This is a list of countries and dependent territories by population with inclusion within the list being based on the ISO standard ISO 3166-1. This does not reflect the countries who report significantly different populations of citizens domestically and overall. Some countries, notably Thailand, do not report total population, exclusively counting citizens, for total populations an international agency must issue an estimate.
The list includes sovereign states, inhabited dependent territories and, in some cases, constituent countries of sovereign states. The United Kingdom is considered (as a sovereign state) as a single entity in the lists while the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are regarded separately.
Also given in percent is each country's population compared to the population of the world, which the United States Census Bureau estimates at 7.25Â billion. According to a separate estimate by the United Nations, world population exceeded 7Â billion in October 2011.
Method
Figures used in this chart are based on the most up to date estimate or projections by the national census authority where available, and are usually rounded off. Where updated national data are not available, figures are based on the projections for 2015 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Because the compiled figures are not collected at the same time in every country, or at the same level of accuracy, the resulting numerical comparisons may create misleading conclusions. Furthermore, the addition of figures from all countries may not equal the world total. A handful of nations have not conducted a census in over 3 decades, providing high error margin estimates only.
Areas that form integral parts of sovereign states, such as the countries of the United Kingdom, are counted as part of the sovereign states concerned. Not included are other entities, such as the European Union, that are not sovereign states, and dependent territories that do not have permanent populations, such as various countries' claims to Antarctica.
For a graphical version of this list, see list of countries by population (graphical). See also List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density and the list of regional organizations by population.
Countries and dependencies by population
Note: All dependent territories are shown in italics.
See also
Notes
References
External links
- United Nations Analytical Report for the 2004 revision of World Population Prospects (the analytical report for the 2006 revision is not available online) â€" includes details of methodology and sources used for the population estimates above.