The world’s population has doubled in size over the last 50 years.

In 2022, we reached the mark of 8 billion living on Earth. According to UN estimates, by July 2023, all the people in the world numbered 8,045,311,447.

In this map, Visual Capitalist’s Nick Routley and Bruno Venditti use population estimates from the United Nations Population Division to illustrate the world’s population as if the Earth had only 1,000 people. Countries with a population of below 7.6 million did not make our cutoff to be visualized, but are included in overall calculations and listed below.

Click here to view interactive version of the map above

Over Half of People Live in Asia

Asia is by far the world’s most populous region, with over 4.7 billion people. The continent, led by India and China, represents 59% of the total population.

Imagining the Earth with only 1,000 people helps illustrate this more easily. India would account for 178 people and China would have 177.

Here is the estimated population in July 2023 for each country, and how many people their residents would constitute out of 1,000:

Country
Total Population (July 2023)
Share of 1,000 Global People
🇮🇳 India
1,428,627,663
178
🇨🇳 China
1,425,671,352
177
🇺🇸 United States
339,996,563
42
🇮🇩 Indonesia
277,534,122
35
🇵🇰 Pakistan
240,485,658
30
🇳🇬 Nigeria
223,804,632
28
🇧🇷 Brazil
216,422,446
27
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
172,954,319
22
🇷🇺 Russia
144,444,359
18
🇲🇽 Mexico
128,455,567
16
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
126,527,060
16
🇯🇵 Japan
123,294,513
15
🇵🇭 Philippines
117,337,368
15
🇪🇬 Egypt
112,716,598
14
🇨🇩 DRC
102,262,808
13
🇻🇳 Vietnam
98,858,950
12
🇮🇷 Iran
89,172,767
11
🇹🇷 Türkiye
85,816,199
11
🇩🇪 Germany
83,294,633
10
🇹🇭 Thailand
71,801,279
9
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
67,736,802
8
🇹🇿 Tanzania
67,438,106
8
🇫🇷 France
64,756,584
8
🇿🇦 South Africa
60,414,495
8
🇮🇹 Italy
58,870,762
7
🇰🇪 Kenya
55,100,586
7
🇲🇲 Myanmar
54,577,997
7
🇨🇴 Colombia
52,085,168
7
🇰🇷 South Korea
51,784,059
6
🇺🇬 Uganda
48,582,334
6
🇸🇩 Sudan
48,109,006
6
🇪🇸 Spain
47,519,628
6
🇦🇷 Argentina
45,773,884
6
🇩🇿 Algeria
45,606,480
6
🇮🇶 Iraq
45,504,560
6
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
42,239,854
5
🇵🇱 Poland
41,026,067
5
🇨🇦 Canada
38,781,291
5
🇲🇦 Morocco
37,840,044
5
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
36,947,025
5
🇺🇦 Ukraine
36,744,634
5
🇦🇴 Angola
36,684,202
5
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
35,163,944
4
🇾🇪 Yemen
34,449,825
4
🇵🇪 Peru
34,352,719
4
🇲🇾 Malaysia
34,308,525
4
🇬🇭 Ghana
34,121,985
4
🇲🇿 Mozambique
33,897,354
4
🇳🇵 Nepal
30,896,590
4
🇲🇬 Madagascar
30,325,732
4
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
28,873,034
4
🇻🇪 Venezuela
28,838,499
4
🇨🇲 Cameroon
28,647,293
4
🇳🇪 Niger
27,202,843
3
🇦🇺 Australia
26,439,111
3
🇰🇵 North Korea
26,160,821
3
🇹🇼 Taiwan
23,923,276
3
🇲🇱 Mali
23,293,698
3
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
23,251,485
3
🇸🇾 Syria
23,227,014
3
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
21,893,579
3
🇲🇼 Malawi
20,931,751
3
🇿🇲 Zambia
20,569,737
3
🇷🇴 Romania
19,892,812
3
🇨🇱 Chile
19,629,590
2
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
19,606,633
2
🇹🇩 Chad
18,278,568
2
🇪🇨 Ecuador
18,190,484
2
🇸🇴 Somalia
18,143,378
2
🇬🇹 Guatemala
18,092,026
2
🇸🇳 Senegal
17,763,163
2
🇳🇱 Netherlands
17,618,299
2
🇰🇭 Cambodia
16,944,826
2
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
