Most Populous Countries in 2050

Try to name the countries that are projected to have the highest populations in the year 2050.

Based on UN projections from 2022. More info here.

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Last updated: November 4, 2022

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First submitted	January 24, 2013
Times taken	158,594
Average score	81.0%
Rating	4.91

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Population	Country
1668 mil	India
1325 mil	China
378 mil	United States
375 mil	Nigeria
366 mil	Pakistan
317 mil	Indonesia
231 mil	Brazil

Population	Country
215 mil	D. R. Congo
213 mil	Ethiopia
204 mil	Bangladesh
160 mil	Egypt
157 mil	Philippines
144 mil	Mexico
133 mil	Russia

Population	Country
129 mil	Tanzania
107 mil	Vietnam
104 mil	Japan
98.9 mil	Iran
95.7 mil	Turkey
86.9 mil	Uganda
84.7 mil	Kenya

+125

Level 67

Feb 23, 2013

Someone get me a Sprite 'cuz I'm dying of FIRST.

Level 60

Jul 31, 2013

HAHAHAHAHA!

Level 32

Mar 9, 2014

HAHAHAHAHA!

+10

Level 52

Oct 10, 2017

!AHAHAHAHAH

Level 16

May 22, 2018

HAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHA

Level 33

May 23, 2019

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

+26

Level 88

Mar 17, 2020

Ha.

Level 58

Nov 19, 2020

...... you're dead to me

Level 42

May 30, 2023

Level 36

Feb 8, 2022

hahahahahahahahaha

+12

Level 15

Apr 7, 2015

lame one

Level 29

May 23, 2018

cringe

Level 36

Jun 2, 2017

Don't worry I have a Sprite right here I'm serious

Level 30

Feb 7, 2022

I think they would appreciate that.

Level 69

May 22, 2018

huehuehuehuehuehue

Level 50

Nov 13, 2018

Wow Uganda

Level 22

Mar 6, 2020

i liked it

Level 31

Mar 17, 2020

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Level 60

Mar 17, 2020

Oh. I get it. Ha!

Level 55

Mar 26, 2020

I don't understand. Please explain!

Level 54

Feb 2, 2022

they are the first ones to comment I think

Level 67

Nov 30, 2022

rare good jetpunk comment

Level 55

Feb 27, 2023

It truly was another time, 10 years ago.

Level 27

Feb 23, 2013

Very interesting. Looks like China stabilises itself (still a hell lot of people) and Japan will have almost as many people as the biggest country Russia? I don't envy them...

+36

Level 82

Aug 31, 2019

All countries kind of stabilize themselves and later drop in population when transitioning into an industrial country. Most of Europe had this around the beginning of the industrial revolution and is now in the slightly declining stage. China is almost there and a lot of central africa still has rapidly growing populations. There probably is a name to the process, but I forgot.

+28

Level 81

Sep 15, 2019

Demographic Transition Model

Level 31

Mar 17, 2020

They actually lost a few

Level 72

Dec 23, 2022

China was never really a problem. Same as India, they always had huge population as they are very fertile and culturally rich lands.

I am more worried about Pakistan, not at all a stable country with terrorism and nuclear weapons (!) and Nigeria which is in constant turmoil and on the verge of civil war.

+26

Level 24

Feb 23, 2013

@What, Japan's population is currently 127 million - 107 million is a massive decrease.

Level 27

Feb 24, 2013

Thanks, that's good to know.

Level 56

Feb 8, 2022

can i have your username

+26

Level 57

Apr 3, 2015

An even more massive decrease is projected to take place in Russia: 144 million to 109 million with 35 years, that's about 1 million of decrease per year. Unbelievable, if you ask me.

Level 88

Jan 24, 2020

Given the room they have, yeah. Considering how much most of that room would absolutely suck as a place to live, meh.

+18

Level 60

Jul 24, 2020

They're still feeling the effects of WWII on the population. So many young men died, that every generation there is a dip in population as the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren aren't being born. And because they industrialized at the same time, they were already slowing their population growth.

Level 55

Feb 27, 2023

This comment didn't age well. With the war and all.

Level 31

Jun 21, 2016

Why is this surprising to you? Japan has one of the biggest aging populations for a major nation.

Level 68

Oct 12, 2020

Japan's population is already decreasing...

That makes sense.

Level 37

May 5, 2021

Was wondering something similar - we have 89 mil now in Germany, and it is predicted to be less than 77 (the lowest entry on this scale)? That is very unexpected!

Level 72

Dec 23, 2022

Much like the rest of Europe, Germany is dying out. Your only hope of rescue is the influx of immigrants, though it still may not be enough as their fertility rates drop after the first generation or two.

