Population Ranking: 35 Major Economies

What this ranking tells us

Headline ranking

The population ranking of the Group of Twenty (major-economy) economies reveals a striking concentration at the top. As of 2024, India leads with 1.45 billion people, narrowly ahead of China's 1.41 billion. The margin of approximately 40 million exceeds the entire population of Canada. Following a historic crossover in 2023 — when India surpassed China to become the world's most populous country, according to United Nations estimates — this gap has continued to widen. The European Union, treated as a single member bloc within the 35 major economies, occupies a distant third position with 450.2 million residents. The combined population of India and China, at 2.86 billion, accounts for more than half of all major-economy residents, underscoring the demographic weight of these two Asian giants.

Beyond the top two, the drop-off is precipitous. The European Union's population is less than one-third that of China, and the United States, ranked fourth, records 340.1 million. Indonesia completes the top five at 283.5 million. From there, the figures descend steadily through Brazil (212.0 million) to the Russian Federation (143.5 million), Mexico (130.9 million), and Japan (124.0 million). No other major-economy economy exceeds 100 million. The gap between first-placed India and twentieth-placed Australia — which has 27.2 million — is a factor of over 53. Measured differently, India's population is equivalent to the sum of the bottom twelve these major economies combined.

The ranking reflects the 35 major economies's nature as a forum of systemically important economies, not a population-weighted club. While India and China dominate demographically, they are joined by economies with populations under 50 million, such as Canada (41.3 million), Saudi Arabia (35.3 million), and Australia. The presence of these smaller-population members alongside demographic heavyweights creates a distribution that is both top-heavy and long-tailed. The top five members hold 73% of the total major-economy population, while the bottom five together represent less than 5%.

This structure matters for the 35 major economies's agenda. Population size influences labor supply, consumption markets, and the scale of infrastructure needs. However, economic output per capita and geopolitical weight are not directly proportional to population, which explains why high-income economies like Australia and Saudi Arabia — whose populations are modest — can shape global economic governance alongside the billion-population nations. The headline ranking thus offers a starting point for understanding the diverse demographic foundations upon which major economies are built.

Historical trajectory

Decade-by-decade snapshots of the top five major-economy populations reveal sharply divergent growth paths since 1990. India's population surged from 865.0 million in 1990 to 1.06 billion in 2000, then to 1.24 billion by 2010, and reached 1.40 billion in 2020 before arriving at 1.45 billion in 2024. That represents a 67% increase over 34 years. China, by contrast, grew from 1.14 billion in 1990 to 1.26 billion in 2000, 1.34 billion in 2010, and 1.41 billion in 2020, with essentially no change by 2024. The deceleration in China's growth is the demographic signature of the one-child policy era and subsequent fertility decline, while India's trajectory reflects a more gradual fertility transition combined with strong population momentum.

The European Union's population expanded modestly, from 420.5 million in 1990 to 450.2 million in 2024 — an increase of just 7%. EU population dynamics are heavily influenced by territorial enlargements: the series includes additional member states over time, meaning the aggregate is not strictly comparable across all years. Adjusting for constant membership, natural increase (births minus deaths) has been near zero or negative in many member states since the 2010s, with net migration providing the sole driver of growth. The United States, meanwhile, grew from 249.6 million in 1990 to 340.1 million in 2024, a 36% increase fueled by both natural increase and sustained immigration.

Indonesia's demographic path is instructive for emerging economies. Its population rose from 183.5 million in 1990 to 283.5 million in 2024, a 54% increase. The growth rate has, however, decelerated from about 1.8% annually in the 1990s to below 1.0% in recent years, as fertility fell and maternal health improvements moderated crude birth rates. These five trajectories underscore that the 35 major economies population ranking is not static: India's rise to the top was decades in the making, while China's impending population decline will reshape the ranking further in coming years.