16,665,409
2
🇬🇳 Guinea
14,190,612
2
🇷🇼 Rwanda
14,094,683
2
🇧🇯 Benin
13,712,828
2
🇧🇮 Burundi
13,238,559
2
🇹🇳 Tunisia
12,458,223
2
🇧🇴 Bolivia
12,388,571
2
🇭🇹 Haiti
11,724,763
2
🇧🇪 Belgium
11,686,140
2
🇯🇴 Jordan
11,337,052
1
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
11,332,972
1
🇨🇺 Cuba
11,194,449
1
🇸🇸 South Sudan
11,088,796
1
🇸🇪 Sweden
10,612,086
1
🇭🇳 Honduras
10,593,798
1
🇨🇿 Czech Republic (Czechia)
10,495,295
1
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
10,412,651
1
🇬🇷 Greece
10,341,277
1
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea
10,329,931
1
🇵🇹 Portugal
10,247,605
1
🇭🇺 Hungary
10,156,239
1
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
10,143,543
1
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
9,516,871
1
🇧🇾 Belarus
9,498,238
1
🇮🇱 Israel
9,174,520
1
🇹🇬 Togo
9,053,799
1
🇦🇹 Austria
8,958,960
1
🇨🇭 Switzerland
8,796,669
1
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
8,791,092
1
🇱🇦 Laos
7,633,779
0.9
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
7,491,609
0.9
🇷🇸 Serbia
7,149,077
0.9
🇳🇮 Nicaragua
7,046,310
0.9
🇱🇾 Libyg
6,888,388
0.9
🇵🇾 Paraguay
6,861,524
0.9
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
6,735,347
0.8
🇧🇬 ßulgaria
6,687,717
0.8
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan
6,516,100
0.8
🇸🇻 EI Salvador
6,364,943
0.8
🇨🇬 Congo
6,106,869
0.8
🇸🇬 Singapore
6,014,723
0.7
🇩🇰 Denmark
5,910,913
0.7
🇸🇰 Slovakia
5,795,199
0.7
🇨🇫 Central African Republic
5,742,315
0.7
🇫🇮 Finland
5,545,475
0.7
🇳🇴 Norway
5,474,360
0.7
🇱🇷 Liberia
5,418,377
0.7
🇵🇸 State of Palestine
5,371,230
0.7
🇱🇧 Lebanon
5,353,930
0.7
🇳🇿 New Zealand
5,228,100
0.6
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
5,212,173
0.6
🇮🇪 Ireland
5,056,935
0.6
🇲🇷 Mauritania
4,862,989
0.6
🇴🇲 Oman
4,644,384
0.6
🇵🇦 Panama
4,468,087
0.6
🇰🇼 Kuwait
4,310,108
0.5
🇭🇷 Croatia
4,008,617
0.5
🇪🇷 Eritrea
3,748,901
0.5
🇬🇪 Georgia
3,728,282
0.5
🇲🇳 Mongolia
3,447,157
0.4
🇲🇩 Moldova
3,435,931
0.4
🇺🇾 Uruguay
3,423,108
0.4
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
3,260,314
0.4
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina
3,210,847
0.4
🇦🇱 Albania
2,832,439
0.4
🇯🇲 Jamaica
2,825,544
0.4
🇦🇲 Armenia
2,777,970
0.3
🇬🇲 Gambia
2,773,168
0.3
🇱🇹 Lithuania
2,718,352
0.3
🇶🇦 Qatar
2,716,391
0.3
🇧🇼 Botswana
2,675,352
0.3
🇳🇦 Namibia
2,604,172
0.3
🇬🇦 Gabon
2,436,566
0.3
🇱🇸 Lesotho
2,330,318
0.3
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau
2,150,842
0.3
🇸🇮 Slovenia
2,119,675
0.3
🇲🇰 North Macedonia
2,085,679
0.3
🇱🇻 Latvia
1,830,211
0.2
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea
1,714,671
0.2
🇽🇰 Kosovo
1,663,594
0.2
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
1,534,937
0.2
🇧🇭 Bahrain
1,485,509
0.2
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste
1,360,596
0.2
🇪🇪 Estonia
1,322,765
0.2
🇲🇺 Mauritius
1,300,557
0.2
🇨🇾 Cyprus
1,260,138
0.2
🇸🇿 Eswatini
1,210,822
0.2
🇩🇯 Djibouti
1,136,455
0.1
🇷🇪 Réunion
981,796
0.1
🇫🇯 Fiji
936,375
0.1
🇰🇲 Comoros
852,075
0.1
🇬🇾 Guyana
813,834
0.1
🇧🇹 Bhutan
787,424
0.1
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands
740,424
0.1
🇲🇴 Macao
704,149
0.1
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
654,768
0.1
🇲🇪 Montenegro
626,485
0.1
🇸🇷 Suriname
623,236
0.1
🇨🇻 Cabo Verde
598,682
0.1
🇪🇭 Western Sahara
587,259
0.1
🇲🇹 Malta
535,064
0.1
🇲🇻 Maldives
521,021
0.1
🇧🇳 Brunei
452,524
0.1
🇧🇸 Bahamas
412,623
0.1
🇧🇿 Belize
410,825
