Top 10, 20, 50, 100 countries with largest population in world

Top 10, 20, 50, 100 countries with largest population in world : the world’s population has hovered around 8.3 billion people. India remains the world’s most populous country, ranking just ahead of China.

The following list is an estimated and projected ranking of the most populous countries from 2026 onwards.

Top 10 Most Populous Countries

Rank	Country	Estimated Population	% of World Population
1	India	~1,476,625,000	17.8%
2	China	~1,412,914,000	17.0%
3	United States	~349,035,000	4.2%
4	Indonesia	~287,887,000	3.5%
5	Pakistan	~259,300,000	3.1%
6	Nigeria	~242,432,000	2.9%
7	Brazil	~213,563,000	2.6%
8	Bangladesh	~177,818,000	2.1%
9	Russia	~143,394,000	1.7%
10	Ethiopia	~138,902,000	1.6%

Key Trends in 2026

India Growing: More Than Anything Else, India Ties Continual Growth of Large Population with The Winner Takes It All, Pretty Much Making China Total Numbers With a Slight Down Trajectory.

African Growth: Over 2% annual growth for both Ethiopia and Nigeria; Ethiopia firmly in the top 10, knocking Mexico out.

Diminishing Populations: Both China and Russia have negative or near-zero natural growth rates, a trend to continue through mid century.

the world’s population is about 8.3 billion. India is still the world’s most populous country, overtaking China in 2023, and it also continues to grow more quickly.

The 20 most populous countries according to the latest 2026 projections are:

Top 20 Most Populous Countries

Rank	Country	Estimated Population	Region
1	India	1,476,625,000	Asia
2	China	1,412,914,000	Asia
3	United States	349,035,000	Northern America
4	Indonesia	287,887,000	Asia
5	Pakistan	259,300,000	Asia
6	Nigeria	242,432,000	Africa
7	Brazil	213,563,000	Latin America
8	Bangladesh	177,818,000	Asia
9	Russia	143,394,000	Europe/Asia
10	Ethiopia	138,902,000	Africa
11	Mexico	132,998,000	Latin America
12	Japan	122,428,000	Asia
13	Egypt	120,101,000	Africa
14	Philippines	117,724,000	Asia
15	DR Congo	116,452,000	Africa
16	Vietnam	102,177,000	Asia
17	Iran	93,168,000	Asia
18	Turkey	87,926,000	Asia/Europe
19	Germany	83,644,000	Europe
20	Tanzania	72,564,000	Africa

Key Observations in 2026

The “Billion Plus” Club: There are only two countries with over 1 billion people, India and China, comprising around 34.8% of total human population on planet earth.

High-speed climb in Africa: Countries including DR Congo, Ethiopia and Tanzania have some of the highest annual growth rates (up to well above 2.5%), propelling them through the ranking in record time.

Shrinking Populations: By contrast, countries such as Japan, China, Russia and Germany are facing population stagnation or decline from low fertility rates and aging demographics.

Urban Connectivity: Such mammoth population growth remains a significant driver of high-speed infrastructure projects and new residential clusters, notably across South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Top 50 Countries by Population

Rank	Country	Population (Approx. 2026)	Region
1	India	1,476,625,576	Asia
2	China	1,412,914,089	Asia
3	United States	349,035,494	North America
4	Indonesia	287,886,782	Asia
5	Pakistan	259,299,791	Asia
6	Nigeria	242,431,832	Africa
7	Brazil	213,562,666	South America
8	Bangladesh	177,818,044	Asia
9	Russia	143,394,458	Europe/Asia
10	Ethiopia	138,902,185	Africa
11	Mexico	132,997,658	North America
12	Japan	122,427,731	Asia
13	Egypt	120,101,175	Africa
14	Philippines	117,724,471	Asia
15	DR Congo	116,452,162	Africa
16	Vietnam	102,177,431	Asia
17	Iran	93,168,497	Asia
18	Turkey	87,926,082	Asia/Europe
19	Germany	83,644,258	Europe
20	Tanzania	72,563,780	Africa
21	Thailand	71,559,614	Asia
22	United Kingdom	69,931,528	Europe
23	France	66,746,401	Europe
24	South Africa	65,453,084	Africa
25	Italy	58,926,166	Europe
26	Kenya	58,636,412	Africa
27	Myanmar	55,184,819	Asia
28	Colombia	53,936,226	South America
29	Sudan	53,282,719	Africa
30	Uganda	52,761,469	Africa
31	South Korea	51,600,388	Asia
32	Algeria	48,028,334	Africa
33	Iraq	48,007,437	Asia
34	Spain	47,850,793	Europe
35	Argentina	46,003,734	South America
36	Afghanistan	45,047,069	Asia
37	Yemen	42,961,653	Asia
38	Canada	40,467,728	North America
39	Angola	40,215,179	Africa
40	Ukraine	39,535,849	Europe
41	Morocco	38,762,441	Africa
42	Poland	37,843,188	Europe
43	Uzbekistan	37,724,223	Asia
44	Mozambique	36,639,851	Africa
45	Malaysia	36,385,115	Asia
46	Ghana	35,697,557	Africa
47	Saudi Arabia	35,165,787	Asia
48	Peru	34,922,148	South America
49	Madagascar	33,522,052	Africa
50	Côte d’Ivoire	33,494,346	Africa

