1979 Population

In 1979, the world’s population was estimated at around 4.4 billion people. Asia was by far the most populous continent, home to over 2.4 billion people, with China (approximately 970 million) and India (around 670 million) as the two most populous countries globally. Europe had about 680 million inhabitants, while Africa’s population was roughly 460 million, with Nigeria and Egypt among its most populous nations. North America’s population was nearing 340 million, dominated by the United States (around 225 million) and Mexico. Latin America and the Caribbean had a combined population of about 320 million, with Brazil leading the region. Oceania, including Australia and the Pacific Islands, had a much smaller population, totaling around 20 million. This period marked the continuation of rapid population growth, particularly in developing regions, setting the stage for significant demographic changes in the decades to follow.

Rank	Country	Population	Population Density Per Square KM
1	China	975,080,848	104.6
2	India	671,259,115	225.8
3	United States	224,567,000	24.5
4	Indonesia	147,254,299	81.3
5	Russia	138,163,680	8.4
6	Brazil	118,526,327	14.2
7	Japan	115,890,431	318
8	Pakistan	85,219,117	110.5
9	Bangladesh	79,837,662	613.3
10	Germany	78,081,292	223.9
11	Nigeria	72,839,815	80
12	Mexico	66,825,878	34.4
13	Italy	56,367,710	191.6
14	United Kingdom	56,228,000	232.4
15	France	54,885,793	85.7
16	Vietnam	52,668,447	169.9
17	Ukraine	49,835,012	86
18	Philippines	47,043,145	157.8
19	Thailand	46,003,776	90
20	Turkey	44,165,463	57.4
21	Egypt	41,257,718	41.4
22	Iran	38,104,787	24.9
23	South Korea	37,534,000	387.3
24	Spain	37,200,014	74.6
25	Ethiopia	35,664,267	32.5
26	Poland	35,256,645	115.9
27	Burma	32,629,456	49.9
28	South Africa	28,505,816	23.5
29	Congo Kinshasa	28,202,122	12.4
30	Argentina	27,901,971	10.2
31	Colombia	26,398,259	25.4
32	Canada	24,276,900	2.7
33	Romania	22,001,388	95.7
34	Morocco	19,235,370	26.8
35	Algeria	18,229,932	7.7
36	Tanzania	18,140,841	20.5
37	Taiwan	17,450,136	540.9
38	North Korea	17,103,555	142
39	Peru	16,848,699	13.2
40	Kenya	15,690,251	27.6
41	Uzbekistan	15,605,490	36.7
42	Afghanistan	15,555,612	23.8
43	Kazakhstan	14,803,694	5.5
44	Sri Lanka	14,796,646	228.9
45	Australia	14,361,808	1.9
46	Venezuela	14,355,117	16.3
47	Sudan	14,342,936	7.7
48	Nepal	14,297,577	99.7
49	Netherlands	14,040,749	414.3
50	Malaysia	13,176,086	40.1
51	Iraq	12,768,376	29.2
52	Uganda	11,866,013	60.2
53	Mozambique	11,828,029	15
54	Chile	10,838,422	14.6
55	Hungary	10,698,234	119.4
56	Ghana	10,658,084	46.8
57	Czechia	10,259,670	132.8
58	Belgium	9,837,200	324.9
59	Portugal	9,724,560	106.3
60	Cuba	9,705,238	88.4
61	Belarus	9,581,518	47.2
62	Greece	9,548,258	73.1
63	Saudi Arabia	9,363,537	4.4
64	Yemen	8,883,381	16.8
65	Bulgaria	8,811,589	81.2
66	Syria	8,453,581	45.5
67	Madagascar	8,448,196	14.5
68	Cameroon	8,406,123	17.8
69	Sweden	8,293,723	20.2
70	Côte d'Ivoire	8,027,062	25.2
71	Angola	7,774,454	6.2
72	Ecuador	7,703,577	27.8
73	Serbia	7,556,223	97.5
74	Austria	7,549,425	91.6
75	Zimbabwe	6,887,132	17.8
76	Cambodia	6,785,220	38.4
77	Mali	6,729,028	5.5
78	Guatemala	6,495,749	60.6
79	Switzerland	6,350,840	158.8
80	Tunisia	6,280,477	40.4
81	Burkina Faso	6,168,269	22.5
82	Azerbaijan	6,082,087	73.6
83	Malawi	5,983,427	63.6
84	Niger	5,952,272	4.7
85	Dominican Republic	5,562,270	115.1
86	Senegal	5,474,440	28.4
87	Zambia	5,391,149	7.3
88	Haiti	5,374,772	195
89	Bolivia	5,326,981	4.9
90	Somalia	5,310,962	8.5
91	Denmark	5,116,800	120.6
92	Georgia	5,018,606	72
93	Rwanda	4,975,045	201.7
94	Hong Kong	4,929,700	4,594.3
95	Slovakia	4,922,558	102.3
96	Finland	4,764,690	15.7
97	Chad	4,648,550	3.7
98	El Salvador	4,511,750	217.7
99	Croatia	4,379,909	78.2
100	South Sudan	4,379,493	6.8
101	Guinea	4,231,470	17.2
