Data for 1981

Total Population, 1981

Name: Total Population, 1981
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

1981, as UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Total Population, 1981 covers 222 countries. China is highest, at 997,721,071; Vatican City is lowest, at 742. The middle country reads 3,536,898. Against 1980, 222 values changed (212 up, 10 down), the same countries are covered.

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Total Population · Data for 1981

HighestChina

997,721,071

LowestVatican City

742

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

222countries
1measure
1981the year it describes
222distinct 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, 1981, 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, 1981: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	997,721,071
2	India`IND`Southern Asia	703,696,250
3	United States`USA`Northern America	232,201,617
4	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	152,485,035
5	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	139,351,498
6	Brazil`BRA`South America	124,063,109
7	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	118,994,053
8	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	90,303,105
9	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	85,802,049
10	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	78,448,040
11	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	76,068,103
12	Mexico`MEX`Central America	68,892,108
13	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	56,646,750
14	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	56,304,592
15	France`FRA`Western Europe	54,255,012
16	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	53,738,141
17	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	50,189,281
18	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	49,311,727
19	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	46,575,855
20	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	46,321,190
21	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	45,147,224
22	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	41,989,312
23	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	38,689,189
24	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	37,812,713
25	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	35,900,913
26	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	35,304,012
27	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	33,858,783
28	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	30,541,044
29	Argentina`ARG`South America	28,463,959
30	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	27,500,515
31	Colombia`COL`South America	26,713,267
32	Canada`CAN`Northern America	24,844,974
33	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	22,272,789
34	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	19,985,401
35	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	19,784,703
36	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	19,220,704
37	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	18,501,295
38	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	18,412,827
39	Peru`PER`South America	17,798,805
40	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	17,780,572
41	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	16,601,507
42	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	16,035,032
43	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	15,922,423
44	Venezuela`VEN`South America	15,687,297
45	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	15,323,082
46	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	15,099,414
47	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	14,949,202
48	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	14,262,689
49	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	14,006,381
50	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	13,556,452
51	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	13,399,203
52	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	12,281,712
53	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	11,937,581
54	Chile`CHL`South America	11,678,717
55	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	11,568,127
56	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	10,679,329
57	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	10,289,513
58	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	9,882,362
59	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	9,850,669
60	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	9,849,320
61	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	9,837,586
62	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	9,754,402
63	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	9,678,048
64	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	9,279,011
65	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	9,260,189
66	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	8,887,801
67	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	8,816,377
68	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	8,556,596
69	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	8,435,607
70	Ecuador`ECU`South America	8,386,910
71	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	8,320,458
72	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	7,827,856
73	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	7,692,766
74	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	7,567,556
75	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	7,498,635
76	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	7,140,271
77	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	7,075,648
78	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	6,758,284
79	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	6,516,454
80	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	6,420,551
81	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	6,385,604
82	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	6,354,556
83	Niger`NER`Western Africa	6,322,006
84	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	5,997,160
85	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	5,983,289
86	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	5,982,849
87	Bolivia`BOL`South America	5,888,109
88	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	5,868,453
89	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	5,723,725
90	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	5,527,230
91	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	5,284,495
92	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	5,205,030
93	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	5,143,288
94	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	5,121,629
95	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	5,060,956
96	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	5,014,958
97	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	4,799,848
98	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	4,664,258
99	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	4,570,599
100	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	4,566,014
101	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	4,520,959
102	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	4,447,272
103	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	4,184,217
104	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	4,109,022
105	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	4,099,672
106	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	4,089,538
107	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	4,038,307
108	Honduras`HND`Central America	3,841,778
109	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	3,804,456
110	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	3,802,238
111	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	3,621,486
112	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	3,452,309
113	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	3,448,827
114	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	3,366,631
115	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	3,345,674
116	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	3,338,940
117	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	3,256,565
118	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	3,197,019
119	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	3,159,840
120	Paraguay`PRY`South America	3,137,604
121	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	3,135,349
122	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	3,008,981
123	Uruguay`URY`South America	2,963,246
124	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	2,907,187
125	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	2,879,440
126	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	2,790,413
127	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	2,531,802
128	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	2,519,970
129	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	2,478,402
130	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	2,456,637
131	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	2,325,517
132	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	2,173,818
133	Panama`PAN`Central America	2,004,418
134	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	1,986,867
135	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	1,959,065
136	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	1,914,592
137	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	1,869,759
138	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	1,742,857
139	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	1,649,939
140	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	1,646,565
141	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	1,583,426
142	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	1,516,877
143	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	1,512,704
144	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	1,485,339
145	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	1,448,069
146	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	1,135,132
147	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	1,099,855
148	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	1,057,320
149	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	992,500
150	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	969,996
151	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	969,218
152	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	842,432
153	Guyana`GUY`South America	776,453
154	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	768,385
155	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	739,125
156	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	688,893
157	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	660,493
158	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	657,471
159	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	616,808
160	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	589,909
161	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	447,836
162	Suriname`SUR`South America	375,459
163	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	373,524
164	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	364,485
165	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	347,382
166	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	344,752
167	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	343,047
168	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	327,846
169	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	303,252
170	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	293,553
171	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	252,505
172	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	252,270
173	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	246,555
174	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	236,614
175	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	230,746
176	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	191,977
177	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	169,532
178	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	165,678
179	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	161,506
180	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	156,794
181	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	151,441
182	Belize`BLZ`Central America	148,786
183	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	121,166
184	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	118,249
185	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	112,902
186	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	105,073
187	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	100,615
188	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	97,909
189	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	97,758
190	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	94,052
191	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	79,794
192	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	72,986
193	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	66,950
194	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	64,665
195	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	64,596
196	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	62,266
197	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	62,121
198	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	53,997
199	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	50,718
200	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	43,626
201	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	42,698
202	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	37,169
203	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	33,584
204	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	32,017
205	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	28,740
206	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	27,293
207	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	25,462
208	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	21,840
209	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	19,826
210	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	17,905
211	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	17,605
212	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	13,302
213	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	12,402
214	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	11,479
215	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	11,253
216	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	8,498
217	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	7,908
218	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	7,839
219	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	7,526
220	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	6,604
221	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	3,393
222	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	742

02In 1981

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1China997,721,071
2India703,696,250
3United States232,201,617
4Indonesia152,485,035
5Russia139,351,498

Lowest

222Vatican City742
221Niue3,393
220Anguilla6,604
219Tuvalu7,526
218Nauru7,839

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 3,536,898. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031980 → 1981

Since 1980

What changed between 1980 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
212 · 10rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

India687,354,025 → 703,696,250+16,342,225
China983,163,542 → 997,721,071+14,557,529
Indonesia148,950,540 → 152,485,035+3,534,495
Pakistan82,291,010 → 85,802,049+3,511,039
Brazil121,207,461 → 124,063,109+2,855,648

Fell most

Afghanistan13,169,311 → 11,937,581−1,231,730
Hungary10,695,367 → 10,679,329−16,038
Denmark5,123,081 → 5,121,629−1,452
Grenada94,538 → 94,052−486
Saint Kitts and Nevis42,850 → 42,698−152

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 1981.
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-1981-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 (1981). Total Population, 1981 [data set], describing 1981. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/population/1981

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Total Population, 1980
222 countries
The year after ›
Total Population, 1982
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