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%.