1972 Population

In 1972, the world’s population was approximately 3.85 billion people, reflecting a period of rapid growth following the post-World War II baby boom. Asia was by far the most populous continent, home to over half of the world’s people, with China leading as the most populous country at around 850 million, followed by India with about 580 million. Europe’s population was around 670 million, with the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United Kingdom as major contributors. Africa’s population, though much smaller than Asia’s, was nearing 370 million, with Nigeria and Egypt as its most populous nations. North America had about 230 million people, the majority residing in the United States, which had a population of roughly 210 million. Latin America and the Caribbean together accounted for about 320 million, with Brazil and Mexico as regional giants. Oceania, including Australia and the Pacific islands, had the smallest population, with fewer than 20 million inhabitants. This era marked the beginning of significant demographic shifts, urbanization, and the early impacts of family planning policies in several countries.

Rank	Country	Population	Population Density Per Square KM
1	China	865,421,967	92.8
2	India	579,509,428	194.9
3	United States	209,284,000	22.9
4	Russia	131,768,681	8
5	Indonesia	127,234,652	70.2
6	Japan	107,188,273	294.1
7	Brazil	99,901,025	12
8	Germany	78,717,088	225.8
9	Pakistan	71,121,085	92.3
10	Bangladesh	70,676,996	543
11	Nigeria	59,042,114	64.8
12	United Kingdom	56,079,000	231.8
13	Mexico	55,984,294	28.8
14	Italy	54,365,564	184.8
15	France	52,933,025	82.7
16	Ukraine	48,026,627	82.9
17	Vietnam	44,655,014	144
18	Philippines	39,280,109	131.7
19	Thailand	39,276,153	76.9
20	Turkey	37,492,953	48.7
21	Egypt	34,807,417	35
22	Spain	34,513,161	69.2
23	South Korea	33,505,000	345.7
24	Poland	33,039,545	108.6
25	Ethiopia	30,770,372	28.1
26	Iran	30,685,055	20
27	Burma	28,474,102	43.6
28	Argentina	24,779,799	9.1
29	South Africa	23,935,810	19.7
30	Congo Kinshasa	23,007,669	10.1
31	Colombia	22,542,890	21.7
32	Canada	22,284,500	2.5
33	Romania	20,662,648	89.9
34	Morocco	16,747,831	23.4
35	Taiwan	15,226,039	472
36	North Korea	14,956,211	124.2
37	Algeria	14,760,787	6.2
38	Tanzania	14,706,593	16.6
39	Peru	13,954,700	10.9
40	Kazakhstan	13,541,694	5
41	Netherlands	13,340,427	393.6
42	Australia	13,177,000	1.7
43	Sri Lanka	13,116,399	202.9
44	Afghanistan	13,079,460	20.1
45	Uzbekistan	12,741,848	30
46	Nepal	12,388,524	86.4
47	Kenya	12,044,785	21.2
48	Sudan	11,635,707	6.3
49	Venezuela	11,515,649	13.1
50	Malaysia	11,390,426	34.7
51	Hungary	10,394,091	116
52	Uganda	10,156,091	51.5
53	Iraq	10,061,506	23
54	Czechia	9,862,158	127.7
55	Mozambique	9,809,596	12.5
56	Belgium	9,709,100	320.7
57	Chile	9,700,788	13
58	Ghana	9,285,663	40.8
59	Belarus	9,169,156	45.2
60	Portugal	8,970,450	98.1
61	Greece	8,888,628	68
62	Cuba	8,830,355	80.4
63	Bulgaria	8,576,200	79.1
64	Sweden	8,122,293	19.8
65	Austria	7,544,201	91.5
66	Cambodia	7,508,549	42.5
67	Yemen	7,407,075	14
68	Serbia	7,337,520	94.7
69	Madagascar	7,082,430	12.2
70	Cameroon	7,021,028	14.9
71	Syria	6,690,884	36
72	Angola	6,658,032	5.3
73	Saudi Arabia	6,472,756	3
74	Switzerland	6,401,400	160
75	Ecuador	6,298,651	22.8
76	Côte d'Ivoire	6,171,630	19.4
77	Zimbabwe	5,861,135	15.2
78	Mali	5,769,346	4.7
79	Guatemala	5,509,594	51.4
80	Burkina Faso	5,433,886	19.8
81	Azerbaijan	5,393,681	65.3
82	Tunisia	5,303,507	34.1
83	Niger	5,060,262	4
84	Denmark	4,991,596	117.6
85	Georgia	4,786,475	68.7
86	Malawi	4,760,666	50.6
87	Haiti	4,676,857	169.7
88	Dominican Republic	4,671,329	96.7
89	Finland	4,639,657	15.3
90	Slovakia	4,593,433	95.5
91	Senegal	4,588,696	23.8
92	Bolivia	4,565,872	4.2
93	Zambia	4,471,767	6
94	Croatia	4,225,310	75.5
95	Hong Kong	4,115,700	3,835.7
96	Rwanda	3,992,121	161.8
97	Chad	3,967,279	3.2
98	Norway	3,933,004	12.9
