The least populated countries
Vatican City, Tuvalu and Nauru lead this ranking of the smallest national populations. Every country uses the same 1 July 2026 UN projection date, so the comparison does not mix censuses taken in different years.
1 July 2026 projections · UN WPP 2024 revision 1 · Sources & methodology
The first ten countries in the ranking
Vatican City’s projected 506 residents place it well below the next country, Tuvalu, at 9,362. The first ten together contain 299,221 people. That combined figure is more informative than treating ten adjacent positions as ten similarly sized populations.
Pacific island states make up 4 of the first ten. European microstates and a Caribbean state also appear, so the list combines geographically isolated islands with countries closely connected to neighbouring urban and economic systems. Low population alone does not establish remoteness.
The smallest twenty have only 0.019% of the world’s projected population. Their small share of global residents should not be confused with their political status: population size does not determine whether a country has its own government, institutions or international relationships.
Vatican City
506 projected residents
Capital: Vatican City
Explore the country →Tuvalu
9,362 projected residents
Capital: Funafuti
Explore the country →Nauru
12,101 projected residents
Capital: Yaren
Explore the country →Palau
17,614 projected residents
Capital: Ngerulmud
Explore the country →San Marino
33,605 projected residents
Capital: San Marino
Explore the country →Marshall Islands
35,075 projected residents
Capital: Majuro
Explore the country →Monaco
38,087 projected residents
Capital: Monaco
Explore the country →Liechtenstein
40,368 projected residents
Capital: Vaduz
Explore the country →Saint Kitts and Nevis
46,992 projected residents
Capital: Basseterre
Explore the country →Dominica
65,511 projected residents
Capital: Roseau
Explore the country →Small national populations appear in more than one geographic setting. European microstates share the first ten places with Pacific island countries and a Caribbean federation. The common feature is the number of residents, not climate, income, political system or physical size.
The twenty smallest populations total 1,586,101 people, approximately 0.0191% of the UN world projection. We use the UN global total as the denominator, which includes populations outside our country directory.
Where the smallest populations are
Natural Earth generalized boundaries. Dots locate countries too small to see at this scale. Select a country to explore its profile.
This map colors all covered countries, not only the smallest. The table below supplies exact values; tiny states use location markers.
Full ranking: least to most populated
Use a threshold to answer a precise question: which countries have fewer than 10,000, 100,000 or one million people? Base ranks remain global when you filter. The world-share column avoids rounding small countries down to an apparently meaningless zero percent.
