Year-over-year change: +0.9%, trend up
5-year change: +4.4%, trend up
India
Total population: 1,476,625,576 people
View MoreEveryone resident at mid-year, all ages and both sexes
World Total8,300,678,395people
19502100
2026
Rankings at a glance
Highest 10 · Total population count (2026)
With 1.5B people in 2026, India is projected to lead the world in total population count, followed by China (1.4B people) and the United States (349M people). The top 5 is rounded off by Indonesia (287.9M people) and Pakistan (259.3M people). Further down, Nigeria (242.4M people) and Brazil (213.6M people) hold the next two spots. Bangladesh (177.8M people), Russia (143.4M people), and Ethiopia (138.9M people) round out the top ten. Across the top ten, India would be 11× as high as Ethiopia (138.9M 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 +2.5%.
Rank changes
How total population count 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?
- India is projected to have the highest population at 1,476,625,576 people in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- Which country has the lowest population?
- The Holy See is projected to have the lowest population at 506 people in 2026, according to UN Population Division (2024).
- What is the global population?
- The global population is projected to be 8,300,678,395 people in 2026, as published by the United Nations in World Population Prospects 2024.