Methodological caveats are critical when interpreting these decade snapshots. All figures are mid-year estimates, typically derived from national censuses, civil registration systems, and demographic surveys, reconciled by international agencies. The 2024 numbers align with the most recent UN World Population Prospects and World Bank Development Indicators. The European Union aggregate is compiled from member-state data and reflects the 27-country membership as of 2024. National definitions of "resident population" may differ — some countries count all persons physically present (de facto), while others count legal residents (de jure) — but the margin of error at the 35 major economies scale is generally small relative to the absolute differences in rank.

What drives the spread

The vast population differences among these major economies are rooted in long-run structural factors: fertility, mortality, and migration. India's large and still-growing population reflects a demographic history of relatively high fertility rates, which only recently fell below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), India's total fertility rate reached 2.0 in 2019-2021. However, the large cohort of women of reproductive age — a legacy of past high fertility — generates substantial population momentum, adding about 15 million people annually net of deaths. This momentum, rather than high fertility per se, now drives India's continued growth.

China's trajectory is the mirror image. Strict family planning policies from the late 1970s accelerated a decline in fertility already underway. The total fertility rate fell below replacement in the early 1990s and, by 2022, dropped to an estimated 1.18, one of the lowest globally (National Bureau of Statistics of China). Combined with rising life expectancy, this has produced rapid aging: the share of the population over 65 exceeded 15% in 2023. China's population peaked in absolute terms in 2021 or 2022 and is now on a declining trend, which helps explain why its lead over India has evaporated.

Migration is the dominant explanation for population growth in several major economies with otherwise stagnant or negative natural increase. The European Union's population, for example, would have fallen in most years since 2015 without positive net migration, as deaths outnumbered births across the bloc. The United States, historically a magnet for immigrants, added roughly 1 million people annually through net international migration in the 2010s, accounting for about a third of its total growth. Canada's population grew by over 1 million in 2023 alone, driven primarily by government-set immigration targets. Saudi Arabia's population dynamics are shaped by large inflows of foreign workers, who constitute a significant share of the resident population.

Policy interventions and economic structure amplify these forces. China's transition from a planned-birth regime to a three-child policy in 2021 has yet to reverse fertility decline, partly due to high child-rearing costs and changing social norms. India's state-level family welfare programs and improvements in female education have accelerated fertility decline in southern states, while northern states continue to drive national growth. European Union countries have adopted varied pro-natalist and integration policies, but none has achieved replacement-level fertility. These structural, migration, and policy drivers collectively explain why the 35 major economies population ranking spans two orders of magnitude and why the compositional shift at the top has occurred precisely now.

Notable outliers

The major-economy includes several economies whose population size seems disproportionate to their economic influence, or vice versa. Australia, with 27.2 million people, is the least populous major-economy member, yet it ranks among the world's top 15 economies by GDP. Saudi Arabia, at 35.3 million, is not far behind, driven by its oil wealth and geopolitical role. Canada (41.3 million) shares the pattern: a high-income economy with a land area exceeded only by Russia, but a population smaller than that of many individual Indian states. These three countries — all under 42 million — stand out as demographic outliers within a group that includes three members each exceeding 200 million.

Saudi Arabia's outlier status is further underlined by its demographic composition. Official statistics show that non-nationals account for over a third of the population, a feature shared to a lesser extent with other Gulf these major economies not in the list. This reliance on expatriate labor distorts the usual link between native population size and domestic labor supply, and makes population figures sensitive to economic cycles and policy changes. Australia's population growth, powered by skilled immigration, has expanded rapidly from 19.0 million in 2000 to 27.2 million in 2024, a rate outpacing many larger major economies, illustrating how migration policy can punch above demographic weight.

At the other end of the spectrum, South Africa — the only African nation in the 35 major economies — appears as a moderate population of 64.0 million that belies its continental importance. It is the fifth most-populous country in Africa, behind Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, none of which are these major economies. Thus, the 35 major economies's population ranking is not a simple reflection of global population leaders; rather, it is filtered through the lens of economic and systemic relevance, making the presence of these small-population, high-income economies a defining feature of the grouping.