196 countries. Scroll the table for all entries. Base rank follows the page’s main measure; sorting another column keeps that rank.
| Base rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vatican City | 506 | 0.000006% |
| 2 |  Tuvalu | 9,362 | 0.000113% |
| 3 |  Nauru | 12,101 | 0.000146% |
| 4 |  Palau | 17,614 | 0.000212% |
| 5 |  San Marino | 33,605 | 0.000405% |
| 6 |  Marshall Islands | 35,075 | 0.000423% |
| 7 |  Monaco | 38,087 | 0.000459% |
| 8 |  Liechtenstein | 40,368 | 0.000486% |
| 9 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | 46,992 | 0.000566% |
| 10 |  Dominica | 65,511 | 0.000789% |
| 11 |  Andorra | 83,753 | 0.001009% |
| 12 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 94,626 | 0.001140% |
| 13 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 99,245 | 0.001196% |
| 14 |  Tonga | 103,291 | 0.001244% |
| 15 |  Micronesia | 114,183 | 0.001376% |
| 16 |  Grenada | 117,362 | 0.001414% |
| 17 |  Seychelles | 134,959 | 0.001626% |
| 18 |  Kiribati | 138,445 | 0.001668% |
| 19 |  Saint Lucia | 180,488 | 0.002174% |
| 20 |  Samoa | 220,528 | 0.002657% |
| 21 |  Sao Tome and Principe | 244,994 | 0.002951% |
| 22 |  Barbados | 282,724 | 0.003406% |
| 23 |  Vanuatu | 342,564 | 0.004127% |
| 24 |  Iceland | 402,329 | 0.004847% |
| 25 |  Bahamas | 404,628 | 0.004875% |
| 26 |  Belize | 428,644 | 0.005164% |
| 27 |  Brunei | 469,775 | 0.005659% |
| 28 |  Cape Verde | 529,630 | 0.006381% |
| 29 |  Maldives | 531,517 | 0.006403% |
| 30 |  Malta | 549,011 | 0.006614% |
| 31 |  Montenegro | 626,233 | 0.007544% |
| 32 |  Suriname | 645,256 | 0.007774% |
| 33 |  Luxembourg | 687,448 | 0.008282% |
| 34 |  Bhutan | 802,214 | 0.009664% |
| 35 |  Guyana | 840,890 | 0.010130% |
| 36 |  Solomon Islands | 858,288 | 0.010340% |
| 37 |  Comoros | 899,010 | 0.010831% |
| 38 |  Fiji | 937,282 | 0.011292% |
| 39 |  Djibouti | 1,199,459 | 0.014450% |
| 40 |  Mauritius | 1,265,059 | 0.015240% |
| 41 |  Eswatini | 1,269,859 | 0.015298% |
| 42 |  Estonia | 1,331,062 | 0.016036% |
| 43 |  Cyprus | 1,382,334 | 0.016653% |
| 44 |  Timor-Leste | 1,436,923 | 0.017311% |
| 45 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1,513,268 | 0.018231% |
| 46 |  Bahrain | 1,675,572 | 0.020186% |
| 47 |  North Macedonia | 1,804,063 | 0.021734% |
| 48 |  Latvia | 1,835,935 | 0.022118% |
| 49 |  Equatorial Guinea | 1,984,468 | 0.023907% |
| 50 |  Slovenia | 2,114,573 | 0.025475% |
| 51 |  Guinea-Bissau | 2,297,808 | 0.027682% |
| 52 |  Lesotho | 2,389,336 | 0.028785% |
| 53 |  Botswana | 2,603,388 | 0.031364% |
| 54 |  Gabon | 2,647,399 | 0.031894% |
| 55 |  Albania | 2,751,025 | 0.033142% |
| 56 |  Lithuania | 2,797,338 | 0.033700% |
| 57 |  Jamaica | 2,833,403 | 0.034135% |
| 58 |  Gambia | 2,884,079 | 0.034745% |
| 59 |  Armenia | 2,930,915 | 0.035309% |
| 60 |  Moldova | 2,961,253 | 0.035675% |