The difference with other countries is due to the scale, Germany has the largest population so the decline is larger in numbers even if percentage is the same to say Spain, Sweden or Croatia.

Level 65

Feb 22, 2023

Why do people from the USA love talking about Europe in this way so much?? haha

+36

Level 38

Dec 7, 2013

DAAAAAAANG Nigerians & Indians need to find a new hobby

+36

Level 66

Jan 21, 2019

I think they like the hobby they have...

Level 22

Feb 11, 2022

lol

Level 68

Dec 22, 2013

None of these countries shall exist in 2050 for they shall all be conquered by the Empire of the Dictator!!

+18

Level 83

Dec 23, 2013

Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen?

Level 82

Mar 4, 2014

Gesundheit?

Level 35

Dec 15, 2014

Of Course!

Level 16

Apr 4, 2020

love that movie

Level 72

Dec 23, 2022

If you mean Putin, he can't even conquer Ukraine lol

If you mean Erdogan, he might roll over the Balkans but he's not going further lol

Level 22

Feb 22, 2014

95%

+14

Level 87

Jan 26, 2015

Uganda be kidding me!

Level 31

Jun 21, 2016

After I incorrectly guessed Tanzania and Kenya, I didn't think to try Uganda. My mistake

Level 52

Apr 3, 2015

Uganda!!! Small little country...

Level 65

Apr 4, 2015

only missed uganda that was a huge surprise

Level 30

Aug 15, 2021

Ha! Uganda will be the 10th most populous country by 2100 being more populous than Russia! Even I can't believe it!

Level 44

Jun 22, 2015

I got Uganda but didn't get India?? I think I might have done too many quizzes today!

Level 55

Mar 26, 2020

Wow! Need a refresher? Go here.

+11

Level 66

Jan 2, 2021

you realize that comment is from 5 years ago?

Level 84

Jul 16, 2015

Got 100%. Can't believe I guessed Sudan and Uganda.

Level 64

Oct 29, 2015

China will see a much larger population than expected due to the 'One Child Policy's end.

Level ∞

Nov 3, 2015

I wonder. There were already major exceptions to the one-child policy. Also, culturally similar countries tend to have low birth rates. Let's hope that China doesn't have a population explosion. The global projections are scary enough.

Level ∞

Jan 24, 2020

It looks like the UN agrees with you @Quizzer6794. Since the last update of this quiz, the population projection for China was increased by over 100 million people.

Level 82

Jul 15, 2016

Not necessarily. Its successes will stabilise the population; as will some of its unfortunate consequences - like a huge shortage of women in that generation due to preference for sons.

Level 46

Feb 19, 2019

yeah, theres a definite gender imbalance in china right now. also, with all other industrialized nations, China will be slowing down anyways.

Level 71

Jan 28, 2016

Not a happy prospect. Many of these countries will be in dire straits by then. If nothing changes what will be the populations in 2100 and so on. Because it is in the future nobody will address the real issue and that is if the human species does not cut down on birth rates great tragedy is before us.

Level 57

Nov 9, 2020

People in developed countries lowering their birth rates doesn’t affect the birth rates in the undeveloped or developing world. It’s stupid that they can’t think they can have kids because of climate change.

Level 35

Mar 4, 2016

that uganda increase is insane. 90 million people in less than 35 years.

Level 46

Feb 19, 2019

ethiopia had less than 6 million in 1900...

Level 21

Dec 4, 2019

Look at Bangladesh man! It's current population is what, 147 million (give or take a few)? A 100 million increase in 30 years?!?!?

Level ∞

Jan 24, 2020

Bangladeshi birthrates have been decreasing rapidly. It looks like the population projection was revised downward recently.

Level 37

Mar 29, 2016

I got Uganda but I forgot Turkey?? Dammit Turkey

Level 70

Apr 16, 2016

Missed the hardest two. Didn't see Uganda coming from anywhere. They sure ain't gonna fit all those people there.

Level 88

May 8, 2016

Any wild animals on the verge of extinction should probably give up now.

Level 66

Jan 21, 2019

Or start their own space program... start fresh somewhere else.. (and yes they ll need food/vegetation on other wlrlds. But surely... if they can build a rocket they could find a solution for that..)

Level 30

Jul 22, 2016

Wait. Why there aren't Germany, France and UK?

Level 83

Aug 4, 2016

None of these countries currently have 100 million people in them. France's and the UK's population growth rates are very small and Germany's is flat or declining.

Level 11

Sep 30, 2020

But germany have 83million inhabitants and there are countries in having less then that

Level 55

Dec 1, 2020

Yes - this seems to assume that Germany's population will have declined by about six million by then, which is strange as it's growing at the moment.

