1956 Population

In 1956, the world’s population was approximately 2.8 billion people. Asia was by far the most populous continent, home to over 1.4 billion individuals, with China (around 600 million) and India (about 400 million) as the two largest countries. Europe’s population stood at roughly 550 million, with the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United Kingdom among its most populous nations. Africa’s population was about 220 million, concentrated in countries like Egypt and Nigeria. North America had around 200 million people, with the United States accounting for over half of that figure. Latin America and the Caribbean’s population was nearing 170 million, led by Brazil and Mexico. Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand, had a much smaller population, totaling less than 20 million. Population growth rates were beginning to accelerate in many developing regions, setting the stage for the demographic changes that would define the latter half of the 20th century.

Rank	Country	Population	Population Density Per Square KM
1	China	619,523,396	66.4
2	India	411,946,698	138.6
3	United States	168,088,000	18.4
4	Russia	112,859,299	6.9
5	Indonesia	92,059,381	50.8
6	Japan	90,766,211	249
7	Germany	70,602,518	202.5
8	Brazil	63,481,099	7.6
9	United Kingdom	51,184,000	211.6
10	Bangladesh	50,461,719	387.7
11	Italy	48,921,000	166.3
12	Pakistan	46,679,944	60.6
13	France	44,682,239	69.8
14	Ukraine	39,940,180	68.9
15	Nigeria	37,007,510	40.6
16	Mexico	33,945,886	17.5
17	Spain	29,579,142	59.3
18	Vietnam	28,327,287	91.4
19	Poland	27,743,876	91.2
20	Philippines	25,032,228	84
21	Turkey	24,877,395	32.3
22	Egypt	24,425,817	24.5
23	Thailand	24,244,475	47.5
24	Ethiopia	22,395,376	20.4
25	South Korea	22,031,228	227.3
26	Burma	21,387,025	32.7
27	Argentina	19,271,511	7
28	Iran	19,261,174	12.6
29	Romania	17,583,000	76.5
30	Canada	16,445,087	1.8
31	South Africa	15,755,233	13
32	Congo Kinshasa	15,259,279	6.7
33	Colombia	14,029,321	13.5
34	Morocco	11,106,266	15.5
35	Netherlands	10,896,906	321.5
36	Algeria	10,057,133	4.2
37	Hungary	9,911,000	110.6
38	Taiwan	9,825,346	304.6
39	Nepal	9,580,247	66.8
40	Australia	9,500,606	1.2
41	Czechia	9,442,040	122.2
42	Tanzania	9,206,352	10.4
43	North Korea	9,145,043	76
44	Afghanistan	9,061,938	13.9
45	Belgium	8,923,845	294.7
46	Sri Lanka	8,917,010	138
47	Peru	8,904,900	7
48	Portugal	8,756,000	95.7
49	Kazakhstan	8,413,793	3.1
50	Greece	8,031,013	61.5
51	Belarus	7,856,790	38.7
52	Sudan	7,590,732	4.1
53	Bulgaria	7,575,800	69.8
54	Malaysia	7,519,663	22.9
55	Uzbekistan	7,440,744	17.5
56	Sweden	7,314,552	17.8
57	Kenya	7,240,247	12.7
58	Austria	6,952,359	84.3
59	Mozambique	6,906,364	8.8
60	Chile	6,888,843	9.3
61	Cuba	6,512,938	59.3
62	Uganda	6,493,361	32.9
63	Venezuela	6,431,274	7.3
64	Serbia	6,382,341	82.4
65	Ghana	6,216,679	27.3
66	Iraq	6,073,493	13.9
67	Yemen	5,380,106	10.2
68	Cameroon	5,283,822	11.2
69	Cambodia	5,183,860	29.4
70	Madagascar	5,090,058	8.8
71	Switzerland	5,045,000	126.1
72	Burkina Faso	4,663,691	17
73	Angola	4,490,992	3.6
74	Denmark	4,466,471	105.3
75	Saudi Arabia	4,328,970	2
76	Finland	4,281,700	14.1
77	Mali	4,146,394	3.4
78	Syria	4,039,815	21.7
79	Croatia	3,973,442	71
80	Ecuador	3,948,587	14.3
81	Tunisia	3,903,067	25.1
82	Georgia	3,887,496	55.8
83	Slovakia	3,787,111	78.7
84	Niger	3,624,507	2.9
85	Guatemala	3,601,560	33.6
86	Zimbabwe	3,529,739	9.1
87	Norway	3,459,992	11.4
88	Haiti	3,426,843	124.3
89	Azerbaijan	3,416,717	41.4
90	Côte d'Ivoire	3,231,423	10.2
91	Malawi	3,151,911	33.5
92	Bolivia	3,141,998	2.9
93	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,025,000	59.1
94	Senegal	2,989,276	15.5
95	Zambia	2,941,000	4
96	Ireland	2,895,253	42
97	Chad	2,865,249	2.3
98	Guinea	2,830,374	11.5
99	Dominican Republic	2,827,784	58.5