| 61 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3,114,242 | 0.037518% |
| 62 |  Namibia | 3,153,246 | 0.037988% |
| 63 |  Qatar | 3,173,559 | 0.038233% |
| 64 |  Uruguay | 3,382,537 | 0.040750% |
| 65 |  Mongolia | 3,556,798 | 0.042849% |
| 66 |  Eritrea | 3,682,669 | 0.044366% |
| 67 |  Georgia | 3,804,642 | 0.045835% |
| 68 |  Croatia | 3,822,345 | 0.046049% |
| 69 |  Panama | 4,625,718 | 0.055727% |
| 70 |  Kuwait | 5,102,773 | 0.061474% |
| 71 |  Costa Rica | 5,174,789 | 0.062342% |
| 72 |  New Zealand | 5,287,479 | 0.063699% |
| 73 |  Ireland | 5,356,950 | 0.064536% |
| 74 |  Slovakia | 5,451,342 | 0.065673% |
| 75 |  Mauritania | 5,461,319 | 0.065794% |
| 76 |  Finland | 5,621,739 | 0.067726% |
| 77 |  Norway | 5,652,989 | 0.068103% |
| 78 |  Oman | 5,671,458 | 0.068325% |
| 79 |  Palestine | 5,692,790 | 0.068582% |
| 80 |  Central African Republic | 5,698,984 | 0.068657% |
| 81 |  Liberia | 5,853,949 | 0.070524% |
| 82 |  Lebanon | 5,897,467 | 0.071048% |
| 83 |  Singapore | 5,905,748 | 0.071148% |
| 84 |  Denmark | 6,023,520 | 0.072567% |
| 85 |  El Salvador | 6,391,253 | 0.076997% |
| 86 |  Republic of the Congo | 6,637,785 | 0.079967% |
| 87 |  Serbia | 6,641,964 | 0.080017% |
| 88 |  Bulgaria | 6,667,659 | 0.080327% |
| 89 |  Paraguay | 7,095,279 | 0.085478% |
| 90 |  Nicaragua | 7,097,329 | 0.085503% |
| 91 |  Kyrgyzstan | 7,400,465 | 0.089155% |
| 92 |  Libya | 7,539,851 | 0.090834% |
| 93 |  Turkmenistan | 7,736,632 | 0.093205% |
| 94 |  Laos | 7,974,017 | 0.096065% |
| 95 |  Belarus | 8,937,018 | 0.107666% |
| 96 |  Sierra Leone | 8,996,745 | 0.108386% |
| 97 |  Switzerland | 9,007,798 | 0.108519% |
| 98 |  Austria | 9,107,266 | 0.109717% |
| 99 |  Hungary | 9,585,818 | 0.115482% |
| 100 |  Israel | 9,647,689 | 0.116228% |
| 101 |  Greece | 9,897,115 | 0.119233% |
| 102 |  Togo | 9,930,918 | 0.119640% |
| 103 |  Portugal | 10,395,362 | 0.125235% |
| 104 |  Azerbaijan | 10,454,855 | 0.125952% |
| 105 |  Czech Republic | 10,527,781 | 0.126830% |
| 106 |  Sweden | 10,701,047 | 0.128918% |
| 107 |  Cuba | 10,892,659 | 0.131226% |
| 108 |  Papua New Guinea | 10,947,848 | 0.131891% |
| 109 |  Tajikistan | 10,978,599 | 0.132261% |
| 110 |  Honduras | 11,184,760 | 0.134745% |
| 111 |  United Arab Emirates | 11,574,682 | 0.139443% |
| 112 |  Jordan | 11,589,532 | 0.139622% |
| 113 |  Dominican Republic | 11,609,500 | 0.139862% |
| 114 |  Belgium | 11,774,642 | 0.141852% |
| 115 |  Haiti | 12,037,506 | 0.145018% |
| 116 |  Tunisia | 12,415,138 | 0.149568% |
| 117 |  South Sudan | 12,436,037 | 0.149820% |
| 118 |  Bolivia | 12,749,291 | 0.153593% |
| 119 |  Burundi | 14,729,157 | 0.177445% |
| 120 |  Rwanda | 14,889,693 | 0.179379% |
| 121 |  Benin | 15,170,419 | 0.182761% |
| 122 |  Guinea | 15,441,993 | 0.186033% |
| 123 |  Zimbabwe | 17,273,580 | 0.208098% |
| 124 |  Cambodia | 18,051,219 | 0.217467% |
| 125 |  Ecuador | 18,444,506 | 0.222205% |
| 126 |  Netherlands | 18,448,775 | 0.222256% |
