population
Visualized: The World’s Population at 8 Billion
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Visualized: The World’s Population at 8 Billion
At some point in late 2022, the eight billionth human being will enter the world, ushering in a new milestone for humanity.
In just 48 years, the world population has doubled in size, jumping from four to eight billion. Of course, humans are not equally spread throughout the planet, and countries take all shapes and sizes. The visualizations in this article aim to build context on how the eight billion people are distributed around the world.
For extended coverage of this moment and what it means to the world, you can get access to our full report and webinar by signing up to VC+, our premium newsletter.
Now, here’s a look at each country’s population as of September 2022:
Global Rank | Country/Region | Population (2022) |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇨🇳 China | 1,451,832,064 |
2 | 🇮🇳 India | 1,410,982,243 |
3 | 🇺🇸 United States | 335,391,957 |
4 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 280,139,383 |
5 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 230,918,073 |
6 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 218,243,241 |
7 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 215,986,577 |
8 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 168,436,792 |
9 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 146,074,130 |
10 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 132,030,739 |
11 | Japan | 125,619,457 |
12 | Ethiopia | 121,709,461 |
13 | Philippines | 112,939,493 |
14 | Egypt | 106,839,825 |
15 | Vietnam | 98,311,965 |
16 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 96,104,525 |
17 | Iran | 86,465,398 |
16 | Turkey | 86,415,852 |
19 | Germany | 84,385,892 |
20 | Thailand | 70,192,866 |
21 | United Kingdom | 68,691,253 |
22 | France | 65,597,276 |
23 | Tanzania | 63,802,882 |
24 | South Africa | 61,027,608 |
25 | Italy | 60,264,287 |
26 | Kenya | 56,557,929 |
27 | Myanmar | 55,236,333 |
28 | Colombia | 52,123,686 |
29 | South Korea | 51,367,770 |
30 | Uganda | 49,222,889 |
31 | Spain | 46,795,195 |
32 | Sudan | 46,265,964 |
33 | Argentina | 46,141,195 |
34 | Algeria | 45,695,757 |
35 | Ukraine | 43,156,242 |
36 | Iraq | 42,348,230 |
37 | Afghanistan | 40,993,541 |
38 | Canada | 38,495,773 |
39 | Morocco | 37,914,397 |
40 | Poland | 37,754,428 |
41 | Saudi Arabia | 36,069,266 |
42 | Angola | 35,327,540 |
43 | Uzbekistan | 34,589,376 |
44 | Peru | 34,031,086 |
45 | Mozambique | 33,346,961 |
46 | Malaysia | 33,319,730 |
47 | Ghana | 32,594,574 |
48 | Yemen | 31,371,445 |
49 | Nepal | 30,357,476 |
50 | Madagascar | 29,381,411 |
51 | Venezuela | 28,257,503 |
52 | Cameroon | 28,111,718 |
53 | Cote d'Ivoire | 27,925,649 |
54 | Niger | 26,344,186 |
55 | Australia | 26,178,342 |
56 | North Korea | 26,033,387 |
57 | Taiwan | 23,913,311 |
58 | Burkina Faso | 22,270,251 |
59 | Mali | 21,646,251 |
60 | Sri Lanka | 21,615,470 |
61 | Malawi | 20,304,147 |
62 | Chile | 19,489,734 |
63 | Zambia | 19,613,655 |
64 | Kazakhstan | 19,292,183 |
65 | Romania | 18,956,053 |
66 | Guatemala | 18,688,479 |
67 | Syria | 18,506,569 |
68 | Ecuador | 18,262,799 |
69 | Senegal | 17,793,385 |
70 | Chad | 17,553,601 |
71 | Cambodia | 17,252,457 |
72 | Netherlands | 17,219,859 |
73 | Somalia | 16,951,984 |
74 | Zimbabwe | 15,362,663 |
75 | Guinea | 13,981,705 |
76 | Rwanda | 13,712,855 |
77 | Benin | 12,878,142 |
78 | Burundi | 12,740,471 |
79 | Tunisia | 12,101,418 |
80 | Bolivia | 12,039,974 |
81 | Haiti | 11,721,737 |
82 | Belgium | 11,703,272 |
83 | South Sudan | 11,494,756 |
84 | Cuba | 11,311,223 |
85 | Dominican Republic | 11,096,411 |
86 | Czechia | 10,753,478 |
87 | Jordan | 10,434,463 |
88 | Azerbaijan | 10,347,430 |
89 | Greece | 10,310,847 |
90 | Honduras | 10,269,662 |
91 | Sweden | 10,241,804 |
92 | United Arab Emirates | 10,164,747 |
93 | Portugal | 10,130,876 |
94 | Hungary | 9,605,987 |
95 | Tajikistan | 10,042,202 |
96 | Belarus | 9,442,398 |
97 | Papua New Guinea | 9,342,727 |
98 | Austria | 9,122,566 |
99 | Israel | 8,969,013 |
100 | Switzerland | 8,798,256 |
101 | Togo | 8,737,152 |