0.1
🇬🇵 Guadeloupe
395,839
0.0
🇮🇸 Iceland
375,318
0.0
🇲🇶 Martinique
366,981
0.0
🇾🇹 Mayotte
335,995
0.0
🇻🇺 Vanuatu
334,506
0.0
🇬🇫 French Guiana
312,155
0.0
🇵🇫 French Polynesia
308,872
0.0
🇳🇨 New Caledonia
292,991
0.0
🇧🇧 Barbados
281,995
0.0
🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe
231,856
0.0
🇼🇸 Samoa
225,681
0.0
🇨🇼 Curaçao
192,077
0.0
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia
180,251
0.0
🇬🇺 Guam
172,952
0.0
🇰🇮 Kiribati
133,515
0.0
🇬🇩 Grenada
126,183
0.0
🇫🇲 Micronesia (Fed. States of)
115,224
0.0
🇯🇪 Jersey
111,802
0.0
🇹🇴 Tonga
107,773
0.0
🇸🇨 Seychelles
107,660
0.0
🇦🇼 Aruba
106,277
0.0
🇻🇨 St. Vincent & Grenadines
103,698
0.0
🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands
98,750
0.0
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda
94,298
0.0
🇮🇲 Isle of Man
84,710
0.0
🇦🇩 Andorra
80,088
0.0
🇩🇲 Dominica
73,040
0.0
🇰🇾 Cayman Islands
69,310
0.0
🇧🇲 Bermuda
64,069
0.0
🇬🇬 Guernsey
63,544
0.0
🇬🇱 Greenland
56,643
0.0
🇫🇴 Faeroe Islands
53,270
0.0
🇲🇵 Northern Mariana Islands
49,796
0.0
🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis
47,755
0.0
🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos
46,062
0.0
🇸🇽 Sint Maarten
44,222
0.0
🇦🇸 American Samoa
43,914
0.0
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands
41,996
0.0
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein
indo
0.0
🇲🇨 Monaco
36,297
0.0
🇸🇲 San Marino
33,642
0.0
🇬🇮 Gibraltar
32,688
0.0
🇲🇫 Saint Martin
32,077
0.0
🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands
31,538
0.0
🇧🇶 Caribbean Netherlands
27,148
0.0
🇵🇼 Palau
18,058
0.0
🇨🇰 Cook Islands
17,044
0.0
🇦🇮 Anguilla
15,899
0.0
🇳🇷 Nauru
12,780
0.0
🇼🇫 Wallis & Futuna
11,502
0.0
🇹🇻 Tuvalu
11,396
0.0
🇧🇱 Saint Barthelemy
10,994
0.0
🇵🇲 Saint Pierre & Miquelon
5,840
0.0
🇸🇭 Saint Helena
5,314
0.0
🇲🇸 Montserrat
4,386
0.0
🇫🇰 Falkland Islands
3,791
0.0
🇳🇺 Niue
1,935
0.0
🇹🇰 Tokelau
1,893
0.0
🇻🇦 Holy See
518
0.0

Africa is the second most populated continent with 182 out of 1,000 people, led by Nigeria (28), Ethiopia (16) and Egypt (14). As of July 2023, Africa’s total population stood at an estimated 1.5 billion people.

Despite seeing a decline in population over the last decades, Europe still is the third in terms of total population, making up 92 out of 1,000 people and led by Russia (18), Turkey (11), and Germany (10).

If the world only had 1,000 people, North America would have only 75 inhabitants, with 42 in the United States. Meanwhile, South America would account for 55 people led by 27 from Brazil, and Oceania would have just 5 people (with 3 in Australia).

Nigeria to Pass U.S. as World’s 3rd Most Populous Country

While population projections to the end of the century do differ, they mostly agree on the same general principle: the global population is rising but that growth rate is slowing. Eventually the population will peak (sometime between 2064-2086) and begin shrinking from there.

Over the next few decades, the ranking of the most populous countries will likely remain relatively unchanged, with India and China at the top of the pecking order. Shortly after 2050, however, the population of Nigeria is projected by some sources to surpass that of the United States and become the third-largest country in the world.

Other countries expected to see significant growth in population are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the U.S., Uganda, and Indonesia.