This is a list of countries and dependencies by population. It includes , inhabited dependent territories and, in some cases, constituent countries of sovereign states, with inclusion within the list being primarily based on the ISO standard ISO 3166-1. For instance, the United Kingdom is considered a single entity, while the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are considered separately. In addition, this list includes certain states with limited recognition not found in ISO 3166-1. Also given in a percentage is each country's population compared with the world population, which the United Nations estimated at 8.232 billion as of 2025.
Where updated national data are not available, figures are based on the estimates or projections for 2024 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Because the compiled figures are not collected at the same time in every country, or at the same level of accuracy, the resulting numerical comparisons may create misleading conclusions. Furthermore, the addition of figures from all countries may not equal the world total.
Areas that form integral parts of , such as the countries of the United Kingdom, are counted as part of the sovereign states concerned. Not included are other entities that are not sovereign states, such as the European Union, and independent territories that do not have permanent populations, such as the Chagos Archipelago and various countries' claims to Antarctica.
+ List of countries and territories by total population
! Location ! Population ! style=width:2em | % ofworld ! Date ! the United Nations) ! class="unsortable" | Notes | |
UN projection (see note) | |||
(China) | |||
(US) | |||
(China) | |||
Western Sahara | |||
(France) | |||
(France) | |||
(Netherlands) | |||
(US) | |||
(Netherlands) | |||
(UK) | |||
(US) | |||
(UK) | |||
(UK) | |||
(UK) | |||
(UK) | |||
(Denmark) | |||
(Denmark) | |||
(UK) | |||
(US) | |||
(US) | |||
(Netherlands) | |||
(UK) | |||
(UK) | |||
Saint Martin (France) | |||
(Netherlands) | |||
(UK) | |||
(New Zealand) | |||
(France) | |||
(France) | |||
(France) | |||
(UK) | |||
(UK) | |||
(UK) | |||
(Australia) | |||
(Netherlands) | |||
(Australia) | |||
(New Zealand) | 2022 Census | ||
(New Zealand) | |||
(Australia) | |||
(UK) |
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