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This is a list of countries and dependent territories by population. It includes sovereign states, inhabited dependent territories, and, in some cases, constituent countries of sovereign states, with inclusion within the list being primarily based on the ISO standard ISO 3166-1. For instance, the United Kingdom is considered as a single entity while the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are considered separately. In addition, this list includes certain states with limited recognition not found in ISO 3166-1.
Contents
The population figures do not reflect the practice of countries that report significantly different populations of citizens domestically and overall. Some countries, notably Thailand, do not report total population, exclusively counting citizens; for total populations an international agency must issue an estimate.
Also given in percent is each country's population compared to the population of the world, which the United Nations estimated at 7.5 billion in December 2016.
Method
Figures used in this chart are based on the most up to date estimate or projections by the national census authority where available, and are usually rounded off. Where updated national data are not available, figures are based on the projections for 2016 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Because the compiled figures are not collected at the same time in every country, or at the same level of accuracy, the resulting numerical comparisons may create misleading conclusions. Furthermore, the addition of figures from all countries may not equal the world total. A handful of nations have not conducted a census in over 30 years, providing high error margin estimates only.
Areas that form integral parts of sovereign states, such as the countries of the United Kingdom, are counted as part of the sovereign states concerned. Not included are other entities, such as the European Union, that are not sovereign states, and independent territories that do not have permanent populations, such as various countries' claims to Antarctica.
Sovereign states and dependencies by population
Note: All dependent territories or constituent countries that are parts of sovereign states are shown in italics.