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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.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: November 4, 2022
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First submittedJanuary 24, 2013
Times taken158,594
Average score81.0%
Rating4.91
4:00
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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.
+4
Level 60
Jul 31, 2013
HAHAHAHAHA!
+4
Level 32
Mar 9, 2014
HAHAHAHAHA!
+10
Level 52
Oct 10, 2017
!AHAHAHAHAH
+2
Level 16
May 22, 2018
HAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHA
+2
Level 33
May 23, 2019
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
+26
Level 88
Mar 17, 2020
Ha.
+2
Level 58
Nov 19, 2020
...... you're dead to me
+1
Level 42
May 30, 2023
h.
+1
Level 36
Feb 8, 2022
hahahahahahahahaha
+12
Level 15
Apr 7, 2015
lame one
+4
Level 29
May 23, 2018
cringe
+8
Level 36
Jun 2, 2017
Don't worry I have a Sprite right here I'm serious
+2
Level 30
Feb 7, 2022
I think they would appreciate that.
+2
Level 69
May 22, 2018
huehuehuehuehuehue
+3
Level 50
Nov 13, 2018
Wow Uganda
+1
Level 22
Mar 6, 2020
i liked it
+1
Level 31
Mar 17, 2020
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
+1
Level 60
Mar 17, 2020
Oh. I get it. Ha!
+2
Level 55
Mar 26, 2020
I don't understand. Please explain!
+2
Level 54
Feb 2, 2022
they are the first ones to comment I think
+2
Level 67
Nov 30, 2022
rare good jetpunk comment
+1
Level 55
Feb 27, 2023
It truly was another time, 10 years ago.
+4
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
+2
Level 31
Mar 17, 2020
They actually lost a few
+1
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.
+7
Level 27
Feb 24, 2013
Thanks, that's good to know.
+2
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.
+1
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.
+2
Level 55
Feb 27, 2023
This comment didn't age well. With the war and all.
+8
Level 31
Jun 21, 2016
Why is this surprising to you? Japan has one of the biggest aging populations for a major nation.
+3
Level 68
Oct 12, 2020
Japan's population is already decreasing...

That makes sense.

+2
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!
+2
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.

+1
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...
+1
Level 22
Feb 11, 2022
lol
+6
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?
+6
Level 82
Mar 4, 2014
Gesundheit?
+1
Level 35
Dec 15, 2014
Of Course!
+1
Level 16
Apr 4, 2020
love that movie
+2
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

+1
Level 22
Feb 22, 2014
95%
+14
Level 87
Jan 26, 2015
Uganda be kidding me!
+4
Level 31
Jun 21, 2016
After I incorrectly guessed Tanzania and Kenya, I didn't think to try Uganda. My mistake
+6
Level 52
Apr 3, 2015
Uganda!!! Small little country...
+5
Level 65
Apr 4, 2015
only missed uganda that was a huge surprise
+5
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!
+9
Level 44
Jun 22, 2015
I got Uganda but didn't get India?? I think I might have done too many quizzes today!
+1
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?
+1
Level 84
Jul 16, 2015
Got 100%. Can't believe I guessed Sudan and Uganda.
+2
Level 64
Oct 29, 2015
China will see a much larger population than expected due to the 'One Child Policy's end.
+6
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.
+1
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.
+2
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.
+4
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.
+6
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.
+3
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.
+3
Level 35
Mar 4, 2016
that uganda increase is insane. 90 million people in less than 35 years.
+4
Level 46
Feb 19, 2019
ethiopia had less than 6 million in 1900...
+2
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?!?!?
+8
Level ∞
Jan 24, 2020
Bangladeshi birthrates have been decreasing rapidly. It looks like the population projection was revised downward recently.
+2
Level 37
Mar 29, 2016
I got Uganda but I forgot Turkey?? Dammit Turkey
+4
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.
+5
Level 88
May 8, 2016
Any wild animals on the verge of extinction should probably give up now.
+2
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..)
+2
Level 30
Jul 22, 2016
Wait. Why there aren't Germany, France and UK?
+7
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.
+2
Level 11
Sep 30, 2020
But germany have 83million inhabitants and there are countries in having less then that
+2
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.
+5
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.
+3
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.
+5
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.
+1
Level 75
Sep 2, 2016
Germany's 82 million right now - do they reckon it will shrink over the next 35 years?
+6
Level ∞
Sep 2, 2016
Clearly the answer is yes
+4
Level 49
Mar 20, 2020
It is already shrinking right now.
+1
Level 54
Dec 1, 2020
worldometers claims that Germany now has 83.9 million inhabitants. Thanks (?) to immigrants, I guess.
+6
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
+1
Level 83
Sep 4, 2016
I got them all, but, is Iraq new to the list?
+1
Level 70
Sep 4, 2016
Iraq? not anytime soon, at least.
+7
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.
+1
Level 25
Apr 22, 2017
ok
+5
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.
+1
Level 25
May 6, 2017
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
+1
Level 40
May 20, 2017
Germnay's present population is over 81 million
+3
Level 66
Jan 21, 2019
Congrats
+4
Level 73
Jan 26, 2020
Which, as you've probably already figured out, means that its population is decreasing in the next 30 years.
+2
Level 58
May 29, 2017
It all looks scary, but Uganda beats everything...
+1
Level 36
Jun 2, 2017
How did I not think of Iraq?
+1
Level 62
Jun 29, 2017
i typed "uganda" but it wasn't accepted.
+1
Level 17
Jul 3, 2017
Who thought UGANDA was on here???
+1
Level 57
Jul 3, 2017
Great Quiz - more than interesting...
+3
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.
+6
Level 85
Jan 27, 2020
Geez, Syria's problems are 0% from "climate change" and 99% from "dictator".
+7
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.
+1
Level 59
Feb 8, 2022
Do we know that the drought was caused by climate change?
+1
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
+3
Level 72
Oct 10, 2017
Uganda is the Bangladesh of 2050, and Bangladesh will be... incomparable.
+5
Level 86
Mar 9, 2018
This quiz makes me sad.
+5
Level 58
Apr 19, 2018
Uganda is a bomb of population.
+2
Level 34
May 12, 2018
Surprising that Uganda will have more than Turkey.......Turkey has 40 mil more people than it.
+2
Level 34
May 22, 2018
(as of right now)
+3
Level 71
Oct 16, 2018
There are no countries here that are considered solely European.
+2
Level 83
May 23, 2019
Scary stuff.
+1
Level 50
Jun 3, 2019
+1
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.
+2
Level ∞
Jan 24, 2020
The numbers have been updated due to Bangladesh's falling birth rate.
+3
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?
+4
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

