Data for 1951

Total Population, 1951

Name: Total Population, 1951
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

1951, as UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Total Population, 1951 covers 222 countries. China is highest, at 553,758,247; Vatican City is lowest, at 886. The middle country reads 1,942,561. Against 1950, 222 values changed (215 up, 7 down), the same countries are covered.

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Total Population · Data for 1951

HighestChina

553,758,247

LowestVatican City

886

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

222countries
1measure
1951the year it describes
221distinct valueswhole numbers, as published
Sep 26, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 3.0 IGOlicence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Total Population, 1951, as published. UN DESA Population Division ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 222 countries · select a heading to sort

Total Population, 1951: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	553,758,247
2	India`IND`Southern Asia	353,870,057
3	United States`USA`Northern America	156,481,323
4	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	104,844,658
5	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	87,849,926
6	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	70,286,303
7	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	69,782,052
8	Brazil`BRA`South America	55,018,851
9	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	50,346,815
10	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	46,751,899
11	France`FRA`Western Europe	42,333,662
12	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	42,022,304
13	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	37,994,077
14	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	37,807,747
15	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	36,581,898
16	Mexico`MEX`Central America	28,320,482
17	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	28,214,860
18	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	25,600,268
19	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	25,222,692
20	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	21,643,880
21	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	21,605,918
22	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	20,965,182
23	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	19,868,990
24	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	19,568,081
25	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	18,070,418
26	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	17,989,061
27	Argentina`ARG`South America	17,356,467
28	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	16,921,274
29	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	16,625,600
30	Canada`CAN`Northern America	14,083,299
31	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	13,309,020
32	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	12,542,644
33	Colombia`COL`South America	12,078,807
34	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	10,583,568
35	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	10,264,537
36	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	9,423,174
37	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	9,269,864
38	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	9,159,290
39	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	8,997,239
40	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	8,655,758
41	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	8,572,664
42	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	8,474,196
43	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	8,418,610
44	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	7,956,334
45	Peru`PER`South America	7,893,620
46	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	7,879,339
47	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	7,862,796
48	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	7,812,975
49	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	7,712,870
50	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	7,314,435
51	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	7,189,433
52	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	7,072,881
53	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	7,020,908
54	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	6,930,484
55	Chile`CHL`South America	6,756,667
56	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	6,385,007
57	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	6,376,060
58	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	6,257,417
59	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	6,067,042
60	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	6,042,200
61	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	5,978,155
62	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	5,911,164
63	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	5,893,575
64	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	5,774,129
65	Venezuela`VEN`South America	5,732,603
66	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	5,229,124
67	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	4,766,701
68	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	4,748,085
69	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	4,684,148
70	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	4,602,561
71	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	4,475,692
72	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	4,395,353
73	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	4,300,259
74	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	4,260,384
75	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	4,057,200
76	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	4,047,643
77	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	3,911,671
78	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	3,684,865
79	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	3,682,100
80	Ecuador`ECU`South America	3,607,829
81	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	3,541,236
82	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	3,525,376
83	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	3,314,919
84	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	3,295,961
85	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	3,187,153
86	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	3,177,367
87	Bolivia`BOL`South America	3,137,297
88	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	3,061,973
89	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	3,002,885
90	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	2,936,864
91	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	2,880,892
92	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	2,809,367
93	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	2,730,242
94	Niger`NER`Western Africa	2,684,754
95	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	2,619,642
96	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	2,572,745
97	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	2,570,407
98	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	2,529,620
99	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	2,458,819
100	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	2,450,148
101	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	2,393,302
102	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	2,305,746
103	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	2,276,680
104	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	2,267,308
105	Uruguay`URY`South America	2,256,418
106	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	2,247,532
107	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	2,236,031
108	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	2,235,305
109	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	2,069,481
110	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	2,023,276
111	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	1,951,206
112	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	1,933,915
113	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	1,787,522
114	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	1,763,607
115	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	1,725,243
116	Honduras`HND`Central America	1,601,486
117	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	1,588,338
118	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	1,574,922
119	Paraguay`PRY`South America	1,537,943
120	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	1,462,727
121	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	1,461,251
122	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	1,447,469
123	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	1,424,397
124	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	1,417,284
125	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	1,387,572
126	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	1,369,650
127	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	1,351,803
128	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	1,294,075
129	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	1,276,366
130	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	1,271,035
131	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	1,145,387
132	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	1,116,198
133	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	1,068,035
134	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	958,409
135	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	952,946
136	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	936,408
137	Panama`PAN`Central America	882,000
138	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	853,635
139	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	827,025
=140	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	794,323
=140	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	794,323
142	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	670,884
143	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	665,730
144	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	590,269
145	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	549,737
146	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	541,169
147	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	520,391
148	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	501,050
149	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	475,638
150	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	471,151
151	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	462,757
152	Guyana`GUY`South America	429,101
153	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	423,556
154	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	418,260
155	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	410,073
156	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	316,123
157	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	314,491
158	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	300,455
159	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	298,160
160	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	278,604
161	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	230,615
162	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	213,398
163	Suriname`SUR`South America	200,503
164	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	200,113
165	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	187,198
166	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	174,600
167	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	165,533
168	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	158,450
169	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	145,420
170	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	120,750
171	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	110,957
172	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	104,409
173	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	93,968
174	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	90,510
175	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	84,585
176	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	79,540
177	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	77,933
178	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	75,713
179	Belize`BLZ`Central America	71,121
180	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	65,906
181	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	64,728
182	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	64,308
183	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	63,349
184	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	61,761
185	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	61,299
186	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	55,066
187	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	52,360
188	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	51,190
189	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	50,951
190	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	50,441
191	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	48,309
192	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	46,420
193	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	43,858
194	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	38,683
195	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	38,622
196	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	37,797
197	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	33,003
198	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	31,903
199	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	27,744
200	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	25,067
201	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	23,665
202	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	21,462
203	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	20,348
204	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	19,425
205	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	15,054
206	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	13,999
207	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	13,120
208	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	13,111
209	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	12,845
210	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	7,651
211	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	7,393
212	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	7,234
213	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	7,133
214	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	5,819
215	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	5,210
216	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	5,052
217	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	4,926
218	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	4,542
219	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	3,510
220	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	3,113
221	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	1,553
222	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	886

02In 1951

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1China553,758,247
2India353,870,057
3United States156,481,323
4Russia104,844,658
5Japan87,849,926

Lowest

222Vatican City886
221Sint Maarten1,553
220Saint Martin3,113
219Nauru3,510
218Niue4,542

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 1,942,561. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031950 → 1951

Since 1950

What changed between 1950 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
215 · 7rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

China544,044,358 → 553,758,247+9,713,889
India346,278,821 → 353,870,057+7,591,236
United States154,202,680 → 156,481,323+2,278,643
Brazil53,408,551 → 55,018,851+1,610,300
Indonesia68,799,025 → 70,286,303+1,487,278

Fell most

North Korea11,116,736 → 10,583,568−533,168
Germany69,847,782 → 69,782,052−65,730
Austria6,936,449 → 6,930,484−5,965
Gibraltar21,656 → 21,462−194
Andorra5,996 → 5,819−177

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 1951.
221 distinct values among 222
Values are stored exactly as published. 2 countries share 794,323. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
UN DESA Population Division publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
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 · 6.4 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download population-1951-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
UN DESA Population Division’s own file, on its own site.
WPP2024_TotalPopulationBySex.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 (1951). Total Population, 1951 [data set], describing 1951. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/population/1951

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Total Population, 1950
222 countries
The year after ›
Total Population, 1952
222 countries
All of them
Total Population: every year
74 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions