Visualized: The World’s Population at 8 Billion

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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 RankCountry/RegionPopulation (2022)

1🇨🇳 China1,451,832,064

2🇮🇳 India1,410,982,243

3🇺🇸 United States335,391,957

4🇮🇩 Indonesia280,139,383

5🇵🇰 Pakistan230,918,073

6🇳🇬 Nigeria218,243,241

7🇧🇷 Brazil215,986,577

8🇧🇩 Bangladesh168,436,792

9🇷🇺 Russia146,074,130

10🇲🇽 Mexico132,030,739

11Japan125,619,457

12Ethiopia121,709,461

13Philippines112,939,493

14Egypt106,839,825

15Vietnam98,311,965

16Democratic Republic of Congo96,104,525

17Iran86,465,398

16Turkey86,415,852

19Germany84,385,892

20Thailand70,192,866

21United Kingdom68,691,253

22France65,597,276

23Tanzania63,802,882

24South Africa61,027,608

25Italy60,264,287

26Kenya56,557,929

27Myanmar55,236,333

28Colombia52,123,686

29South Korea51,367,770

30Uganda49,222,889

31Spain46,795,195

32Sudan46,265,964

33Argentina46,141,195

34Algeria45,695,757

35Ukraine43,156,242

36Iraq42,348,230

37Afghanistan40,993,541

38Canada38,495,773

39Morocco37,914,397

40Poland37,754,428

41Saudi Arabia36,069,266

42Angola35,327,540

43Uzbekistan34,589,376

44Peru34,031,086

45Mozambique33,346,961

46Malaysia33,319,730

47Ghana32,594,574

48Yemen31,371,445

49Nepal30,357,476

50Madagascar29,381,411

51Venezuela28,257,503

52Cameroon28,111,718

53Cote d’Ivoire27,925,649

54Niger26,344,186

55Australia26,178,342

56North Korea26,033,387

57Taiwan23,913,311

58Burkina Faso22,270,251

59Mali21,646,251

60Sri Lanka21,615,470

61Malawi20,304,147

62Chile19,489,734

63Zambia19,613,655

64Kazakhstan19,292,183

65Romania18,956,053

66Guatemala18,688,479

67Syria18,506,569

68Ecuador18,262,799

69Senegal17,793,385

70Chad17,553,601

71Cambodia17,252,457

72Netherlands17,219,859

73Somalia16,951,984

74Zimbabwe15,362,663

75Guinea13,981,705

76Rwanda13,712,855

77Benin12,878,142

78Burundi12,740,471

79Tunisia12,101,418

80Bolivia12,039,974

81Haiti11,721,737

82Belgium11,703,272

83South Sudan11,494,756

84Cuba11,311,223

85Dominican Republic11,096,411

86Czechia10,753,478

87Jordan10,434,463

88Azerbaijan10,347,430

89Greece10,310,847

90Honduras10,269,662

91Sweden10,241,804

92United Arab Emirates10,164,747

93Portugal10,130,876

94Hungary9,605,987

95Tajikistan10,042,202

96Belarus9,442,398

97Papua New Guinea9,342,727

98Austria9,122,566

99Israel8,969,013

100Switzerland8,798,256

101Togo8,737,152

102Serbia8,659,648

103Sierra Leone8,357,040

104Hong Kong SAR7,635,279

105Laos7,519,384

106Paraguay7,333,782

107Libya7,086,602

108Bulgaria6,833,885

109Nicaragua6,805,420

110Kyrgyzstan6,774,001

111Lebanon6,758,016

112El Salvador6,560,071

113Turkmenistan6,236,038

114Singapore5,954,898

115Congo5,839,721

116Denmark5,838,070

117Finland5,559,984

118Norway5,517,561

119Slovakia5,465,545

120Oman5,414,812

121Palestine5,381,277

122Liberia5,338,398

123Costa Rica5,200,150

124Ireland5,064,136

125Central African Republic5,025,077

126Mauritania4,940,298

127New Zealand4,911,293

128Panama4,472,108

129Kuwait4,416,533

130Croatia4,049,640

131Moldova4,013,174

132Georgia3,972,171

133Eritrea3,659,593

134Uruguay3,500,798

135Mongolia3,400,693

136Bosnia and Herzegovina3,235,985

137Armenia2,975,648

138Qatar2,994,073

139Jamaica2,990,290

140Albania2,870,809

141Puerto Rico2,704,519

142Namibia2,648,122

143Lithuania2,640,339

144Gambia2,578,866

145Botswana2,462,832

146Gabon2,349,783

147Lesotho2,180,846

148North Macedonia2,083,183

149Slovenia2,079,575

150Guinea-Bissau2,077,878

151Bahrain1,845,321

152Latvia1,840,901

153Equatorial Guinea1,514,454

154Trinidad and Tobago1,409,672

155Timor1,377,091

156Estonia1,328,527

157Mauritius1,276,493

158Cyprus1,227,303

159Eswatini1,187,627

160Djibouti1,021,185

161Comoros913,105

162Fiji911,185

163Réunion909,806

164Guyana795,114

165Bhutan791,064

166Solomon Islands726,764

167Macao SAR669,734

168Luxembourg649,600

169Montenegro628,243

170Western Sahara632,115

171Suriname598,608

172Cape Verde569,810

173Micronesia (Fed. States of)561,300

174Maldives561,291

175Brunei447,038

176Malta444,182

177Belize414,449

178Bahamas401,818

179Guadeloupe400,277

180Martinique374,617

181Iceland346,259

182Vanuatu324,088

183French Guiana317,076

184New Caledonia291,762

185Mayotte288,384

186Barbados288,162

187French Polynesia284,580

188Sao Tome and Principe228,652

189Samoa201,401

190Saint Lucia185,519

191Channel Islands177,517

192Guam172,146

193Curaçao165,604

194Kiribati123,690

195Grenada113,966

196Saint Vincent and the Grenadines111,732

197Tonga108,440

198Aruba107,787

199United States Virgin Islands104,083

200Antigua and Barbuda99,773

201Seychelles99,725

202Isle of Man86,049

203Andorra77,542

204Dominica72,387

205Cayman Islands67,492

206Bermuda61,769

207Marshall Islands60,095

208Northern Mariana Islands58,336

209Greenland56,991

210American Samoa54,920

211Saint Kitts and Nevis54,052

212Faeroe Islands49,281

213Sint Maarten43,991

214Turks and Caicos39,924

215Monaco39,873

216Saint Martin40,198

217Liechtenstein38,374

218San Marino34,091

219Gibraltar33,669

220British Virgin Islands30,687

221Caribbean Netherlands26,779

222Palau18,288

223Cook Islands17,600

224Anguilla15,308

225Tuvalu12,126

226Nauru10,978

227Wallis and Futuna10,818

228Saint Barthelemy9,945

229Saint Helena6,118

230Saint Pierre & Miquelon5,732

231Montserrat4,999

232Falkland Islands3,723

233Niue1,651

234Tokelau1,396

235Holy See806

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.

Data visualization showing a population breakdown of African countries in 2022

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.

Data visualization showing a population breakdown of Asian countries in 2022

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.

Data visualization showing a population breakdown of European countries in 2022

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.

Data visualization showing a population breakdown of North American countries in 2022

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.

Data visualization showing a population breakdown of South American countries in 2022

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.