1961 Population

In 1961, the world’s population was approximately 3.08 billion people, marking a period of rapid growth in the post-World War II era. Asia was by far the most populous continent, home to over 1.7 billion people, with China (about 660 million) and India (around 440 million) as the two largest countries. Europe had roughly 605 million inhabitants, with the Soviet Union and Western European nations like Germany, the United Kingdom, and France among its most populous. Africa’s population was about 285 million, with Nigeria and Egypt as leading demographic centers. North America had approximately 204 million people, the majority residing in the United States (about 184 million), while Latin America and the Caribbean together accounted for around 220 million, with Brazil and Mexico as the largest countries. Oceania, including Australia and the Pacific Islands, had a much smaller population, totaling about 16 million. This demographic landscape reflected both colonial legacies and the early stages of the population boom that would characterize the latter half of the 20th century.

Rank	Country	Population	Population Density Per Square KM
1	China	645,409,760	69.2
2	India	454,425,502	152.8
3	United States	182,992,000	20
4	Russia	121,324,346	7.4
5	Indonesia	102,381,963	56.5
6	Japan	94,943,293	260.5
7	Brazil	73,512,233	8.8
8	Germany	73,123,148	209.7
9	Bangladesh	55,708,888	428
10	Pakistan	53,100,671	68.9
11	United Kingdom	52,807,000	218.3
12	Italy	50,523,200	171.8
13	France	47,156,313	73.6
14	Ukraine	43,195,765	74.6
15	Nigeria	42,785,256	47
16	Mexico	39,836,230	20.5
17	Vietnam	32,701,357	105.5
18	Spain	30,903,894	61.9
19	Poland	29,978,949	98.5
20	Turkey	29,029,976	37.7
21	Philippines	28,839,740	96.7
22	Thailand	28,376,096	55.5
23	Egypt	27,522,861	27.6
24	South Korea	25,613,842	264.3
25	Ethiopia	24,648,849	22.5
26	Burma	23,232,014	35.5
27	Iran	22,239,765	14.5
28	Argentina	20,950,583	7.7
29	Canada	18,634,977	2
30	Romania	18,566,932	80.8
31	South Africa	17,869,991	14.7
32	Congo Kinshasa	16,964,231	7.5
33	Colombia	16,476,124	15.9
34	Morocco	12,767,526	17.8
35	Netherlands	11,646,789	343.6
36	Taiwan	11,563,348	358.4
37	Algeria	11,121,645	4.7
38	North Korea	10,714,188	89
39	Australia	10,598,814	1.4
40	Tanzania	10,555,397	11.9
41	Kazakhstan	10,466,809	3.9
42	Peru	10,217,500	8
43	Sri Lanka	10,190,590	157.7
44	Nepal	10,176,198	71
45	Afghanistan	10,043,473	15.4
46	Hungary	10,029,000	111.9
47	Czechia	9,587,250	124.1
48	Belgium	9,165,800	302.7
49	Portugal	9,031,200	98.7
50	Uzbekistan	8,867,714	20.8
51	Sudan	8,674,716	4.7
52	Malaysia	8,663,401	26.4
53	Kenya	8,411,966	14.8
54	Greece	8,398,050	64.3
55	Belarus	8,262,998	40.7
56	Bulgaria	7,943,118	73.2
57	Venezuela	7,847,836	8.9
58	Chile	7,773,314	10.5
59	Mozambique	7,627,642	9.7
60	Sweden	7,519,998	18.3
61	Uganda	7,471,533	37.9
62	Ghana	7,153,508	31.4
63	Cuba	7,134,000	65
64	Austria	7,086,299	86
65	Iraq	7,026,278	16.1
66	Serbia	6,728,352	86.8
67	Yemen	5,993,828	11.4
68	Cambodia	5,919,487	33.5
69	Cameroon	5,699,165	12.1
70	Madagascar	5,590,111	9.6
71	Switzerland	5,512,000	137.8
72	Burkina Faso	4,890,688	17.9
73	Saudi Arabia	4,827,708	2.2
74	Angola	4,805,453	3.9
75	Syria	4,678,688	25.2
76	Denmark	4,609,817	108.6
77	Mali	4,572,544	3.7
78	Ecuador	4,546,197	16.4
79	Finland	4,461,004	14.7
80	Guatemala	4,231,703	39.5
81	Tunisia	4,216,031	27.1
82	Georgia	4,211,113	60.4
83	Slovakia	4,191,642	87.1
84	Zimbabwe	4,140,117	10.7
85	Croatia	4,055,443	72.5
86	Azerbaijan	4,033,503	48.8
87	Niger	3,992,502	3.2
88	Haiti	3,770,962	136.8
89	Côte d'Ivoire	3,705,211	11.7
90	Norway	3,609,800	11.9
91	Malawi	3,532,056	37.5
92	Bolivia	3,512,782	3.2
93	Senegal	3,348,228	17.4
94	Dominican Republic	3,340,557	69.1
95	Zambia	3,337,000	4.5
96	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,299,000	64.4
97	Hong Kong	3,168,100	2,952.6