Methodology and sources

The population data presented in this ranking derive from the 2024 estimates of the World Bank and the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects (2024 Revision). All figures are mid-year estimates and are expressed in millions or billions of people. The European Union aggregate is the sum of the resident population of its 27 member states as of 2024, consistent with Eurostat and UN reporting. The these major economieship considered here includes the 19 individual countries and the European Union as a bloc; the African Union, which joined the 35 major economies as a permanent member in 2023, is not included because its constituent populations span dozens of countries and aggregate estimates for a comparable year are not yet standardized in the same data series.

Ranking positions are assigned by descending absolute population size. Care should be taken when comparing across years because census methodologies, registration completeness, and territorial definitions evolve. For example, EU membership enlargement in 2004, 2007, and 2013 adds millions of residents to the aggregate, not from demographic growth but from statistical reclassification. Similarly, refugee movements and undocumented populations can introduce uncertainty in country-level estimates, although the relative magnitude is small for most these major economies. All data are drawn from the provided verified data block, which aligns with the latest publicly available series from the World Bank's World Development Indicators and the IMF's World Economic Outlook database.

Frequently asked questions

What is the latest major-economy population ranking by country?

As of 2024, the descending order of these major economies by population is: India (1.45 billion), China (1.41 billion), European Union (450.2 million), United States (340.1 million), Indonesia (283.5 million), Brazil (212.0 million), Russian Federation (143.5 million), Mexico (130.9 million), Japan (124.0 million), Türkiye (85.5 million), Germany (83.5 million), United Kingdom (69.2 million), France (68.6 million), South Africa (64.0 million), Italy (59.0 million), Republic of Korea (51.8 million), Argentina (45.7 million), Canada (41.3 million), Saudi Arabia (35.3 million), and Australia (27.2 million). This ranking treats the European Union as a single unit, consistent with its these major economieship. Source: World Bank/UN 2024 mid-year estimates.

Which major-economy country has the smallest population?

Australia ranks as the least populous major-economy member, with 27.2 million people in 2024. It is followed by Saudi Arabia at 35.3 million and Canada at 41.3 million. Despite their relatively small populations, all three are high-income economies and active participants in the 35 major economies, underscoring that the forum values economic weight alongside demographic scale.

How often is the 35 major economies population ranking updated?

The ranking is typically updated annually, reflecting the latest mid-year population estimates published by the World Bank and the United Nations. These organizations revise their series once or twice a year based on new census data, vital statistics, and demographic surveys. Users of this ranking should check the reference year on each figure, as countries may release revised intercensal estimates at different times.

Why does the European Union appear in the ranking when countries like Germany and France are listed separately?

The major-economy's membership includes both the European Union as a bloc and individual member states such as Germany, France, and Italy. This dual representation means that the EU population aggregate (450.2 million) encompasses the populations of all its member states, some of which also appear separately in the ranking. To avoid confusion, the ranking treats the European Union and its member states as distinct major economies for enumeration, in line with the forum's structure.

When did India overtake China in population, and what is the current gap?

India surpassed China to become the world's most populous country in April 2023, based on United Nations projections and corroborated by national demographic surveys. The gap at the end of that year was estimated at about 15 million. As of 2024, India's population of 1.45 billion exceeds China's 1.41 billion by approximately 40 million. This gap is widening because India's population is still growing while China's has begun to decline.

Are there any these major economies with populations under 30 million?

Yes, Australia is the sole major-economy member with a population below 30 million, recording 27.2 million in 2024. Saudi Arabia, at 35.3 million, and Canada, at 41.3 million, are the next smallest. All three demonstrate that significant economic and geopolitical influence can be achieved without a large demographic base, particularly through high income per capita, strategic resource endowments, and open migration policies.