Level ∞

Dec 1, 2020

Germany has an average age of 47.1 and a fertility rate of 1.57. Currently, more people die in Germany than are born. If Germany's population is increasing, it is only via massive levels of immigration that are probably not politically tenable in the long term. But who knows? Maybe people will decide to start having kids again. Nevertheless, I have faith that the projections are based on good data.

Level ∞

Aug 27, 2016

The projections for most of these countries have been revised down in the last couple years. The projection for Ethiopia is now "only" 228 million now, down from 281 million.

Level 85

Aug 29, 2016

A perfect example of why people shouldn't kvetch so much over these things. It's never linear, so you can't just project current rates of growth over decades. The current growth rate is slowing, and the most convincing estimates I've seen of global population show a leveling off at around 9.5-10B. Still a huge number so there's work to be done for us to cope well.

Level 75

Sep 2, 2016

Germany's 82 million right now - do they reckon it will shrink over the next 35 years?

Level ∞

Sep 2, 2016

Clearly the answer is yes

Level 49

Mar 20, 2020

It is already shrinking right now.

Level 54

Dec 1, 2020

worldometers claims that Germany now has 83.9 million inhabitants. Thanks (?) to immigrants, I guess.

Level 65

Sep 4, 2016

Don't worry, im sure western europe and north america will be more than willing to accept all the excess population from all of these countries, to do anything else would be -ist

Level 83

Sep 4, 2016

I got them all, but, is Iraq new to the list?

Level 70

Sep 4, 2016

Iraq? not anytime soon, at least.

Level 83

Oct 18, 2016

If my math is correct it should be at least another 33 years before it's 2050. So you're probably right.

Level 25

Apr 22, 2017

Level 80

May 1, 2017

I bet a lot of these declining populations (like Japan or most of Europe) will change course as more and more immigrants replace the current populations.

Level 25

May 6, 2017

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Level 40

May 20, 2017

Germnay's present population is over 81 million

Level 66

Jan 21, 2019

Congrats

Level 73

Jan 26, 2020

Which, as you've probably already figured out, means that its population is decreasing in the next 30 years.

Level 58

May 29, 2017

It all looks scary, but Uganda beats everything...

Level 36

Jun 2, 2017

How did I not think of Iraq?

Level 62

Jun 29, 2017

i typed "uganda" but it wasn't accepted.

Level 17

Jul 3, 2017

Who thought UGANDA was on here???

Level 57

Jul 3, 2017

Great Quiz - more than interesting...

Level 62

Jul 3, 2017

I wonder if climate change was accounted for. A lot of these countries are in the areas that are getting hotter and drier, and autocratic, and look at Syria for what can happen with climate change under a dictator.

Level 85

Jan 27, 2020

Geez, Syria's problems are 0% from "climate change" and 99% from "dictator".

Level 49

Mar 20, 2020

Actually there have been interesting studies about the effects of climate change on Syria's civil war. In short extreme drought pushed people from the country into cities, which led to overcrowding and heightened tension, which then ultimately sparked the war. Climate change is of course not the only cause of the war, but it does seem to have influenced it.

Level 59

Feb 8, 2022

Do we know that the drought was caused by climate change?

Level 41

Jul 21, 2017

1.02 left took ages to think of Uganda

+10

Level 57

Aug 24, 2017

By 2050 Bangladesh will basically be a city

Level 72

Oct 10, 2017

Uganda is the Bangladesh of 2050, and Bangladesh will be... incomparable.

Level 86

Mar 9, 2018

This quiz makes me sad.

Level 58

Apr 19, 2018

Uganda is a bomb of population.

Level 34

May 12, 2018

Surprising that Uganda will have more than Turkey.......Turkey has 40 mil more people than it.

Level 34

May 22, 2018

(as of right now)

Level 71

Oct 16, 2018

There are no countries here that are considered solely European.

Level 83

May 23, 2019

Scary stuff.

Level 50

Jun 3, 2019

My version, try it out!

Level 71

Aug 15, 2019

Hmmm... I realize that population predictions often vary widely because they're difficult to predict. For the most part these seem right, but I did a bit of research and I've found a lot of sources, including Wikipedia, say that Bangladesh's population will be about 202 million, not 250 million, in 2050. It might be worth looking into this again and making that change.

Level ∞

Jan 24, 2020

The numbers have been updated due to Bangladesh's falling birth rate.

Level 78

Jan 25, 2020

What happened to Kenya? I mean we have Uganda, we have Tanzania, I thought Kenya was a somewhat similar to those two?

Level 85

Jan 27, 2020

It's easy to be a "chicken little" about population growth, but human progress is a pretty incredible thing to behold. Problems like disease, corruption, etc. will never be fully eradicated across such a diverse planet, but the quality of life for the vast majority have been improving steadily for decades. Especially so for those in the lowest quartile.

