The World's Most Populous Countries 2021
Key Findings
About This Dataset
The World's Most Populous Countries 2021India (1,414), China (1,412) and United States (332) take the top three. Across the twenty shown, values run from 1,414 down to 72, a spread of 1,342. Only 2 separates India from China in second, 0.1% of the leading figure. 2 of the 20 reach half the leading figure, 707 or more. India stood at 1,403 in 2020, so its figure rose by 11 over the year. 2020 was led by China, so the top place changed hands. Of the 20 in this table that also reported in 2020, 14 recorded a higher figure than the year before and 0 a lower one. The largest single move was India, from 1,403 to 1,414. The chart shows the twenty highest of 217 reporting countries, so it describes the top of the distribution rather than the world average.
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart
Methodology & source
- Data source
- World Bank
- Coverage
- 20 entities · 2021 · 20 observations
- Measure
- Population (Million)
- Last updated
- 7 September 2026
- Compiled by
- The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
- Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
- Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2021.
Data Sources & References
All external sources cited in this dataset
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How these countries rank across all our charts
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