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UN DESA Population Division · Population Growth Rate
Population growth by country
How fast is each country's population growing or shrinking?
Of the 222 countries compared in 2023, South Sudan had the highest reading, 5.862%, and Saint Martin had the lowest reading, -5.398%. In the middle country the figure was 0.888%. Among the 222 countries measured in every edition since 1950, the middle one moved from 1.968% to 0.888%.
Part ofPeople & Population
Population growth · 2023
Context statistic
Highest of 222South Sudan
5.862%012023 · values only
The highest and the lowest
The three countries with the highest values of 222 compared, the three with the lowest, and the highest on each continent. This statistic has no better end, so no country is shown as leading.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Lowest in 2023
Saint Martin-5.398%
Cook Islands-3.586%
Marshall Islands-3.323%
This statistic has no better end: the two ends describe size, not success.
Highest on each continent
- AfricaSouth Sudan5.862%
- Americas
Cayman Islands1.966% - AsiaSyria4.917%
- Europe
Gibraltar2.332% - Oceania
Solomon Islands2.383% - Every region
02Every measured country
Population growth on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value. This statistic has no better end, so the shades describe size, not success.
- -5.398–-0.041%
- -0.037–0.582%
- 0.584–1.289%
- 1.290–2.177%
- 2.179–5.862%
- No reading in 2023
- Africa
2.247%
the middle country, of 54 measured · 55 members
South Sudan5.862%
Mauritius-0.168%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Asia
1.214%
the middle country, of 51 measured · 52 members
Syria4.917%
Japan-0.482%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Oceania
0.505%
the middle country, of 21 measured · 21 members
Solomon Islands2.383%Cook Islands-3.586%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Americas
0.496%
the middle country, of 48 measured · 48 members
Cayman Islands1.966%Saint Martin-5.398%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Europe
0.018%
the middle country, of 48 measured · 49 members
Gibraltar2.332%
Greece-2.077%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Middle Africa
2.643%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Chad5.710%
São Tomé and Príncipe2.004%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Eastern Africa
2.513%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
South Sudan5.862%Mauritius-0.168%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Western Africa
2.282%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Niger3.307%
Cabo Verde0.491%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Western Asia
2.011%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Syria4.917%
Azerbaijan-0.260%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Central Asia
1.800%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Uzbekistan2.009%
Kazakhstan1.319%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Melanesia
1.798%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Solomon Islands2.383%
Fiji0.519%Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Central America
1.326%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Honduras1.701%
El Salvador0.455%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Southern Africa
1.315%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Namibia2.366%
Eswatini0.943%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Northern Africa
1.006%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Egypt1.821%
Sudan0.023%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Southern Asia
0.885%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Afghanistan2.846%
Nepal-0.139%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
0.835%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members
Laos1.375%
Thailand-0.037%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- South America
0.717%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Bolivia1.383%
Uruguay-0.036%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Northern Europe
0.630%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 13 members
Iceland1.642%
Latvia-0.287%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Micronesia
0.466%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 7 members
Kiribati1.504%Marshall Islands-3.323%Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- Western Europe
0.349%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Luxembourg1.235%
Monaco-0.922%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Caribbean
0.162%
the middle country, of 24 measured · 24 members
Cayman Islands1.966%Saint Martin-5.398%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Eastern Asia
-0.139%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Macau1.388%Japan-0.482%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Southern Europe
-0.343%
the middle country, of 17 measured · 17 members
Gibraltar2.332%Greece-2.077%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Polynesia
-0.418%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 7 members
Samoa0.627%Cook Islands-3.586%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
- Eastern Europe
-0.427%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Hungary0.067%
Ukraine-1.546%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia0.985%
New Zealand0.830%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Northern America
4 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, United States.
Canada1.218%
Greenland-0.141%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
222 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.888%; a quarter are above 1.871%, and a quarter below 0.041%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 222 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Neither end is better. Fast growth can strain schools and jobs, and decline can strain pensions, but the number describes a population rather than judging it. A single year at either end is often an exceptional event, so read the country's line before its position in one year.