102 | Serbia | 8,659,648 |
103 | Sierra Leone | 8,357,040 |
104 | Hong Kong SAR | 7,635,279 |
105 | Laos | 7,519,384 |
106 | Paraguay | 7,333,782 |
107 | Libya | 7,086,602 |
108 | Bulgaria | 6,833,885 |
109 | Nicaragua | 6,805,420 |
110 | Kyrgyzstan | 6,774,001 |
111 | Lebanon | 6,758,016 |
112 | El Salvador | 6,560,071 |
113 | Turkmenistan | 6,236,038 |
114 | Singapore | 5,954,898 |
115 | Congo | 5,839,721 |
116 | Denmark | 5,838,070 |
117 | Finland | 5,559,984 |
118 | Norway | 5,517,561 |
119 | Slovakia | 5,465,545 |
120 | Oman | 5,414,812 |
121 | Palestine | 5,381,277 |
122 | Liberia | 5,338,398 |
123 | Costa Rica | 5,200,150 |
124 | Ireland | 5,064,136 |
125 | Central African Republic | 5,025,077 |
126 | Mauritania | 4,940,298 |
127 | New Zealand | 4,911,293 |
128 | Panama | 4,472,108 |
129 | Kuwait | 4,416,533 |
130 | Croatia | 4,049,640 |
131 | Moldova | 4,013,174 |
132 | Georgia | 3,972,171 |
133 | Eritrea | 3,659,593 |
134 | Uruguay | 3,500,798 |
135 | Mongolia | 3,400,693 |
136 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3,235,985 |
137 | Armenia | 2,975,648 |
138 | Qatar | 2,994,073 |
139 | Jamaica | 2,990,290 |
140 | Albania | 2,870,809 |
141 | Puerto Rico | 2,704,519 |
142 | Namibia | 2,648,122 |
143 | Lithuania | 2,640,339 |
144 | Gambia | 2,578,866 |
145 | Botswana | 2,462,832 |
146 | Gabon | 2,349,783 |
147 | Lesotho | 2,180,846 |
148 | North Macedonia | 2,083,183 |
149 | Slovenia | 2,079,575 |
150 | Guinea-Bissau | 2,077,878 |
151 | Bahrain | 1,845,321 |
152 | Latvia | 1,840,901 |
153 | Equatorial Guinea | 1,514,454 |
154 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1,409,672 |
155 | Timor | 1,377,091 |
156 | Estonia | 1,328,527 |
157 | Mauritius | 1,276,493 |
158 | Cyprus | 1,227,303 |
159 | Eswatini | 1,187,627 |
160 | Djibouti | 1,021,185 |
161 | Comoros | 913,105 |
162 | Fiji | 911,185 |
163 | Réunion | 909,806 |
164 | Guyana | 795,114 |
165 | Bhutan | 791,064 |
166 | Solomon Islands | 726,764 |
167 | Macao SAR | 669,734 |
168 | Luxembourg | 649,600 |
169 | Montenegro | 628,243 |
170 | Western Sahara | 632,115 |
171 | Suriname | 598,608 |
172 | Cape Verde | 569,810 |
173 | Micronesia (Fed. States of) | 561,300 |
174 | Maldives | 561,291 |
175 | Brunei | 447,038 |
176 | Malta | 444,182 |
177 | Belize | 414,449 |
178 | Bahamas | 401,818 |
179 | Guadeloupe | 400,277 |
180 | Martinique | 374,617 |
181 | Iceland | 346,259 |
182 | Vanuatu | 324,088 |
183 | French Guiana | 317,076 |
184 | New Caledonia | 291,762 |
185 | Mayotte | 288,384 |
186 | Barbados | 288,162 |
187 | French Polynesia | 284,580 |
188 | Sao Tome and Principe | 228,652 |
189 | Samoa | 201,401 |
190 | Saint Lucia | 185,519 |
191 | Channel Islands | 177,517 |
192 | Guam | 172,146 |
193 | Curaçao | 165,604 |
194 | Kiribati | 123,690 |
195 | Grenada | 113,966 |
196 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 111,732 |
197 | Tonga | 108,440 |
198 | Aruba | 107,787 |
199 | United States Virgin Islands | 104,083 |
200 | Antigua and Barbuda | 99,773 |
201 | Seychelles | 99,725 |
202 | Isle of Man | 86,049 |
203 | Andorra | 77,542 |
204 | Dominica | 72,387 |
205 | Cayman Islands | 67,492 |
206 | Bermuda | 61,769 |
207 | Marshall Islands | 60,095 |
208 | Northern Mariana Islands | 58,336 |
209 | Greenland | 56,991 |
210 | American Samoa | 54,920 |
211 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 54,052 |
212 | Faeroe Islands | 49,281 |
213 | Sint Maarten | 43,991 |
214 | Turks and Caicos | 39,924 |
215 | Monaco | 39,873 |
216 | Saint Martin | 40,198 |
217 | Liechtenstein | 38,374 |
218 | San Marino | 34,091 |
219 | Gibraltar | 33,669 |
220 | British Virgin Islands | 30,687 |
221 | Caribbean Netherlands | 26,779 |
222 | Palau | 18,288 |
223 | Cook Islands | 17,600 |
224 | Anguilla | 15,308 |
225 | Tuvalu | 12,126 |
226 | Nauru | 10,978 |
227 | Wallis and Futuna | 10,818 |
228 | Saint Barthelemy | 9,945 |
229 | Saint Helena | 6,118 |
230 | Saint Pierre & Miquelon | 5,732 |
231 | Montserrat | 4,999 |
232 | Falkland Islands | 3,723 |
233 | Niue | 1,651 |
234 | Tokelau | 1,396 |
235 | Holy See | 806 |
Below are regional breakdowns of population.
Africa’s Population by Country
