Data for 1988

Population Density, 1988

Name: Population Density, 1988
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

1988, as UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Population Density, 1988 covers 222 countries. Monaco is highest, at 19,986.91; Greenland is lowest, at 0.13. The middle country reads 64.35. Against 1987, 222 values changed (207 up, 15 down), the same countries are covered.

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Population Density · Data for 1988

HighestMonaco

19,986.91

LowestGreenland

0.13

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

222countries
1measure
1988the year it describes
222distinct values4 decimals, as published
Sep 26, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 3.0 IGOlicence

01Values only

The table

Every country and every column of Population Density, 1988, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 222 countries · select a heading to sort

Population Density, 1988: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.

Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	19,986.91
Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	10,215.78
Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	5,018.11
Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	4,171.37
Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	2,783.90
Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	1,654.55
Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	1,146.74
Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	1,049.97
Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	823.66
Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	716.37
Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	702.95
Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	612.94
Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	599.45
Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	571.13
Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	523.94
Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	458.23
Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	448.09
Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	440.32
South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	433.82
Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	400.95
San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	374.47
Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	368.52
Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	351.13
Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	337.70
Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	328.46
Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	327.52
Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	325.02
United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	291.28
Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	289.14
Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	287.82
Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	283.93
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	283.74
India`IND`Southern Asia	278.27
Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	256.42
El Salvador`SLV`Central America	250.76
Guam`GUM`Micronesia	245.47
Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	239.78
Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	238.61
Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	235.12
United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	234.93
Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	226.59
Germany`DEU`Western Europe	224.89
Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	219.16
American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	218.08
Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	216.60
Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	206.76
Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	200.52
Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	199.13
Israel`ISR`Western Asia	199.02
Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	192.34
Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	175.92
Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	175.87
North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	170.28
Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	164.89
Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	158.01
Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	157.93
Tonga`TON`Polynesia	152.26
Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	144.60
Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	144.32
Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	141.91
Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	141.04
Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	138.71
Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	134.05
Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	133.49
Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	126.64
Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	123.51
São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	121.81
Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	121.00
Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	119.81
Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	117.87
Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	117.27
Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	116.57
China`CHN`Eastern Asia	116.17
Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	115.33
Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	108.76
Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	106.66
Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	105.30
Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	105.14
Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	103.68
Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	102.75
France`FRA`Western Europe	102.22
Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	101.04
Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	99.38
Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	99.16
Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	98.99
Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	98.38
Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	97.72
Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	95.87
British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	95.32
Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	94.14
Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	92.58
Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	92.55
Austria`AUT`Western Europe	91.92
Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	89.91
Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	89.29
Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	88.44
Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	86.22
Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	85.98
Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	85.67
Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	84.29
Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	82.93
Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	82.90
Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	82.43
North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	82.12
Guatemala`GTM`Central America	79.62
Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	79.15
Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	77.79
Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	77.54
Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	70.05
Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	69.80
Togo`TGO`Western Africa	64.38
Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	64.33
Syria`SYR`Western Asia	64.14
Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	59.49
Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	59.09
Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	58.65
Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	58.13
Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	57.31
Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	55.44
Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	54.84
French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	52.98
Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	52.66
Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	51.56
Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	51.31
Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	51.12
Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	49.81
Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	49.73
Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	49.14
Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	46.06
Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	45.75
Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	44.42
Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	44.15
Benin`BEN`Western Africa	44.05
Honduras`HND`Central America	43.16
Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	42.62
Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	41.79
Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	41.53
Mexico`MEX`Central America	40.68
Ecuador`ECU`South America	40.31
Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	38.95
Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	37.86
Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	37.63
Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	36.77
Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	35.96
Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	35.87
Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	35.74
Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	35.50
Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	35.46
Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	33.90
Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	33.81
Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	33.50
Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	33.01
Palau`PLW`Micronesia	31.84
Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	31.75
Panama`PAN`Central America	31.72
South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	31.52
Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	27.96
Colombia`COL`South America	27.70
United States`USA`Northern America	27.15
Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	25.40
Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	24.77
Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	24.65
Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	24.36
United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	23.68
Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	22.93
Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	22.46
Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	20.90
Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	20.71
Venezuela`VEN`South America	20.59
Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	19.54
Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	17.75
Uruguay`URY`South America	17.71
Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	17.65
Chile`CHL`South America	17.26
Brazil`BRA`South America	17.21
Peru`PER`South America	16.45
Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	16.36
Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	16.28
Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	16.00
Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	15.67
DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	15.17
Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	14.51
Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	13.84
New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	12.52
Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	11.98
Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	11.55
Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	11.53
Argentina`ARG`South America	11.38
Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	11.34
Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	10.81
Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	10.12
Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	9.94
Niue`NIU`Polynesia	9.76
Paraguay`PRY`South America	9.45
New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	9.22
Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	9.00
Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	8.71
South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	8.59
Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	8.20
Belize`BLZ`Central America	7.68
Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	7.57
Mali`MLI`Western Africa	7.24
Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	6.58
Bolivia`BOL`South America	6.31
Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	6.22
Niger`NER`Western Africa	6.15
Oman`OMN`Western Asia	5.13
Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	4.48
Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	4.47
Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	4.36
Guyana`GUY`South America	3.86
Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	3.61
Canada`CAN`Northern America	2.96
Suriname`SUR`South America	2.58
Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	2.53
Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	2.49
Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	2.18
Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	2.16
Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	1.80
Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	1.47
Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	1.33
Greenland`GRL`Northern America	0.13

02In 1988

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

Monaco19,986.91
Macau10,215.78
Hong Kong5,018.11
Singapore4,171.37
Gibraltar2,783.90

Lowest

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 64.35. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031987 → 1988

Since 1987

What changed between 1987 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
207 · 15rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Macau9,831.86 → 10,215.78+383.92
Monaco19,762.42 → 19,986.91+224.50
Singapore4,072.64 → 4,171.37+98.73
Sint Maarten665.22 → 716.37+51.15
Saint Martin398.25 → 448.09+49.84

Fell most

Gibraltar2,809.60 → 2,783.90−25.70
Vatican City1,659.09 → 1,654.55−4.55
Aruba352.27 → 351.13−1.14
Saint Kitts and Nevis159.03 → 157.93−1.10
Antigua and Barbuda145.33 → 144.60−0.74

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2024 release
Every year in this series comes from UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1988.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 222 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
222 rows · 6.5 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download population-density-1988-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
UN DESA Population Division’s own file, on its own site.
WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

UN DESA Population Division (1988). Population Density, 1988 [data set], describing 1988. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/population-density/1988

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Population Density, 1987
222 countries
The year after ›
Population Density, 1989
222 countries
All of them
Population Density: every year
74 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions