1985 Population

In 1985, the world’s population was approximately 4.85 billion people. Asia was by far the most populous continent, home to over 2.6 billion people, with China (about 1.05 billion) and India (around 780 million) leading as the world’s most populous countries. Africa’s population was nearing 550 million, with Nigeria and Egypt as its largest countries. Europe had about 690 million residents, with the Soviet Union, then still intact, and Germany among its most populous nations. North America’s population was roughly 400 million, dominated by the United States (around 240 million) and Mexico. Latin America and the Caribbean together had about 390 million people, with Brazil (nearly 135 million) as the regional giant. Oceania, including Australia and the Pacific islands, had a much smaller population, about 25 million. The global demographic landscape in 1985 reflected rapid growth in developing regions, particularly Asia and Africa, while Europe and North America experienced slower increases.

RankCountryPopulationPopulation Density Per Square KM
1China1,061,875,848113.9
2India770,152,274259
3United States237,923,79526
4Indonesia166,069,31791.7
5Russia143,937,9978.8
6Brazil136,363,55816.3
7Japan120,754,335331.3
8Pakistan101,421,542131.6
9Bangladesh94,584,305726.6
10Nigeria85,379,30893.7
11Germany77,684,907222.8
12Mexico76,600,78739.4
13Vietnam60,093,068193.8
14Italy56,718,115192.8
15United Kingdom56,584,077233.9
16France56,560,97288.3
17Philippines54,570,180183
18Thailand51,758,689101.3
19Turkey50,988,56666.3
20Ukraine50,944,24887.9
21Egypt50,052,38150.3
22Iran48,618,97731.7
23South Korea40,806,000421
24Ethiopia40,684,47137.1
25Spain38,534,85377.2
26Poland37,225,792122.4
27Burma36,733,45656.2
28South Africa34,254,09228.2
29Congo Kinshasa33,347,62814.7
30Argentina30,671,75911.2
31Colombia30,494,67429.4
32Canada25,941,6002.9
33Romania22,521,19598
34Algeria22,008,4509.2
35Morocco21,948,62930.6
36Tanzania21,501,73324.3
37Peru21,118,48016.5
38Kenya19,754,03634.7
39Taiwan19,337,363599.4
40North Korea18,830,679156.4
41Uzbekistan18,215,41542.8
42Sudan17,506,7219.4
43Venezuela17,197,07219.5
44Nepal16,438,782114.7
45Kazakhstan15,998,8545.9
46Sri Lanka15,847,023245.2
47Iraq15,693,62035.9
48Malaysia15,685,14447.7
49Australia15,499,8632
50Netherlands14,504,372427.9
51Uganda13,930,26270.7
52Mozambique13,731,83817.5
53Saudi Arabia13,330,0676.2
54Afghanistan13,119,94320.1
55Ghana12,888,54856.6
56Chile11,952,14816.1
57Hungary10,648,713118.8
58Yemen10,539,92820
59Syria10,478,54656.4
60Czechia10,310,162133.5
61Cameroon10,099,51621.4
62Cuba10,084,20191.8
63Madagascar10,014,53317.2
64Belarus9,981,74449.2
65Greece9,961,12876.2
66Portugal9,897,192108.2
67Belgium9,858,200325.6
68Côte d'Ivoire9,652,84530.4
69Angola9,472,3467.6
70Ecuador9,061,66432.7
71Bulgaria8,943,57382.4
72Zimbabwe8,548,24222.1
73Sweden8,356,33720.4
74Cambodia7,912,77844.8
75Serbia7,719,70099.6
76Mali7,625,8986.2
77Austria7,559,77691.7
78Guatemala7,513,58170.1
79Tunisia7,368,35447.4
80Burkina Faso7,170,93226.2
81Malawi6,969,60374.1
82Niger6,866,5365.4
83Azerbaijan6,845,03082.8
84Switzerland6,567,071164.2
85Zambia6,546,6948.8
86Somalia6,458,53910.3
87Senegal6,378,23333.1
88Dominican Republic6,366,148131.7
89Haiti6,076,064220.5
90Rwanda6,025,284244.3
91Bolivia5,934,9355.5
92Hong Kong5,456,2005,085
93South Sudan5,319,6958.3
94Chad5,234,2764.2
95Georgia5,192,95774.5
96Slovakia5,144,632106.9
97Denmark5,113,691120.5
98Guinea5,015,68220.4
99Finland4,901,78316.1
100Burundi4,848,529188.8
101El Salvador4,671,054225.4
102Tajikistan4,568,80232.3
103Croatia4,457,87479.6
104Bosnia and Herzegovina4,226,76482.6
105Norway4,152,41913.6
106Moldova4,148,172126.1
107Benin4,107,49837.1
108Honduras4,079,44036.5
109Kyrgyzstan4,061,57521.2
110Israel4,048,540188.3
111Sierra Leone3,787,64252.9
112Libya3,660,0302.1
113Laos3,657,16915.8
114Paraguay3,633,4649.1
115Lithuania3,587,03257.2
116Ireland3,540,00051.4
117Armenia3,464,297122.8
118Papua New Guinea3,462,8977.6
119Puerto Rico3,382,106381.3
120New Zealand3,323,81112.6
121Turkmenistan3,240,4726.9
122Nicaragua3,180,13826.5
123Lebanon3,176,885310.5
124Togo3,061,35356.3
125Uruguay3,018,87117.2
126Albania2,956,697107.9
127Eritrea2,941,21129.1
128Singapore2,749,8973,878.6
129Central African Republic2,704,5254.3
130Jordan2,668,56330.1
131Costa Rica2,644,30651.8
132Latvia2,606,40541.9
133Jamaica2,358,892217.8
134Panama2,174,47229.3
135Liberia2,163,05322.5
136Congo Brazzaville1,926,2105.6
137Slovenia1,914,22095
138Mongolia1,859,2561.2
139North Macedonia1,844,74072.5
140Kuwait1,732,82497.3
141Mauritania1,723,4661.7
142Kosovo1,682,293154.5
143Lesotho1,559,05751.4
144Estonia1,538,22436.3
145Oman1,497,2254.8
146United Arab Emirates1,363,48216.3
147Namibia1,199,6511.5
148Trinidad and Tobago1,162,423226.7
149Botswana1,077,4201.9
150West Bank1,044,073185.1
151Mauritius1,020,544502.7
152Guinea-Bissau885,60631.5
153Gabon843,9203.3
154The Gambia773,54476.4
155Guyana760,7133.9
156Eswatini721,80742
157Fiji698,94238.2
158Cyprus679,22473.5
159Timor-Leste648,79843.6
160Montenegro560,56241.7
161Bhutan551,99314.4
162Gaza Strip531,7781,477.2
163Bahrain423,224556.9
164Suriname396,2252.5
165Comoros382,817171.3
166Djibouti380,04916.4
167Luxembourg367,169142
168Malta347,0391,098.2
169Qatar342,37829.6
170Equatorial Guinea325,21311.6
171Cabo Verde316,88778.6
172Macau305,84310,923
173Solomon Islands272,7739.7
174Barbados257,344598.5
175Iceland241,4032.4
176The Bahamas228,21822.8
177Brunei217,83641.4
178Maldives177,297595
179French Polynesia175,40945.8
180Belize168,7967.4
181Samoa160,73757
182Curaçao153,684346.1
183New Caledonia152,5878.3
184Vanuatu134,73011.1
185Saint Lucia131,006216.2
186Guam120,615221.7
187Sao Tome and Principe104,186108.1
188Saint Vincent and the Grenadines103,853267
189U.S. Virgin Islands100,760289.5
190Tonga94,380131.6
191Grenada93,059270.5
192Federated States of Micronesia90,631129.1
193Jersey79,589686.1
194Dominica73,10997.3
195Seychelles67,175147.6
196Antigua and Barbuda64,398145.4
197Isle of Man64,342112.5
198Kiribati62,03476.5
199Aruba61,511341.7
200Bermuda56,1811,040.4
201Guernsey55,159707.2
202Greenland53,1500
203Faroe Islands45,57432.7
204Andorra44,59695.3
205Saint Kitts and Nevis42,928164.5
206American Samoa38,633195.1
207Marshall Islands38,240211.3
208Gibraltar28,6464,092.3
209Monaco28,18114,090.5
210Liechtenstein26,879168
211San Marino22,589370.3
212Northern Mariana Islands21,38645.3
213Cayman Islands20,84679
214Sint Maarten19,315568.1
215Cook Islands17,49374.1
216Saint Martin15,392285
217Palau13,80430.1
218British Virgin Islands13,18387.3
219Wallis and Futuna13,00191.6
220Montserrat11,323111
221Turks and Caicos Islands9,3169.8
222Nauru8,517405.6
223Tuvalu8,156313.7
224Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha7,94120.2
225Anguilla6,96776.6
226Saint Pierre and Miquelon6,15825.4
227Saint Barthelemy3,933157.3

Data from US Census International Database