The World's Most Populous Countries 2023

About This Dataset

The World's Most Populous Countries 2023
Countries ranked by population (million) in 2023, using World Bank figures for the 217 countries that reported that year. India leads on 1,438, ahead of China (1,411) and United States (337). The resident population counted at mid-year, including everyone living in the country regardless of citizenship. Figures between censuses are projections, and the two largest are close enough that different sources disagree on the order.
Analysis

India (1,438), China (1,411) and United States (337) take the top three. Across the twenty shown, values run from 1,438 down to 72, a spread of 1,366. Only 27 separates India from China in second, 1.9% of the leading figure. 2 of the 20 reach half the leading figure, 719 or more. India stood at 1,425 in 2022, so its figure rose by 13 over the year. India also came first in 2022. Of the 20 in this table that also reported in 2022, 13 recorded a higher figure than the year before and 1 a lower one. The largest single move was India, from 1,425 to 1,438. The chart shows the twenty highest of 217 reporting countries, so it describes the top of the distribution rather than the world average.

Source:  World Bank

Key Findings

🏆
India leads in Population (Million) with 1,438 in 2023.
📊
Average Population (Million) in 2023: 281  ·  median: 130.
↔️
Gap in 2023: India is 20× larger than Thailand.

The World's Most Populous Countries 2023

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Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin
Data Points
20
20 categories  ·  1 year
Top Value
1,438
India
Population (Million) · 2023
Metrics
1
Population (Million)
Period
2023
Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source
World Bank
Coverage
20 entities · 2023 · 20 observations
Measure
Population (Million)
Last updated
7 September 2026
Compiled by
The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
How the figures are calculated
  • Values are shown as reported by the source. Nothing is rescaled, rebased or converted — the only changes are thousand separators and decimals shown to two places.
  • Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2023.

Rankings & Full Data

20 records · Population (Million) · ranked by 2023

✓ 20 sourced
# Category 2023 Source
🥇 India 1,438
🥈 China 1,411
🥉 United States 337
4 Indonesia 281
5 Pakistan 248
6 Nigeria 228
7 Brazil 211
8 Bangladesh 171
9 Russia 144
10 Mexico 130
11 Ethiopia 129
12 Japan 125
13 Philippines 115
14 Egypt 115
15 DR Congo 106
16 Vietnam 100
17 Iran 91
18 Turkey 85
19 Germany 83
20 Thailand 72

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

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