Year-over-year change: +0.9%, trend up
5-year change: +4.3%, trend up
India
Population on January 1: 1,470,295,711 people
View MorePopulation as of January 1st
World Total8,266,245,291people
19502100
2026
Rankings at a glance
Highest 10 · Population as of January 1st (2026)
India is projected to top the global rankings for population as of January 1st, recording 1.5B people in 2026, followed by China (1.4B people) and the United States (348.2M people). Indonesia (286.8M people) and Pakistan (257.2M people) complete the top 5. Nigeria (240M people) and Brazil (213.2M people) follow close behind. Bangladesh (176.8M people), Russia (143.6M people), and Ethiopia (137.2M people) round out the top ten. The spread across the top ten is substantial: India would have 11× the figure recorded by Ethiopia (137.2M people). Five of the top ten are in Asia, with three from Southern Asia. Among these countries, Ethiopia is projected to see the largest year-over-year change at +2.6%.
Rank changes
How population as of January 1st changed between 2021 and 2026
2021and2026
Historical trends
Key terms
- Population growth rate
- — Annual percentage change in total population size.
- Population density
- — People per square kilometre of land area.
- Median age
- — Age at which half the population is younger and half is older.
- Sex ratio
- — Number of males per 100 females in the population.
Frequently asked questions
- Which country has the highest population as of 1 January?
- India is projected to have the highest population as of 1 January at 1,470,295,711 people in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- Which country has the lowest population as of 1 January?
- The Holy See is projected to have the lowest population as of 1 January at 503 people in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- What is the global population as of 1 January?
- The global population as of 1 January is projected to be 8,266,245,291 people in 2026, as published by the United Nations in World Population Prospects 2024.