Showing 25 of 222 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051950–2023 · 74 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year's estimate, 1950 to 2023, as restated by the 2024 revision. Most lines move slowly as birth and death rates change; the sharp spikes and collapses are migration — refugees leaving or arriving, or a workforce recruited from abroad.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 222 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 222 | 0.888% | 0.041% – 1.871% | 0.888% |
| 2022 | 222 | 1.094% | 0.284% – 2.095% | 1.094% |
| 2021 | 222 | 0.822% | 0.059% – 1.832% | 0.822% |
| 2020 | 222 | 0.843% | 0.133% – 1.938% | 0.843% |
| 2019 | 222 | 0.968% | 0.049% – 1.972% | 0.968% |
| 2018 | 222 | 1.150% | 0.136% – 2.051% | 1.150% |
| 2017 | 222 | 1.136% | 0.182% – 2.074% | 1.136% |
| 2016 | 222 | 1.112% | 0.214% – 2.165% | 1.112% |
| 2015 | 222 | 1.126% | 0.247% – 2.265% | 1.126% |
| 2014 | 222 | 1.143% | 0.239% – 2.282% | 1.143% |
| 2013 | 222 | 1.236% | 0.265% – 2.319% | 1.236% |
| 2012 | 222 | 1.146% | 0.291% – 2.231% | 1.146% |
| 2011 | 222 | 1.218% | 0.301% – 2.249% | 1.218% |
| 2010 | 222 | 1.206% | 0.351% – 2.196% | 1.206% |
| 2009 | 222 | 1.245% | 0.400% – 2.308% | 1.245% |
| 2008 | 222 | 1.267% | 0.425% – 2.383% | 1.267% |
| 2007 | 222 | 1.225% | 0.419% – 2.381% | 1.225% |
| 2006 | 222 | 1.245% | 0.365% – 2.349% | 1.245% |
| 2005 | 222 | 1.247% | 0.362% – 2.332% | 1.247% |
| 2004 | 222 | 1.237% | 0.384% – 2.289% | 1.237% |
| 2003 | 222 | 1.233% | 0.414% – 2.265% | 1.233% |
| 2002 | 222 | 1.220% | 0.462% – 2.254% | 1.220% |
| 2001 | 222 | 1.236% | 0.466% – 2.225% | 1.236% |
| 2000 | 222 | 1.337% | 0.467% – 2.280% | 1.337% |
| 1999 | 222 | 1.346% | 0.479% – 2.373% | 1.346% |
| 1998 | 222 | 1.393% | 0.491% – 2.382% | 1.393% |
| 1997 | 222 | 1.472% | 0.581% – 2.434% | 1.472% |
| 1996 | 222 | 1.485% | 0.497% – 2.463% | 1.485% |
| 1995 | 222 | 1.585% | 0.489% – 2.439% | 1.585% |
| 1994 | 222 | 1.487% | 0.403% – 2.527% | 1.487% |
| 1993 | 222 | 1.538% | 0.465% – 2.529% | 1.538% |
| 1992 | 222 | 1.704% | 0.656% – 2.676% | 1.704% |
| 1991 | 222 | 1.831% | 0.704% – 2.675% | 1.831% |
| 1990 | 222 | 1.865% | 0.596% – 2.800% | 1.865% |
| 1989 | 222 | 1.932% | 0.712% – 2.830% | 1.932% |
| 1988 | 222 | 1.979% | 0.758% – 2.875% | 1.979% |
| 1987 | 222 | 1.996% | 0.763% – 2.912% | 1.996% |
| 1986 | 222 | 2.001% | 0.753% – 2.994% | 2.001% |
| 1985 | 222 | 2.037% | 0.693% – 2.930% | 2.037% |
| 1984 | 222 | 2.039% | 0.769% – 2.916% | 2.039% |
| 1983 | 222 | 2.031% | 0.748% – 2.904% | 2.031% |
| 1982 | 222 | 2.087% | 0.752% – 2.899% | 2.087% |
| 1981 | 222 | 2.007% | 0.757% – 2.877% | 2.007% |
| 1980 | 222 | 2.010% | 0.818% – 2.865% | 2.010% |
| 1979 | 222 | 1.991% | 0.811% – 2.745% | 1.991% |
| 1978 | 222 | 2.060% | 0.803% – 2.868% | 2.060% |
| 1977 | 222 | 2.138% | 0.856% – 2.822% | 2.138% |
| 1976 | 222 | 2.163% | 0.891% – 2.844% | 2.163% |
| 1975 | 222 | 2.118% | 1.026% – 2.880% | 2.118% |
| 1974 | 222 | 2.200% | 0.962% – 2.866% | 2.200% |
| 1973 | 222 | 2.165% | 0.982% – 2.840% | 2.165% |
| 1972 | 222 | 2.199% | 1.041% – 2.814% | 2.199% |
| 1971 | 222 | 2.220% | 1.156% – 2.779% | 2.220% |
| 1970 | 222 | 2.218% | 0.999% – 2.836% | 2.218% |
| 1969 | 222 | 2.175% | 1.047% – 2.851% | 2.175% |
| 1968 | 222 | 2.185% | 1.116% – 2.873% | 2.185% |
| 1967 | 222 | 2.254% | 1.129% – 2.915% | 2.254% |
| 1966 | 222 | 2.274% | 1.184% – 2.910% | 2.274% |
| 1965 | 222 | 2.271% | 1.198% – 2.915% | 2.271% |
| 1964 | 222 | 2.325% | 1.376% – 2.943% | 2.325% |
| 1963 | 222 | 2.250% | 1.347% – 2.956% | 2.250% |
| 1962 | 222 | 2.284% | 1.315% – 2.962% | 2.284% |
| 1961 | 222 | 2.245% | 1.373% – 2.926% | 2.245% |
| 1960 | 222 | 2.204% | 1.440% – 2.908% | 2.204% |
| 1959 | 222 | 2.213% | 1.435% – 2.920% | 2.213% |
| 1958 | 222 | 2.137% | 1.395% – 2.857% | 2.137% |
| 1957 | 222 | 2.194% | 1.337% – 2.838% | 2.194% |
| 1956 | 222 | 2.123% | 1.321% – 2.789% | 2.123% |
| 1955 | 222 | 2.109% | 1.272% – 2.741% | 2.109% |
| 1954 | 222 | 2.078% | 1.285% – 2.691% | 2.078% |
| 1953 | 222 | 2.029% | 1.222% – 2.631% | 2.029% |
