Data for 1985

Total Population, 1985

Name: Total Population, 1985
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

1985, as UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Total Population, 1985 covers 222 countries. China is highest, at 1,059,807,820; Vatican City is lowest, at 732. The middle country reads 3,819,365. Against 1984, 222 values changed (208 up, 14 down), the same countries are covered.

Download CSV Cite this year

Share this page

Total Population · Data for 1985

HighestChina

1,059,807,820

LowestVatican City

732

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

222countries
1measure
1985the 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, 1985, 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, 1985: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	1,059,807,820
2	India`IND`Southern Asia	772,647,793
3	United States`USA`Northern America	241,690,443
4	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	166,776,185
5	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	143,569,389
6	Brazil`BRA`South America	135,515,595
7	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	120,832,163
8	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	100,253,825
9	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	98,229,285
10	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	84,897,973
11	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	77,863,424
12	Mexico`MEX`Central America	75,043,414
13	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	59,060,622
14	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	56,855,501
15	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	56,606,414
16	France`FRA`Western Europe	55,467,150
17	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	55,213,006
18	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	51,108,770
19	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	50,734,968
20	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	50,687,115
21	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	50,270,753
22	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	49,582,289
23	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	41,148,963
24	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	39,842,136
25	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	38,601,321
26	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	37,200,853
27	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	36,622,827
28	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	35,042,093
29	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	31,264,816
30	Argentina`ARG`South America	30,336,441
31	Colombia`COL`South America	29,268,470
32	Canada`CAN`Northern America	25,927,465
33	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	22,605,820
34	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	22,501,693
35	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	22,113,953
36	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	22,008,544
37	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	19,905,872
38	Peru`PER`South America	19,648,204
39	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	19,620,388
40	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	19,571,687
41	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	19,201,768
42	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	17,875,339
43	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	17,477,692
44	Venezuela`VEN`South America	17,461,434
45	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	16,031,090
46	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	15,835,747
47	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	15,683,430
48	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	15,544,154
49	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	15,252,258
50	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	15,023,681
51	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	14,538,959
52	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	13,661,229
53	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	12,548,949
54	Chile`CHL`South America	12,395,274
55	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	11,453,825
56	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	11,426,852
57	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	10,625,672
58	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	10,547,265
59	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	10,433,142
60	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	10,305,145
61	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	10,157,228
62	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	10,040,483
63	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	10,037,037
64	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	9,979,469
65	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	9,944,186
66	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	9,880,337
67	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	9,779,120
68	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	9,761,730
69	Ecuador`ECU`South America	9,311,154
70	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	8,958,854
71	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	8,686,813
72	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	8,374,663
73	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	8,350,244
74	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	8,151,779
75	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	7,999,935
76	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	7,881,548
77	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	7,849,693
78	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	7,620,508
79	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	7,564,309
80	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	7,409,903
81	Niger`NER`Western Africa	7,118,457
82	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	6,799,814
83	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	6,780,953
84	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	6,693,289
85	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	6,683,287
86	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	6,470,957
87	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	6,430,404
88	Bolivia`BOL`South America	6,416,185
89	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	6,317,228
90	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	6,190,862
91	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	6,043,783
92	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	5,610,373
93	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	5,393,122
94	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	5,376,896
95	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	5,151,166
96	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	5,113,880
97	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	5,096,269
98	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	5,034,042
99	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	4,902,261
100	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	4,894,706
101	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	4,834,296
102	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	4,754,555
103	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	4,619,003
104	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	4,538,012
105	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	4,330,364
106	Honduras`HND`Central America	4,323,342
107	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	4,261,131
108	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	4,152,400
109	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	4,105,359
110	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	4,102,391
111	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	3,898,745
112	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	3,739,985
113	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	3,706,479
114	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	3,638,438
115	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	3,562,389
116	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	3,531,271
117	Paraguay`PRY`South America	3,510,671
118	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	3,478,936
119	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	3,399,311
120	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	3,268,028
121	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	3,260,432
122	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	3,247,534
123	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	3,217,376
124	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	3,194,539
125	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	3,026,242
126	Uruguay`URY`South America	3,017,037
127	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	2,778,810
128	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	2,741,894
129	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	2,735,030
130	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	2,600,932
131	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	2,579,231
132	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	2,290,656
133	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	2,240,539
134	Panama`PAN`Central America	2,200,915
135	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	2,059,311
136	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	2,014,331
137	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	1,941,472
138	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	1,921,514
139	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	1,894,242
140	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	1,807,816
141	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	1,796,018
142	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	1,745,256
143	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	1,702,107
144	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	1,624,379
145	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	1,525,280
146	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	1,377,911
147	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	1,325,480
148	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	1,187,366
149	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	1,121,945
150	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	1,096,890
151	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	1,025,063
152	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	897,697
153	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	858,874
154	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	856,726
155	Guyana`GUY`South America	771,477
156	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	731,277
157	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	723,761
158	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	706,196
159	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	696,665
160	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	603,500
161	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	508,392
162	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	430,358
163	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	402,687
164	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	388,352
165	Suriname`SUR`South America	386,972
166	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	385,547
167	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	366,661
168	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	365,940
169	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	352,566
170	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	347,365
171	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	291,277
172	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	282,455
173	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	255,820
174	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	253,154
175	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	241,402
176	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	218,919
177	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	190,169
178	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	180,988
179	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	166,849
180	Belize`BLZ`Central America	163,796
181	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	160,234
182	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	156,698
183	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	130,356
184	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	129,159
185	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	124,117
186	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	108,658
187	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	108,506
188	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	100,799
189	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	97,984
190	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	96,111
191	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	89,707
192	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	71,744
193	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	69,823
194	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	66,496
195	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	64,591
196	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	64,401
197	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	63,661
198	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	55,547
199	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	53,211
200	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	45,578
201	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	43,825
202	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	41,874
203	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	39,103
204	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	37,761
205	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	30,258
206	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	28,731
207	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	28,512
208	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	27,009
209	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	22,485
210	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	21,324
211	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	19,291
212	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	16,832
213	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	16,095
214	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	13,688
215	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	13,269
216	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	10,995
217	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	9,521
218	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	8,551
219	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	8,046
220	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	6,955
221	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	2,783
222	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	732

02In 1985

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1China1,059,807,820
2India772,647,793
3United States241,690,443
4Indonesia166,776,185
5Russia143,569,389

Lowest

222Vatican City732
221Niue2,783
220Anguilla6,955
219Tuvalu8,046
218Nauru8,551

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 3,819,365. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031984 → 1985

Since 1984

What changed between 1984 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
208 · 14rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

India754,875,449 → 772,647,793+17,772,344
China1,043,849,638 → 1,059,807,820+15,958,182
Indonesia163,251,124 → 166,776,185+3,525,061
Pakistan95,164,936 → 98,229,285+3,064,349
Brazil132,658,864 → 135,515,595+2,856,731

Fell most

Germany77,998,198 → 77,863,424−134,774
Hungary10,584,328 → 10,547,265−37,063
Guyana774,111 → 771,477−2,634
Dominica72,056 → 71,744−312
Antigua and Barbuda64,882 → 64,591−291

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 1985.
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-1985-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 (1985). Total Population, 1985 [data set], describing 1985. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/population/1985

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Total Population, 1984
222 countries
The year after ›
Total Population, 1986
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