What is the most populated country?
India is the most populated country, with more than 1.4 billion people. It passed China in 2023, according to United Nations estimates.
For centuries China had the world's largest population. Its birth rate fell sharply after the 1970s, partly because of the one-child policy, and its population began to shrink in 2022. India's population kept growing, and the UN estimated that it overtook China in April 2023.
India and China together are home to more than a third of all people on Earth. The next most populated countries are the United States, Indonesia and Pakistan. The world population passed 8 billion in November 2022.
Most crowded places
The most densely populated countries are tiny ones, such as Monaco and Singapore. Among larger countries, Bangladesh is one of the most crowded, with about 170 million people in an area smaller than the US state of Illinois.
Population growth has slowed in many countries as families have fewer children. The UN expects the world population to keep rising for several decades and to peak at about 10 billion in the 2080s.
Did You Know?
India has 22 officially recognized languages in its constitution, and hundreds more are spoken across the country.