| 1952 | 222 | 2.004% | 1.217% – 2.614% | 2.004% |
| 1951 | 222 | 1.901% | 1.228% – 2.588% | 1.901% |
| 1950 | 222 | 1.968% | 1.285% – 2.555% | 1.968% |
062022 → 2023
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Rose most
before → after- Ukraine-14.762% → -1.546%+13.216
Central African Republic-1.312% → 3.410%+4.722- South Sudan2.281% → 5.862%+3.581
- Chad3.385% → 5.710%+2.325
- Afghanistan1.410% → 2.846%+1.436
222 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023.
07Across every edition
Population growth in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
37.887%
Population growth (% per year)
Lowest reading on record
-71.064%
Population growth (% per year)
Biggest rise between editions
+107.154
-71.064% → 36.090%
Biggest fall between editions
−74.854
3.790% → -71.064%
Biggest change since first measured
+5.322
-5.003% → 0.319%
Highest most often
15 of 74
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About population growth
The population growth rate is how fast a country's population changed in a year, in per cent, counting births, deaths and migration together. A negative figure means the population shrank.
What the number is: Population growth (% per year).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under People & Population, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where population growth is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 103 countries in commonρ 0.75
- Working Poverty RateILO · 113 countries in commonρ 0.73
- Crude Birth RateUN DESA Population Division · 222 countries in commonρ 0.70
Moves against
Where population growth is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Population Aged 65 and OverUN DESA Population Division · 222 countries in commonρ −0.76
- Planetary pressures-adjusted HDIUNDP Human Development Report Office · 156 countries in commonρ −0.74
- Median Age of the PopulationUN DESA Population Division · 222 countries in commonρ −0.71
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 190 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
11Questions
Population growth: questions and answers
Which country has the highest population growth?
South Sudan, at 5.862%, among the 222 countries compared in 2023.
Which country has the lowest population growth?
Saint Martin, at -5.398%, among the 222 countries compared in 2023.
How many countries does the Population Growth Rate cover?
222 in 2023.
What is the world average population growth?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 222 compared in 2023, the figure was 0.888%.
Is this UN DESA Population Division’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. UN DESA Population Division publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Population Growth Rate published?
This site holds 74 reference years, 1950–2023, all recalculated in UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 report on one method — not 74 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From UN DESA Population Division, under CC BY 3.0 IGO. From World Population Prospects 2024, read from the Population Division's own CSV download. Projections are excluded. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Population Growth Rate — UN DESA Population Division
From World Population Prospects 2024, read from the Population Division's own CSV download. Projections are excluded.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
Cite the source as: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. New York: United Nations.
Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO, checked 2026-09-26.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: UN DESA Population Division publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- This statistic has no better end, so the page describes higher and lower values and never calls a country a leader.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Population growth by country: Population Growth Rate, data from UN DESA Population Division. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/population-growth