Top 100 Countries by Population

Rank	Country	Population (2026 Approx.)	Region
1	India	1,476,625,576	Asia
2	China	1,412,914,089	Asia
3	United States	349,035,494	North America
4	Indonesia	287,886,782	Asia
5	Pakistan	259,299,791	Asia
6	Nigeria	242,431,832	Africa
7	Brazil	213,562,666	South America
8	Bangladesh	177,818,044	Asia
9	Russia	143,394,458	Europe/Asia
10	Ethiopia	138,902,185	Africa
11	Mexico	132,997,658	North America
12	Japan	122,427,731	Asia
13	Egypt	120,101,175	Africa
14	Philippines	117,724,471	Asia
15	DR Congo	116,452,162	Africa
16	Vietnam	102,177,431	Asia
17	Iran	93,168,497	Asia
18	Turkey	87,926,082	Asia/Europe
19	Germany	83,644,258	Europe
20	Tanzania	72,563,780	Africa
21	Thailand	71,559,614	Asia
22	United Kingdom	69,931,528	Europe
23	France	66,746,401	Europe
24	South Africa	65,453,084	Africa
25	Italy	58,926,166	Europe
26	Kenya	58,636,412	Africa
27	Myanmar	55,184,819	Asia
28	Colombia	53,936,226	South America
29	Sudan	53,282,719	Africa
30	Uganda	52,761,469	Africa
31	South Korea	51,600,388	Asia
32	Algeria	48,028,334	Africa
33	Iraq	48,007,437	Asia
34	Spain	47,850,793	Europe
35	Argentina	46,003,734	South America
36	Afghanistan	45,047,069	Asia
37	Yemen	42,961,653	Asia
38	Canada	40,467,728	North America
39	Angola	40,215,179	Africa
40	Ukraine	39,535,849	Europe
41	Morocco	38,762,441	Africa
42	Poland	37,843,188	Europe
43	Uzbekistan	37,724,223	Asia
44	Mozambique	36,639,851	Africa
45	Malaysia	36,385,115	Asia
46	Ghana	35,697,557	Africa
47	Saudi Arabia	35,165,787	Asia
48	Peru	34,922,148	South America
49	Madagascar	33,522,052	Africa
50	Côte d’Ivoire	33,494,346	Africa
51	Cameroon	30,640,817	Africa
52	Nepal	29,629,410	Asia
53	Niger	28,814,878	Africa
54	Venezuela	28,633,711	South America
55	Australia	27,227,096	Oceania
56	North Korea	26,633,691	Asia
57	Syria	26,472,497	Asia
58	Mali	25,932,275	Africa
59	Burkina Faso	24,601,700	Africa
60	Sri Lanka	23,348,315	Asia
61	Malawi	22,785,535	Africa
62	Zambia	22,521,915	Africa
63	Chad	21,560,380	Africa
64	Kazakhstan	21,083,626	Asia
65	Somalia	20,305,907	Africa
66	Chile	19,945,850	South America
67	Senegal	19,366,548	Africa
68	Guatemala	18,967,978	North America
69	Romania	18,800,605	Europe
70	Netherlands	18,448,775	Europe
71	Ecuador	18,444,506	South America
72	Cambodia	18,051,219	Asia
73	Zimbabwe	17,273,580	Africa
74	Guinea	15,441,993	Africa
75	Benin	15,170,419	Africa
76	Rwanda	14,889,693	Africa
77	Burundi	14,729,157	Africa
78	Bolivia	12,749,291	South America
79	South Sudan	12,436,037	Africa
80	Tunisia	12,415,138	Africa
81	Haiti	12,037,506	North America
82	Belgium	11,774,642	Europe
83	Dominican Republic	11,609,500	North America
84	Jordan	11,589,532	Asia
85	United Arab Emirates	11,574,682	Asia
86	Honduras	11,184,760	North America
87	Tajikistan	10,978,599	Asia
88	Papua New Guinea	10,947,848	Oceania
89	Cuba	10,892,659	North America
90	Sweden	10,701,047	Europe
91	Czech Republic	10,527,781	Europe
92	Azerbaijan	10,454,855	Asia
93	Portugal	10,395,362	Europe
94	Togo	9,930,918	Africa
95	Greece	9,897,115	Europe
96	Israel	9,647,689	Asia
97	Hungary	9,585,818	Europe
98	Austria	9,107,266	Europe
99	Switzerland	9,007,798	Europe
100	Sierra Leone	8,996,745	Africa