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2013/06/01/towards-the-end-of-poverty

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/2019/0809/Points-of-Progress-271-million-lifted-out-of-poverty-in-India-and-more

Level ∞

Jan 27, 2020

I agree 100%. The more I learn about the world the less I worry about overpopulation. I'd also thoroughly recommend reading The Infinite Resource. Technological adoption is growing faster than the population. This explains why the percentage of people who experience poverty is at all-time lows, and gets better every year.

Level 48

Sep 17, 2020

Speaking of disease...

Level 45

Mar 17, 2020

Iraq surprised me, how could this nation with 40 million people double up in 30 years?

Level 61

Mar 17, 2020

Everyone is talking about Uganda, but Bangladesh is smaller and it's supposed to have 200 million people lol, I don't think they fit to be honest

Level 44

Aug 3, 2020

Uganda's population shift here is much more dramatic, Bangladesh already has a population over 160 million while Uganda is just over 40 million.

Level 57

Nov 9, 2020

Bangladesh is also home to some of the most fertile land in the world, affording to support a larger population than Uganda can.

Level 33

Feb 8, 2022

almost 50 million now

Level 73

Mar 17, 2020

Birth control is much needed in some parts of Africa and Asia.

Level 67

Dec 16, 2022

Consumption control is much needed in some parts of the rest of the world.

Level 45

Mar 19, 2020

The way coronavirus is going, the only country with an expanding population will be North Korea.

Level 83

May 28, 2020

The worldwide population growth rate is a little over 1% per year. Even without a vaccine, over time humans would probably develop resistance to COVID-19, and even at the current rate it's going it won't kill off 1% of us. It would have to wipe out 80 million people a year to do that. And that's ignoring the fact that it mostly kills off old people past reproductive age.

Level 62

Aug 11, 2020

Am I the only one who is surprised about Iraq being on the list? (Or maybe it was just added recently). It's not a big country and a lot of it is just a desert, how are they going to fit in there? I kind of get Bangladesh and Nigeria because of all the fertile land, but Iraq doesn't have that

Level 63

Sep 9, 2020

Bangladesh... how the hell are they all going to fit? The living conditions will be unbearable!

Level 88

Dec 10, 2020

Tanzania and Uganda are slated to merge with South Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi as a single nation in 2023.

This should be a trivial bit in the caveat.

Level 52

Feb 28, 2023

Unlikely.

Level 43

Jan 5, 2021

Wow, Nigeria beats the USA.

Level 65

Jan 8, 2021

This is all fake. Everything will get conquered by the COVID empire

Level 52

Feb 28, 2023

Cringe

Level 57

Jan 8, 2021

So countries like South Africa, Thailand, Myanmar, wont be growing much?

Level 33

Feb 8, 2022

Thailand and Myanmar have very low population growth rates, while South Africa has a bit higher growth rate

Level 60

Jan 14, 2021

forgot ethiopia, but at least i got uganda!

Level 60

Mar 19, 2021

I question the numbers for India.

Level 60

Mar 19, 2021

I think it is going to overtake China soonish but with 1.1 billion, fewer than they have now.

Level 33

Feb 8, 2022

Overtaking China in 2026 according to Worldometers

Level 55

Apr 17, 2023

China has officially been passed by India as of 2023

Level 35

Jul 28, 2021

uganda and tanzania killed me

Level 69

Oct 15, 2021

I somehow guessed Iraq randomly in frustration after guessing other countries for the last 2 minutes. Never thought it would be right.

Level 59

Oct 16, 2021

Hello from 2050! This quiz is very wrong; the most populated country right now is Bougainville! Please update this quiz or my pet alien will attack you. Thank You! See you in 2050!

Level 33

Feb 8, 2022

That small region cannot defeat these countries, I think you are from 2000 BC(Maybe)

Level 53

Feb 8, 2022

Damn it, I got everything EXCEPT Turkey :(

Level 36

Feb 9, 2022

GAS GAS GAS, India has first then China, but there are no European countries here (only Russia and Turkey) and the Philippines got rank 10th than Russia.

Level 45

Feb 12, 2022

tragic...why cant we provide birth control....so many people will be born into utter poverty

Level 61

Aug 10, 2022

Oh well, natural selection

Level 16

Jun 29, 2022

I only missed Iraq

Level 44

Oct 14, 2022

Uganda? 94 Million? Such a big population for a small country. I guess countries who were born recently have high growth rate

Level 68

Dec 16, 2022

ITS OVER

Level 73

Dec 17, 2022

Much needed free birth control for Africa.

Level 73

Feb 15, 2023

A few too many, perhaps

Level 52

Feb 28, 2023

These estimates for the African nations need updating. Achieving these numbers in a mere 27 years is humanly impossible.

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