102	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4,181,000	81.7
103	Burundi	4,119,789	160.4
104	Norway	4,072,517	13.4
105	Moldova	3,969,989	120.7
106	Tajikistan	3,862,932	27.3
107	Israel	3,637,370	169.2
108	Kyrgyzstan	3,559,457	18.6
109	Lithuania	3,410,869	54.4
110	Benin	3,402,968	30.8
111	Ireland	3,368,200	48.9
112	Sierra Leone	3,304,675	46.1
113	Honduras	3,280,016	29.3
114	Laos	3,268,021	14.2
115	Puerto Rico	3,168,446	357.2
116	New Zealand	3,164,550	12
117	Paraguay	3,101,728	7.8
118	Armenia	3,072,452	108.9
119	Libya	2,924,513	1.7
120	Papua New Guinea	2,921,561	6.5
121	Uruguay	2,913,946	16.6
122	Lebanon	2,848,715	278.5
123	Turkmenistan	2,804,142	6
124	Nicaragua	2,687,394	22.4
125	Albania	2,617,679	95.5
126	Eritrea	2,556,806	25.3
127	Togo	2,546,933	46.8
128	Latvia	2,514,167	40.4
129	Singapore	2,383,500	3,361.8
130	Central African Republic	2,284,664	3.7
131	Costa Rica	2,259,714	44.3
132	Jamaica	2,207,245	203.8
133	Jordan	2,102,355	23.7
134	Panama	1,917,594	25.8
135	Liberia	1,804,474	18.7
136	Slovenia	1,772,854	88
137	North Macedonia	1,768,203	69.5
138	Congo Brazzaville	1,628,788	4.8
139	Mongolia	1,617,200	1
140	Mauritania	1,513,703	1.5
141	Kosovo	1,490,930	136.9
142	Estonia	1,472,244	34.7
143	Lesotho	1,322,653	43.6
144	Kuwait	1,291,514	72.5
145	Oman	1,125,262	3.6
146	Trinidad and Tobago	1,073,027	209.2
147	Namibia	1,027,780	1.2
148	Mauritius	946,640	466.3
149	West Bank	885,722	157
150	United Arab Emirates	884,040	10.6
151	Botswana	862,602	1.5
152	Guinea-Bissau	771,376	27.4
153	Guyana	757,400	3.8
154	Gabon	728,800	2.8
155	The Gambia	634,079	62.7
156	Cyprus	623,537	67.5
157	Fiji	622,328	34.1
158	Eswatini	588,290	34.2
159	Timor-Leste	581,046	39.1
160	Montenegro	571,018	42.4
161	Bhutan	444,090	11.6
162	Gaza Strip	443,480	1,231.9
163	Luxembourg	363,000	140.4
164	Suriname	362,861	2.3
165	Malta	346,876	1,097.7
166	Bahrain	336,070	442.2
167	Comoros	329,105	147.3
168	Djibouti	297,203	12.8
169	Cabo Verde	292,635	72.6
170	Macau	251,368	8,977.4
171	Barbados	251,145	584.1
172	Iceland	225,749	2.3
173	Solomon Islands	222,899	8
174	Equatorial Guinea	221,299	7.9
175	Qatar	214,409	18.5
176	The Bahamas	206,150	20.6
177	Brunei	178,899	34
178	Samoa	157,213	55.7
179	Maldives	148,752	499.2
180	Curaçao	147,851	333
181	French Polynesia	146,463	38.3
182	Belize	145,205	6.4
183	New Caledonia	138,800	7.6
184	Saint Lucia	120,396	198.7
185	Vanuatu	113,399	9.3
186	Guam	103,941	191.1
187	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	97,012	249.4
188	U.S. Virgin Islands	96,183	276.4
189	Sao Tome and Principe	91,804	95.2
190	Tonga	91,686	127.9
191	Grenada	91,354	265.6
192	Jersey	74,852	645.3
193	Federated States of Micronesia	74,774	106.5
194	Dominica	74,238	98.9
195	Antigua and Barbuda	68,519	154.7
196	Seychelles	63,191	138.9
197	Isle of Man	63,170	110.4
198	Aruba	59,420	330.1
199	Kiribati	56,625	69.8
200	Bermuda	54,516	1,009.6
201	Guernsey	53,422	684.9
202	Greenland	49,555	0
203	Saint Kitts and Nevis	43,817	167.9
204	Faroe Islands	43,045	30.9
205	American Samoa	31,964	161.4
206	Andorra	31,274	66.8
207	Marshall Islands	29,778	164.5
208	Gibraltar	28,870	4,124.3
209	Monaco	26,260	13,130
210	Liechtenstein	24,741	154.6
211	San Marino	21,170	347
212	Cook Islands	18,442	78.1
213	Northern Mariana Islands	16,497	35
214	Cayman Islands	16,163	61.2
215	Palau	13,215	28.8
216	Montserrat	11,592	113.6
217	Sint Maarten	10,932	321.5
218	British Virgin Islands	10,903	72.2
219	Wallis and Futuna	10,200	71.8
220	Nauru	7,571	360.5
221	Tuvalu	7,366	283.3
222	Saint Martin	7,303	135.2
223	Turks and Caicos Islands	7,254	7.7
224	Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha	6,948	17.6
225	Anguilla	6,473	71.1
226	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	5,967	24.7
227	Saint Barthelemy	2,833	113.3

Data from US Census International Database