |
10 | 🇦🇴 Angola | 52% |
11 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | 51% |
Burundi is first on the list, with 79% of its working population living below the poverty line. One reason for this is the country’s struggling economy—Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita of any country in the world.
Because of the economic conditions in the country, many people struggle to meet their basic needs. For instance, it’s estimated that 40% of urban dwellers in Burundi don’t have access to safe drinking water.
But Burundi is not alone, with other countries like Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also having more than two-thirds of their working population in extreme poverty. Which countries will be able to able to lift their people out of poverty next?
-
Misc4 days ago
Visualizing the Odds of Dying from Various Accidents
-
Energy2 weeks ago
The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns (2013-2022)
-
Technology1 day ago
Infographic: 11 Tech Trends to Watch in 2023
-
Misc4 weeks ago
Infographic: The Longest Lasting Cars, in Miles
-
Politics2 weeks ago
Which Countries are the Most Polarized?
-
Energy10 hours ago
Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production
-
Markets4 weeks ago
The U.S. Stock Market: Best and Worst Performing Sectors in 2022
-
Energy2 weeks ago
Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing (2022-2027P)