Data for 1988

Total Population, 1988

Name: Total Population, 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

Total Population, 1988 covers 222 countries. China is highest, at 1,115,244,165; Vatican City is lowest, at 728. The middle country reads 4,141,036. Against 1987, 222 values changed (207 up, 15 down), the same countries are covered.

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Total Population · Data for 1988

HighestChina

1,115,244,165

LowestVatican City

728

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

222countries
1measure
1988the 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, 1988, 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, 1988: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	1,115,244,165
2	India`IND`Southern Asia	827,342,990
3	United States`USA`Northern America	248,393,235
4	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	176,855,065
5	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	147,364,489
6	Brazil`BRA`South America	143,826,357
7	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	122,476,952
8	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	108,724,739
9	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	107,216,008
10	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	92,020,090
11	Mexico`MEX`Central America	79,695,531
12	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	78,385,992
13	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	62,843,228
14	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	59,739,052
15	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	57,026,546
16	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	56,928,751
17	France`FRA`Western Europe	56,361,849
18	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	55,187,681
19	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	55,072,694
20	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	53,909,626
21	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	52,969,595
22	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	51,724,853
23	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	44,150,825
24	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	42,922,977
25	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	38,952,264
26	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	38,600,927
27	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	38,480,649
28	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	37,817,864
29	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	34,382,752
30	Argentina`ARG`South America	31,780,532
31	Colombia`COL`South America	31,130,524
32	Canada`CAN`Northern America	26,927,945
33	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	24,769,686
34	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	24,109,536
35	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	23,500,524
36	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	22,815,429
37	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	21,356,219
38	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	21,138,431
39	Peru`PER`South America	21,054,702
40	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	20,503,161
41	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	20,223,647
42	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	19,460,630
43	Venezuela`VEN`South America	18,871,020
44	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	18,638,661
45	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	16,908,819
46	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	16,796,605
47	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	16,781,168
48	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	16,594,099
49	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	16,470,483
50	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	16,078,621
51	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	14,825,923
52	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	14,636,568
53	Chile`CHL`South America	12,999,424
54	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	12,859,708
55	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	12,800,558
56	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	11,782,264
57	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	11,523,298
58	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	11,369,462
59	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	11,275,189
60	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	10,861,291
61	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	10,684,968
62	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	10,440,531
63	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	10,432,585
64	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	10,305,450
65	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	10,177,006
66	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	10,107,637
67	Ecuador`ECU`South America	10,010,808
68	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	10,004,590
69	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	9,916,565
70	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	9,629,165
71	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	9,583,094
72	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	8,985,715
73	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	8,833,996
74	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	8,753,262
75	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	8,687,435
76	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	8,532,099
77	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	8,436,347
78	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	7,974,440
79	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	7,884,456
80	Niger`NER`Western Africa	7,793,748
81	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	7,585,342
82	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	7,391,440
83	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	7,289,618
84	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	7,235,360
85	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	7,081,406
86	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	6,968,071
87	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	6,855,734
88	Bolivia`BOL`South America	6,835,508
89	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	6,812,014
90	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	6,594,143
91	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	6,578,145
92	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	6,056,574
93	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	5,625,602
94	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	5,514,899
95	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	5,500,240
96	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	5,365,327
97	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	5,229,676
98	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	5,195,833
99	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	5,129,640
100	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	5,114,989
101	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	4,967,341
102	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	4,946,628
103	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	4,848,029
104	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	4,806,032
105	Honduras`HND`Central America	4,707,677
106	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	4,414,404
107	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	4,407,769
108	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	4,308,017
109	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	4,307,320
110	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	4,237,755
111	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	4,209,470
112	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	4,072,601
113	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	3,972,320
114	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	3,934,517
115	Paraguay`PRY`South America	3,820,546
116	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	3,711,880
117	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	3,672,646
118	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	3,559,363
119	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	3,525,095
120	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	3,501,545
121	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	3,485,070
122	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	3,454,649
123	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	3,355,125
124	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	3,316,026
125	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	3,212,919
126	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	3,193,039
127	Uruguay`URY`South America	3,067,961
128	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	2,968,103
129	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	2,849,045
130	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	2,713,965
131	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	2,652,247
132	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	2,446,941
133	Panama`PAN`Central America	2,352,848
134	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	2,345,777
135	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	2,247,653
136	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	2,134,707
137	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	2,076,322
138	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	2,045,737
139	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	1,993,516
140	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	1,977,304
141	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	1,938,255
142	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	1,917,882
143	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	1,855,859
144	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	1,739,841
145	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	1,681,788
146	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	1,588,568
147	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	1,559,097
148	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	1,235,476
149	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	1,230,069
150	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	1,209,696
151	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	1,063,593
152	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	970,160
153	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	942,061
154	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	931,020
155	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	799,798
156	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	766,235
157	Guyana`GUY`South America	759,663
158	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	758,697
159	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	730,745
160	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	613,585
161	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	556,986
162	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	484,523
163	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	479,929
164	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	439,651
165	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	421,687
166	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	411,264
167	Suriname`SUR`South America	402,227
168	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	373,783
169	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	362,329
170	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	361,224
171	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	326,905
172	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	311,265
173	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	266,448
174	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	257,763
175	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	249,726
176	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	240,913
177	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	210,885
178	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	195,193
179	Belize`BLZ`Central America	175,180
180	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	168,502
181	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	168,346
182	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	156,250
183	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	140,756
184	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	135,000
185	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	132,799
186	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	116,939
187	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	110,658
188	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	101,947
189	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	98,969
190	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	98,308
191	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	97,097
192	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	72,210
193	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	71,427
194	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	70,608
195	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	66,680
196	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	63,623
197	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	63,203
198	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	56,699
199	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	54,800
200	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	49,416
201	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	46,953
202	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	43,615
203	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	42,321
204	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	41,062
205	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	38,519
206	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	29,781
207	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	28,148
208	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	27,839
209	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	24,357
210	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	23,951
211	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	23,749
212	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	22,843
213	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	16,753
214	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	14,680
215	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	14,645
216	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	10,846
217	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	10,775
218	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	9,165
219	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	8,518
220	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	7,782
221	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	2,539
222	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	728

02In 1988

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1China1,115,244,165
2India827,342,990
3United States248,393,235
4Indonesia176,855,065
5Russia147,364,489

Lowest

222Vatican City728
221Niue2,539
220Anguilla7,782
219Tuvalu8,518
218Nauru9,165

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 4,141,036. “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

China1,096,217,446 → 1,115,244,165+19,026,719
India808,931,270 → 827,342,990+18,411,720
Pakistan105,130,717 → 108,724,739+3,594,022
Indonesia173,511,154 → 176,855,065+3,343,911
Brazil141,104,944 → 143,826,357+2,721,413

Fell most

South Sudan4,962,395 → 4,848,029−114,366
Hungary10,475,105 → 10,440,531−34,574
Mozambique12,822,574 → 12,800,558−22,016
Ireland3,540,381 → 3,525,095−15,286
Guyana764,120 → 759,663−4,457

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

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Total Population, 1987
222 countries
The year after ›
Total Population, 1989
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