99	Somalia	3,840,161	6.1
100	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,819,000	74.6
101	El Salvador	3,791,291	183
102	Guinea	3,728,194	15.2
103	Moldova	3,703,001	112.6
104	Burundi	3,529,983	137.5
105	Lithuania	3,213,271	51.3
106	Tajikistan	3,145,141	22.2
107	Kyrgyzstan	3,094,945	16.1
108	Israel	3,085,531	143.5
109	Ireland	3,024,400	43.9
110	Honduras	2,965,146	26.5
111	Laos	2,964,403	12.8
112	South Sudan	2,936,753	4.6
113	New Zealand	2,929,100	11.1
114	Sierra Leone	2,879,013	40.2
115	Puerto Rico	2,847,132	321
116	Uruguay	2,829,526	16.2
117	Benin	2,791,434	25.2
118	Armenia	2,647,035	93.9
119	Paraguay	2,614,104	6.6
120	Lebanon	2,513,207	245.7
121	Latvia	2,401,244	38.6
122	Papua New Guinea	2,345,510	5.2
123	Turkmenistan	2,313,102	4.9
124	Albania	2,263,554	82.6
125	Eritrea	2,260,187	22.4
126	Libya	2,183,877	1.2
127	Nicaragua	2,182,919	18.2
128	Singapore	2,152,400	3,035.8
129	Togo	2,079,704	38.2
130	Jamaica	1,997,616	184.4
131	Central African Republic	1,927,260	3.1
132	Costa Rica	1,834,796	35.9
133	Slovenia	1,694,510	84.1
134	Jordan	1,628,242	18.3
135	North Macedonia	1,617,701	63.6
136	Panama	1,616,898	21.8
137	Liberia	1,483,767	15.4
138	Estonia	1,397,391	33
139	Congo Brazzaville	1,340,458	3.9
140	Mauritania	1,332,786	1.3
141	Mongolia	1,320,500	0.8
142	Kosovo	1,277,849	117.4
143	Lesotho	1,116,779	36.8
144	Trinidad and Tobago	975,199	190.2
145	Mauritius	851,334	419.4
146	Kuwait	841,934	47.3
147	Oman	834,540	2.7
148	Namibia	821,782	1
149	Guyana	742,869	3.8
150	West Bank	731,198	129.6
151	Cyprus	640,724	69.3
152	Timor-Leste	629,961	42.4
153	Guinea-Bissau	625,361	22.2
154	Botswana	619,351	1.1
155	Fiji	544,000	29.8
156	Gabon	539,320	2.1
157	Montenegro	527,678	39.2
158	The Gambia	517,101	51.1
159	Eswatini	480,105	27.9
160	Suriname	380,797	2.4
161	Gaza Strip	358,158	994.9
162	Luxembourg	346,600	134
163	Bhutan	338,668	8.8
164	United Arab Emirates	336,325	4
165	Malta	319,430	1,010.9
166	Equatorial Guinea	277,603	9.9
167	Cabo Verde	275,467	68.3
168	Macau	261,202	9,328.6
169	Comoros	251,577	112.6
170	Barbados	242,445	563.8
171	Bahrain	230,800	303.7
172	Iceland	209,275	2.1
173	Djibouti	196,149	8.5
174	The Bahamas	178,332	17.8
175	Solomon Islands	174,500	6.2
176	Samoa	148,489	52.6
177	Curaçao	147,716	332.7
178	Brunei	141,500	26.9
179	Qatar	131,145	11.3
180	Belize	127,661	5.6
181	New Caledonia	125,500	6.9
182	French Polynesia	124,000	32.4
183	Maldives	122,681	411.7
184	Saint Lucia	106,953	176.5
185	Guam	96,755	177.9
186	Grenada	96,618	280.9
187	Vanuatu	90,800	7.4
188	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	88,717	228.1
189	Tonga	85,600	119.4
190	Sao Tome and Principe	76,595	79.5
191	U.S. Virgin Islands	76,319	219.3
192	Dominica	71,860	95.7
193	Jersey	70,268	605.8
194	Antigua and Barbuda	67,016	151.3
195	Federated States of Micronesia	60,427	86.1
196	Aruba	59,421	330.1
197	Seychelles	56,814	124.9
198	Isle of Man	54,877	95.9
199	Guernsey	53,818	690
200	Bermuda	53,260	986.3
201	Kiribati	50,637	62.4
202	Greenland	48,258	0
203	Saint Kitts and Nevis	45,524	174.4
204	Faroe Islands	38,946	28
205	Gibraltar	28,578	4,082.6
206	American Samoa	28,202	142.4
207	Monaco	24,371	12,185.5
208	Marshall Islands	23,729	131.1
209	Liechtenstein	22,240	139
210	Andorra	21,425	45.8
211	Cook Islands	21,345	90.4
212	San Marino	18,481	303
213	Northern Mariana Islands	13,572	28.8
214	Palau	12,416	27.1
215	Montserrat	11,978	117.4
216	Cayman Islands	11,680	44.2
217	British Virgin Islands	10,016	66.3
218	Wallis and Futuna	8,500	59.9
219	Sint Maarten	8,374	246.3
220	Nauru	6,800	323.8
221	Anguilla	6,318	69.4
222	Turks and Caicos Islands	5,960	6.3
223	Tuvalu	5,857	225.3
224	Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha	5,827	14.8
225	Saint Martin	5,756	106.6
226	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	5,673	23.4
227	Saint Barthelemy	2,434	97.4

Data from US Census International Database