+8
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.
+3
Level 48
Sep 17, 2020
Speaking of disease...
+1
Level 45
Mar 17, 2020
Iraq surprised me, how could this nation with 40 million people double up in 30 years?
+1
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
+3
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.
+4
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.
+1
Level 33
Feb 8, 2022
almost 50 million now
+2
Level 73
Mar 17, 2020
Birth control is much needed in some parts of Africa and Asia.
+1
Level 67
Dec 16, 2022
Consumption control is much needed in some parts of the rest of the world.
+5
Level 45
Mar 19, 2020
The way coronavirus is going, the only country with an expanding population will be North Korea.
+3
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.
+2
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
+1
Level 63
Sep 9, 2020
Bangladesh... how the hell are they all going to fit? The living conditions will be unbearable!
+1
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.

+2
Level 52
Feb 28, 2023
Unlikely.
+2
Level 43
Jan 5, 2021
Wow, Nigeria beats the USA.
+2
Level 65
Jan 8, 2021
This is all fake. Everything will get conquered by the COVID empire
+1
Level 52
Feb 28, 2023
Cringe
+1
Level 57
Jan 8, 2021
So countries like South Africa, Thailand, Myanmar, wont be growing much?
+2
Level 33
Feb 8, 2022
Thailand and Myanmar have very low population growth rates, while South Africa has a bit higher growth rate
+1
Level 60
Jan 14, 2021
forgot ethiopia, but at least i got uganda!
+1
Level 60
Mar 19, 2021
I question the numbers for India.
+1
Level 60
Mar 19, 2021
I think it is going to overtake China soonish but with 1.1 billion, fewer than they have now.
+1
Level 33
Feb 8, 2022
Overtaking China in 2026 according to Worldometers
+2
Level 55
Apr 17, 2023
China has officially been passed by India as of 2023
+1
Level 35
Jul 28, 2021
uganda and tanzania killed me
+1
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.
+3
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!
+1
Level 33
Feb 8, 2022
That small region cannot defeat these countries, I think you are from 2000 BC(Maybe)
+1
Level 53
Feb 8, 2022
Damn it, I got everything EXCEPT Turkey :(
+1
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.
+3
Level 45
Feb 12, 2022
tragic...why cant we provide birth control....so many people will be born into utter poverty
+1
Level 61
Aug 10, 2022
Oh well, natural selection
+1
Level 16
Jun 29, 2022
I only missed Iraq
+1
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
+1
Level 68
Dec 16, 2022
ITS OVER
+1
Level 73
Dec 17, 2022
Much needed free birth control for Africa.
+1
Level 73
Feb 15, 2023
A few too many, perhaps
+1
Level 52
Feb 28, 2023
These estimates for the African nations need updating. Achieving these numbers in a mere 27 years is humanly impossible.