98	Chad	3,127,275	2.5
99	Guinea	3,072,827	12.5
100	Moldova	3,068,962	93.3
101	Rwanda	3,045,908	123.5
102	Somalia	3,016,963	4.8
103	Burundi	2,894,153	112.7
104	South Sudan	2,819,021	4.4
105	Ireland	2,818,300	40.9
106	Lithuania	2,810,271	44.8
107	El Salvador	2,664,838	128.6
108	Uruguay	2,563,794	14.6
109	New Zealand	2,432,450	9.2
110	Sierra Leone	2,431,632	34
111	Puerto Rico	2,402,514	270.9
112	Laos	2,358,813	10.2
113	Kyrgyzstan	2,254,930	11.8
114	Israel	2,213,337	103
115	Tajikistan	2,163,433	15.3
116	Latvia	2,145,744	34.5
117	Benin	2,113,243	19.1
118	Honduras	2,018,693	18
119	Paraguay	1,959,034	4.9
120	Armenia	1,943,799	68.9
121	Lebanon	1,835,620	179.4
122	Papua New Guinea	1,758,754	3.9
123	Singapore	1,702,400	2,401.1
124	Albania	1,676,635	61.2
125	Jamaica	1,647,918	152.1
126	Turkmenistan	1,644,416	3.5
127	Eritrea	1,640,231	16.2
128	Slovenia	1,571,851	78
129	Nicaragua	1,540,819	12.8
130	Central African Republic	1,494,850	2.4
131	Togo	1,491,264	27.4
132	Libya	1,388,517	0.8
133	North Macedonia	1,381,753	54.3
134	Costa Rica	1,296,587	25.4
135	Estonia	1,224,467	28.9
136	Panama	1,181,175	15.9
137	Mauritania	1,131,821	1.1
138	Liberia	1,083,250	11.2
139	Congo Brazzaville	1,024,609	3
140	Mongolia	981,849	0.6
141	Kosovo	965,510	88.7
142	Jordan	890,828	10
143	Lesotho	875,282	28.8
144	Trinidad and Tobago	861,387	168
145	West Bank	808,783	143.4
146	Mauritius	681,284	335.6
147	Guinea-Bissau	622,070	22.1
148	Oman	615,752	2
149	Namibia	605,831	0.7
150	Cyprus	585,326	63.3
151	Guyana	584,710	3
152	Timor-Leste	517,732	34.8
153	Botswana	504,585	0.9
154	Montenegro	468,013	34.8
155	Gabon	450,485	1.7
156	Fiji	407,359	22.3
157	The Gambia	362,673	35.8
158	Eswatini	360,775	21
159	Malta	328,854	1,040.7
160	Kuwait	325,342	18.3
161	Luxembourg	316,845	122.5
162	Gaza Strip	300,820	835.6
163	Suriname	294,229	1.9
164	Equatorial Guinea	248,028	8.8
165	Barbados	229,597	533.9
166	Bhutan	217,631	5.7
167	Cabo Verde	203,146	50.4
168	Macau	189,831	6,779.7
169	Comoros	187,209	83.8
170	Iceland	178,905	1.8
171	Bahrain	164,334	216.2
172	Solomon Islands	129,642	4.6
173	Curaçao	126,051	283.9
174	The Bahamas	117,565	11.7
175	Djibouti	116,664	5
176	Samoa	113,621	40.3
177	United Arab Emirates	108,989	1.3
178	Belize	94,685	4.2
179	Maldives	92,793	311.4
180	Grenada	90,865	264.1
181	Saint Lucia	88,588	146.2
182	Brunei	87,067	16.5
183	French Polynesia	82,600	21.6
184	New Caledonia	81,774	4.5
185	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	81,413	209.3
186	Vanuatu	67,691	5.6
187	Guam	66,400	122.1
188	Tonga	65,683	91.6
189	Sao Tome and Principe	64,330	66.7
190	Jersey	63,647	548.7
191	Dominica	60,459	80.5
192	Aruba	57,008	316.7
193	Antigua and Barbuda	55,650	125.6
194	Saint Kitts and Nevis	49,048	187.9
195	Qatar	48,592	4.2
196	Isle of Man	47,243	82.6
197	Guernsey	47,211	605.3
198	Bermuda	45,148	836.1
199	Federated States of Micronesia	43,081	61.4
200	Seychelles	43,001	94.5
201	Kiribati	41,543	51.2
202	Faroe Islands	35,000	25.1
203	U.S. Virgin Islands	34,300	98.6
204	Greenland	33,726	0
205	Gibraltar	24,349	3,478.4
206	Monaco	21,348	10,674
207	American Samoa	19,900	100.5
208	Cook Islands	18,245	77.3
209	Liechtenstein	16,825	105.2
210	Marshall Islands	15,622	86.3
211	San Marino	15,553	255
212	Montserrat	12,040	118
213	Palau	9,740	21.2
214	Northern Mariana Islands	9,160	19.4
215	Andorra	8,959	19.1
216	Wallis and Futuna	7,990	56.3
217	Cayman Islands	7,828	29.7
218	British Virgin Islands	7,561	50.1
219	Turks and Caicos Islands	5,799	6.1
220	Anguilla	5,690	62.5
221	Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha	5,330	13.5
222	Tuvalu	5,327	204.9
223	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	4,960	20.5
224	Nauru	4,613	219.7
225	Saint Martin	4,453	82.5
226	Sint Maarten	2,854	83.9
227	Saint Barthelemy	2,172	86.9

Data from US Census International Database