Population & Society
Total population
Total population follows the de facto definition: it counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
Latest published country values
Total populationResults: 194 · 1–20
Published values share a source series, unit and reference period. Countries without a published record for this period are not shown.
Indicator overview
- Methodology
Read methodology
Published in World Bank WDI. For countries without reliable recent census data, the UN Population Division and other agencies estimate it with the cohort-component method using fertility, mortality and migration data.
- Limitations
- Estimates depend on census, survey and registration data whose quality and recency vary by country.
How to read this indicator
Population size and population change answer different questions. A total counts residents; change requires a comparison across periods within the same source series.
Do not substitute this for city population, citizenship counts or population density. A larger national total does not by itself describe access to services or individual living conditions.
Sources
- World Bank · World Development Indicators
Official indicator code SP.POP.TOTL · people
Indicator-level original sources: United Nations Population Division; national statistical offices; Eurostat