As of 2022, Africa’s total population stands at 1.4 billion people. Many of the countries with the fastest growth rates are located in Africa and by 2050, the population of the continent is expected to jump to 2.5 billion.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and its largest economy. Based on current growth rates, Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, could even emerge as the world’s top megacity by the end of the century.
Africa has by far the lowest median age of any of the other continents.
Asia’s Population by Country
With 4.7 billion people in 2022, Asia is by far the world’s most populous region.
The continent is dominated by the two massive population centers of China and India. In 2023, a big shift will occur, with India surpassing China to become the world’s most populous country. China has held top spot for centuries, but the mismatch between the two countries’ growth rates made it only a matter of time before this milestone arrived.
Asia is a region of contrast when it comes to population growth. On the one end are countries like Singapore and Japan, which are actually shrinking. On the other, are Middle Eastern nations like Oman and Qatar, which have robust population growth rates of 4-5%.
Vietnam is on the cusp of becoming the 15th country to surpass the 100 million population mark.
Europe’s Population by Country
Europe’s population in 2022 is 750 million people—more than twice the size of the United States.
A century ago, Europe’s population was close to 30% of the world total. Today, that figure stands at less than 10%. This is, in part, due to population growth throughout other regions of the world.
More importantly though, Europe’s population is contracting in a number of places—Eastern Europe in particular. Many of the countries with the slowest growth rates are located in the Balkans and former Soviet Bloc countries.
Russia remains Europe’s largest country by population. Although the country’s landmass extends all the way across Asia, three-quarters of Russia’s people live on the European side of the country.
Germany is the second largest country in Europe, followed by the UK, France, and Italy.
Ukraine is the seventh largest population center in Europe, but it remains to be seen how the current conflict with Russia impacts the country’s long-term population prospects.
North America’s Population by Country
North America’s population is 602 million people as of 2022.
The continent is dominated by the United States, which makes up more than half of the total population. America’s population is still growing modestly (by global standards), but perhaps more interesting are the internal migration patterns that are occurring. States like Texas and Florida are seeing an influx from other states.
Canada has one of the highest population growth rates of major developed economies thanks to international migration.
Mexico is currently the 10th most populous country, but will eventually be bumped from the top 10 list by fast-growing African nations.
South America’s Population by Country
The population of South America in 2022 is 439 million. Brazil makes up nearly half of that total.
Sometime this decade, Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, will become the region’s fifth megacity (which is defined as having a population of 10 million or more). São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Lima are South America’s current megacities.
Oceania’s Population by Country
The population of the Oceania region is 44 million people—just slightly higher than the population of California.
Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea make up the lion’s share of the population of this region.
Interestingly, many of the smallest countries by population can also be found in this region.
When Will Earth’s Population Hit 9 Billion?
The next global population milestone—nine billion—will likely be hit sometime in the 2030s.
In fact, Earth’s population is expected to continue growing until it hits a peak at some point in the 2080s—possibly over the 10 billion mark.
Where does this data come from?
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division via Worldometer’s live tracker (as of Sept 27, 2022).
