Health and Healthcare Systems

These are the most populous nations on Earth

Earth is seen from 36,000 nautical miles away, as photographed from the Apollo 10 spacecraft during its trans-lunar journey toward the moon, May 18, 1969. Courtesy NASA/Handout via REUTERS NASA/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC14C58FCFC0

World Population Day draws attention to problems caused by the increasing number of people on Earth. Image: REUTERS

Katharina Buchholz
Data Journalist, Statista

On 11 July 1987, the world population passed the five billion mark - since then the figure has risen steadily to 7.7 billion in 2018. According to the International Monetary Fund, the largest share of the world population lives in China with 18.7 percent, followed by India with 17.88 percent. With a population of 83 million, Germany also ranks among the top 20 most populous countries in the world. Last year, people in Germany accounted for 1.11 percent of the world's population. The U.S. is actually the world’s third most populous nation. 4.39 percent of the global population live here.

Since 1989, World Population Day has taken place on 11 July to draw attention to problems caused by the increasing number of people on this Earth. The UN expects the world’s population to grow to 10.9 billion by 2100.

Asia is by far the most populous continent on Earth. The United Nations estimates that the Asian population will peak at 5.27 billion in 2070. Europe and Latin America will reach their population peaks at 689 million and 765 million inhabitants, respectively, around the year 2060, according to the projection. African populations are expected to keep growing, albeit at a slower pace, beyond the current century, which is when their combined size could surpass that of Asian populations.

Image: IMF/ Statista
Have you read?
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

United States

Related topics:
Health and Healthcare SystemsGlobal Risks
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how United States is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

The world is in the grip of a record dengue fever outbreak. What's causing it and how can it be stopped?

Shyam Bishen

November 5, 2024

Not just a number: Science is redefining how we understand ageing

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum