Country ranking · 2026
Compare the world’s 15 largest countries using the UN 2026 medium-variant projection. Search the table, then open a country for its growth, density, age and urbanisation context.
Showing all 15 countries.
| Rank | Country | Population 2026 | Annual change | World share | Median age | Urban (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 1,476,625,576 | +0.86% | 17.79% | 29.22 | 35.38% |
| 2 | China | 1,412,914,089 | −0.22% | 17.02% | 40.65 | 65.89% |
| 3 | United States | 349,035,494 | +0.49% | 4.2% | 38.71 | 80.12% |
| 4 | Indonesia | 287,886,782 | +0.74% | 3.47% | 30.66 | 58.75% |
| 5 | Pakistan | 259,299,791 | +1.59% | 3.12% | 20.77 | 39.17% |
| 6 | Nigeria | 242,431,832 | +2.03% | 2.92% | 18.35 | 62.98% |
| 7 | Brazil | 213,562,666 | +0.34% | 2.57% | 35.25 | 87.9% |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 177,818,044 | +1.19% | 2.14% | 26.3 | 32.68% |
| 9 | Russia | 143,394,458 | −0.23% | 1.73% | 40.7 | 75.11% |
| 10 | Ethiopia | 138,902,185 | +2.48% | 1.67% | 19.34 | 23.62% |
| 11 | Mexico | 132,997,658 | +0.78% | 1.6% | 30 | 79.75% |
| 12 | Japan | 122,427,731 | −0.56% | 1.47% | 50.18 | 92.19% |
| 13 | Egypt | 120,101,175 | +1.44% | 1.45% | 24.7 | 42.8% |
| 14 | Philippines | 117,724,471 | +0.79% | 1.42% | 26.57 | 55.45% |
| 15 | DR Congo | 116,452,162 | +3.13% | 1.4% | 15.86 | 44.75% |
What the ranking says
Ranks use the UN’s population total for both sexes and all ages on 1 July 2026. A country’s share is its projected population divided by the 8,300,678,395 world total.
What it does not say
The table does not rank wellbeing, wealth or influence. Density, age and urban share are included only to show how differently similarly sized populations can be distributed.
Primary evidence
Figures use the Medium variant of the 2024 Revision. The UN series covers 237 countries or areas; estimates and projections from 1950 to 2100 and is built from 1,910 population censuses and 3,189 nationally representative sample surveys, alongside vital-registration and other demographic systems.
These are demographic estimates and projections for country population, not a live register of identifiable people. Mid-year values refer to 1 July; moving counters interpolate between the original January and July population anchors. Demographic indicators use the original 2026 workbook rows. Urban share uses World Bank 2024 and land area uses World Bank 2023 indicators, not 2026 projections.