WORLD POPULATION DENSITY
Geographical maps often shape our understanding of the world. But this tells us nothing about where in the world people live. To understand this, we need to look at population density.
Population density is a measure of how densely populated an area is. It is calculated by dividing the total population of an area by its total land area.
The map shows the number of people per square kilometer (km2) across the world.
Globally the average population density is 62 people per km² in 2023, but there are very large differences across countries.
Many of the world’s small islands or isolated states have large populations for their size. The five most densely populated are Macao, Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Gibraltar. Singapore has 8,480 people per km² – more than 200 times as dense as the United States and 2,000 times as Australia.
Of the larger countries1, Bangladesh is the most densely populated, with 1,330 people per km². This is almost three times as dense as its neighbor, India. It’s followed by Rwanda (571), South Korea (531), Lebanon (523), and the Netherlands (523).
You can see the world’s least densely populated countries if you hover your mouse over the brackets from 0 to 10 on the legend. Greenland is the least dense, with around 0.1 people per km², followed by Mongolia, Namibia, Australia, and Iceland.
If we want to understand how people are distributed across the world, another useful tool is the population cartogram: a geographical presentation of the world where the size of the countries is not drawn according to the distribution of land, but according to the distribution of people.
We show elsewhere how the world looks in this way. When we see a standard map, we focus on the largest countries by area. But these are not always where the greatest number of people live. It’s this context we need if we want to understand how the lives of people around the world are changing.
Rwanda (571), South Korea
Population
Economy
Trade
Health
Education
Development
Labor Force
Environment
Crime
Immigration
Other
Population
Growth Rate
Density
Urban
Rural
Life Expectancy
Birth Rate
Death Rate
Infant Mortality Rate
Fertility Rate
Chart and table of World population density from 1950 to 2023. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.
The current population density of World in 2023 is 59.74 people per square kilometer, a 0.88% increase from 2022.
The population density of World in 2022 was 59.22 people per square kilometer, a 0.83% increase from 2021.
The population density of World in 2021 was 58.73 people per square kilometer, a 0.87% increase from 2020.
The population density of World in 2020 was 58.23 people per square kilometer, a 0.98% increase from 2019.
Similar Countries Ranked by Population Density
Country Name 2023 Population Density
World - Historical Population Density Data
Year Population Density Growth Rate
2023 59.74 0.88%
2022 59.22 0.83%
2021 58.73 0.87%
2020 58.23 0.98%
2019 57.66 1.06%
2018 57.06 1.10%
2017 56.44 1.15%
2016 55.79 1.17%
2015 55.15 1.19%
2014 54.50 1.22%
2013 53.84 1.24%
2012 53.18 1.25%
2011 52.52 1.25%
2010 51.87 1.27%
2009 51.23 1.27%
2008 50.58 1.27%
2007 49.95 1.27%
2006 49.32 1.27%
2005 48.70 1.27%
2004 48.09 1.28%
2003 47.48 1.29%
2002 46.88 1.31%
2001 46.27 1.33%
2000 45.66 1.34%
1999 45.06 1.34%
1998 44.46 1.37%
1997 43.86 1.40%
1996 43.26 1.43%
1995 42.65 1.46%
1994 42.04 1.49%
1993 41.42 1.54%
1992 40.79 1.60%
1991 40.15 1.69%
1990 39.48 1.77%
1989 38.79 1.78%
1988 38.11 1.81%
1987 37.43 1.84%
1986 36.76 1.82%
1985 36.10 1.80%
1984 35.46 1.79%
1983 34.84 1.82%
1982 34.22 1.84%
1981 33.60 1.81%
1980 33.00 1.80%
1979 32.42 1.77%
1978 31.85 1.75%
1977 31.31 1.77%
1976 30.76 1.80%
1975 30.22 1.85%
1974 29.67 1.92%
1973 29.11 1.96%
1972 28.55 1.98%
1971 28.00 2.02%
1970 27.44 2.06%
1969 26.89 2.08%
1968 26.34 2.05%
1967 25.81 2.03%
1966 25.30 2.08%
1965 24.78 2.14%
1964 24.26 2.24%
1963 23.73 2.21%
1962 23.22 1.90%
1961 22.79 1.63%
1960 22.42 1.65%
1959 22.06 1.86%
1958 21.65 2.04%
1957 21.22
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