100	South Sudan	2,767,079	4.3
101	Rwanda	2,758,591	111.8
102	Somalia	2,725,932	4.3
103	Moldova	2,682,168	81.5
104	Lithuania	2,641,167	42.1
105	Burundi	2,621,454	102.1
106	Hong Kong	2,614,600	2,436.7
107	Uruguay	2,389,290	13.7
108	El Salvador	2,286,889	110.4
109	Sierra Leone	2,263,758	31.6
110	Puerto Rico	2,249,000	253.6
111	New Zealand	2,178,289	8.2
112	Laos	2,120,616	9.2
113	Latvia	2,026,333	32.6
114	Kyrgyzstan	1,939,419	10.1
115	Benin	1,890,546	17.1
116	Israel	1,848,368	86
117	Tajikistan	1,836,703	13
118	Paraguay	1,726,702	4.3
119	Honduras	1,715,023	15.3
120	Armenia	1,617,460	57.4
121	Lebanon	1,603,579	156.8
122	Papua New Guinea	1,576,233	3.5
123	Slovenia	1,524,799	75.7
124	Eritrea	1,520,231	15.1
125	Jamaica	1,509,975	139.4
126	Albania	1,434,476	52.4
127	Turkmenistan	1,381,525	2.9
128	Singapore	1,371,600	1,934.6
129	Central African Republic	1,369,678	2.2
130	North Macedonia	1,339,977	52.7
131	Togo	1,327,270	24.4
132	Nicaragua	1,317,387	11
133	Estonia	1,162,801	27.4
134	Libya	1,160,947	0.7
135	Costa Rica	1,071,654	21
136	Mauritania	1,064,559	1
137	Panama	1,036,550	13.9
138	Liberia	951,644	9.9
139	Congo Brazzaville	921,651	2.7
140	Kosovo	872,188	80.1
141	Mongolia	862,063	0.6
142	Lesotho	799,548	26.3
143	West Bank	791,462	140.3
144	Trinidad and Tobago	742,500	144.8
145	Jordan	717,763	8.1
146	Guinea-Bissau	596,365	21.2
147	Mauritius	591,764	291.5
148	Oman	550,941	1.8
149	Cyprus	539,339	58.4
150	Namibia	534,767	0.6
151	Guyana	505,229	2.6
152	Timor-Leste	479,528	32.2
153	Botswana	467,765	0.8
154	Montenegro	437,249	32.5
155	Gabon	431,741	1.7
156	Fiji	342,987	18.8
157	Eswatini	318,904	18.5
158	The Gambia	314,547	31.1
159	Malta	314,066	993.9
160	Luxembourg	306,615	118.6
161	Gaza Strip	269,836	749.5
162	Suriname	248,254	1.6
163	Equatorial Guinea	229,383	8.2
164	Barbados	225,962	525.5
165	Kuwait	196,601	11
166	Bhutan	191,164	5
167	Macau	190,465	6,802.3
168	Cabo Verde	174,228	43.2
169	Comoros	167,245	74.8
170	Iceland	161,358	1.6
171	Bahrain	134,207	176.6
172	Solomon Islands	116,446	4.2
173	Curaçao	114,221	257.3
174	Samoa	96,619	34.2
175	Djibouti	92,839	4
176	The Bahamas	91,596	9.2
177	Saint Lucia	87,447	144.3
178	United Arab Emirates	85,831	1
179	Grenada	85,809	249.4
180	Maldives	81,585	273.8
181	Belize	79,651	3.5
182	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	76,717	197.2
183	French Polynesia	75,200	19.6
184	Guam	69,200	127.2
185	New Caledonia	67,369	3.7
186	Brunei	65,347	12.4
187	Sao Tome and Principe	60,797	63.1
188	Jersey	60,413	520.8
189	Vanuatu	60,044	4.9
190	Dominica	57,622	76.7
191	Tonga	56,428	78.7
192	Aruba	54,516	302.9
193	Antigua and Barbuda	52,191	117.8
194	Saint Kitts and Nevis	50,932	195.1
195	Isle of Man	50,339	88
196	Guernsey	46,277	593.3
197	Bermuda	42,020	778.1
198	Kiribati	37,645	46.4
199	Seychelles	37,619	82.7
200	Federated States of Micronesia	36,940	52.6
201	Qatar	36,902	3.2
202	Faroe Islands	32,700	23.5
203	U.S. Virgin Islands	28,400	81.6
204	Greenland	27,700	0
205	Gibraltar	23,766	3,395.1
206	American Samoa	20,100	101.5
207	Monaco	18,552	9,276
208	Cook Islands	16,552	70.1
209	Liechtenstein	15,000	93.8
210	San Marino	14,050	230.3
211	Marshall Islands	13,267	73.3
212	Montserrat	12,647	124
213	Palau	8,518	18.6
214	Northern Mariana Islands	7,736	16.4
215	Wallis and Futuna	7,504	52.8
216	Cayman Islands	7,086	26.8
217	British Virgin Islands	6,730	44.6
218	Andorra	6,221	13.3
219	Anguilla	5,473	60.1
220	Turks and Caicos Islands	5,269	5.6
221	Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha	5,266	13.4
222	Tuvalu	5,020	193.1
223	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	4,721	19.5
224	Nauru	3,893	185.4
225	Saint Martin	3,646	67.5
226	Sint Maarten	2,526	74.3
227	Saint Barthelemy	2,105	84.2

Data from US Census International Database