Context: The UN has estimated that November 15th, 2022, will be the date that the world population officially hits 8 billion.
population
Mapped: North America Population Patterns by Density
Nearly half a billion people live on the third-largest continent. We take a closer look in this population map of North America.
Mapped: North America Population Patterns by Density
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
From the icy expanses of the Arctic to the warm Caribbean sea, the North American continent covers nearly 25 million square kilometers, or about 15% of the Earth’s land area. Populating this vast region are nearly half a billion people, spread out from coast to valley, along the edges of arid scrublands and rainforests.
We visualize a map of North America population patterns, including Central America and the Caribbean, with spikes illustrating densely populated areas.
Data for this map is sourced from Statistics Canada, the World Bank, and WorldPop—a research group based out of the University of Southampton that tracks population growth and movement across the globe.
Ranked: Countries and Territories by Population Density
Deep in the Atlantic, seen as a small dot near Haiti on the map, the island state of Bermuda is the most densely populated jurisdiction on the continent. Measuring just 53 km² in area, and home to 65,000 people, results in an average population density of 1,266 people per km².
Also in the Caribbean, Barbados ranks second with an average population density 642 people/km², followed by Aruba, ranked third-highest at 550 people/km².
Rank | Country/Territory | Average Population Density (per km²) | Area (km²) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇧🇲 Bermuda | 1,226 | 53 |
2 | 🇧🇧 Barbados | 642 | 439 |
3 | 🇦🇼 Aruba | 550 | 193 |
4 | 🇭🇹 Haiti | 423 | 27,750 |
5 | 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico | 360 | 8,897 |
6 | 🇲🇶 Martinique | 325 | 1,130 |
7 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 303 | 21,040 |
8 | 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia | 292 | 617 |
9 | 🇻🇮 Virgin Islands | 285 | 346 |
10 | 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | 267 | 389 |
11 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | 257 | 10,992 |
12 | 🇬🇵 Guadeloupe | 252 | 1,628 |
13 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | 234 | 48,442 |
14 | 🇧🇶 Netherlands Antilles | 229 | 800 |
15 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | 212 | 5,128 |
16 | 🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda | 214 | 440 |
17 | 🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands | 206 | 153 |
18 | 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis | 176 | 269 |
19 | 🇦🇮 Anguilla | 175 | 91 |
20 | 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands | 168 | 264 |
21 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | 165 | 108,889 |
22 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 101 | 51,100 |
23 | 🇨🇺 Cuba | 102 | 109,884 |
24 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | 94 | 112,492 |
25 | 🇩🇲 Dominica | 91 | 750 |
26 | 🇲🇸 Montserrat | 91 | 103 |
27 | 🇹🇨 Turks & Caicos Islands | 75 | 616 |
28 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 65 | 1,972,550 |
29 | 🇵🇦 Panama | 60 | 74,177 |
30 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | 54 | 130,370 |
31 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 35 | 9,834,000 |
32 | 🇧🇸 The Bahamas | 29 | 13,880 |
33 | 🇵🇲 Saint-Pierre & Miquelon | 24 | 242 |
34 | 🇧🇿 Belize | 17 | 22,966 |
35 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 4 | 9,984,670 |
36 | 🇬🇱 Greenland | 0 | 2,166,086 |
37 | 🇺🇸 Navassa Island | 0 | 5 |
Naturally the largest countries on the continent—Canada, the U.S., and Mexico—have some of the lowest average population densities compared to other nations in the region.
However, thanks to their size, their overall population distribution is more apparent on a map of this scale. In Canada, the Greater Toronto Area is home to one-fifth the country’s entire population. In stark contrast, the rest of the country seems almost empty—averaging just 4 people/km².
Major U.S. cities—New York, Chicago, and San Francisco—also stand out, though the more regular dispersion of Americans, particularly in the Northeast, South, and Midwest can also be seen.
Interestingly, Monterrey in Mexico jumps out on the map; the city is built at the foot of Cerro de la Silla, and several districts are densely populated as a result.
Ranked: Continents by Population Density
How does North America compare to the other continents by population density?
Unsurprisingly, thanks to its large land area, as well as comparatively smaller population, North America is one of the least densely populated continents in the world, beaten only by Oceania, which averages 5 people/km², and Antarctica.
Rank | Continent | Average Population Density (per/km²) |
---|---|---|
1 | Asia | 149 |
2 | Africa | 49 |
3 | Europe | 32 |
4 | South America | 25 |
5 | North America | 25 |
6 | Oceania | 5 |
7 | Antarctica | 0 |
Source: World Population Review.
In comparison, Asia, while being the largest continent, is also home to 60% of the global population, and averages 149 people/km².
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