| 127 |  Romania | 18,800,605 | 0.226495% |
| 128 |  Guatemala | 18,967,978 | 0.228511% |
| 129 |  Senegal | 19,366,548 | 0.233313% |
| 130 |  Chile | 19,945,850 | 0.240292% |
| 131 |  Somalia | 20,305,907 | 0.244629% |
| 132 |  Kazakhstan | 21,083,626 | 0.253999% |
| 133 |  Chad | 21,560,380 | 0.259742% |
| 134 |  Zambia | 22,521,915 | 0.271326% |
| 135 |  Malawi | 22,785,535 | 0.274502% |
| 136 |  Taiwan | 23,011,292 | 0.277222% |
| 137 |  Sri Lanka | 23,348,315 | 0.281282% |
| 138 |  Burkina Faso | 24,601,700 | 0.296382% |
| 139 |  Mali | 25,932,275 | 0.312412% |
| 140 |  Syria | 26,472,497 | 0.318920% |
| 141 |  North Korea | 26,633,691 | 0.320862% |
| 142 |  Australia | 27,227,096 | 0.328010% |
| 143 |  Venezuela | 28,633,711 | 0.344956% |
| 144 |  Niger | 28,814,878 | 0.347139% |
| 145 |  Nepal | 29,629,410 | 0.356952% |
| 146 |  Cameroon | 30,640,817 | 0.369136% |
| 147 |  Ivory Coast | 33,494,346 | 0.403513% |
| 148 |  Madagascar | 33,522,052 | 0.403847% |
| 149 |  Peru | 34,922,148 | 0.420714% |
| 150 |  Saudi Arabia | 35,165,787 | 0.423650% |
| 151 |  Ghana | 35,697,557 | 0.430056% |
| 152 |  Malaysia | 36,385,115 | 0.438339% |
| 153 |  Mozambique | 36,639,851 | 0.441408% |
| 154 |  Uzbekistan | 37,724,223 | 0.454472% |
| 155 |  Poland | 37,843,188 | 0.455905% |
| 156 |  Morocco | 38,762,441 | 0.466979% |
| 157 |  Ukraine | 39,535,849 | 0.476297% |
| 158 |  Angola | 40,215,179 | 0.484481% |
| 159 |  Canada | 40,467,728 | 0.487523% |
| 160 |  Yemen | 42,961,653 | 0.517568% |
| 161 |  Afghanistan | 45,047,069 | 0.542691% |
| 162 |  Argentina | 46,003,734 | 0.554217% |
| 163 |  Spain | 47,850,793 | 0.576468% |
| 164 |  Iraq | 48,007,437 | 0.578356% |
| 165 |  Algeria | 48,028,334 | 0.578607% |
| 166 |  South Korea | 51,600,388 | 0.621641% |
| 167 |  Uganda | 52,761,469 | 0.635628% |
| 168 |  Sudan | 53,282,719 | 0.641908% |
| 169 |  Colombia | 53,936,226 | 0.649781% |
| 170 |  Myanmar | 55,184,819 | 0.664823% |
| 171 |  Kenya | 58,636,412 | 0.706405% |
| 172 |  Italy | 58,926,166 | 0.709896% |
| 173 |  South Africa | 65,453,084 | 0.788527% |
| 174 |  France | 66,746,401 | 0.804108% |
| 175 |  United Kingdom | 69,931,528 | 0.842480% |
| 176 |  Thailand | 71,559,614 | 0.862094% |
| 177 |  Tanzania | 72,563,780 | 0.874191% |
| 178 |  Germany | 83,644,258 | 1.007680% |
| 179 |  Turkey | 87,926,082 | 1.059264% |
| 180 |  Iran | 93,168,497 | 1.122420% |
| 181 |  Vietnam | 102,177,431 | 1.230953% |
| 182 |  Democratic Republic of the Congo | 116,452,162 | 1.402923% |
| 183 |  Philippines | 117,724,471 | 1.418251% |
| 184 |  Egypt | 120,101,175 | 1.446884% |
| 185 |  Japan | 122,427,731 | 1.474912% |
| 186 |  Mexico | 132,997,658 | 1.602250% |
| 187 |  Ethiopia | 138,902,185 | 1.673384% |
| 188 |  Russia | 143,394,458 | 1.727503% |
| 189 |  Bangladesh | 177,818,044 | 2.142211% |
| 190 |  Brazil | 213,562,666 | 2.572834% |
| 191 |  Nigeria | 242,431,832 | 2.920627% |
| 192 |  Pakistan | 259,299,791 | 3.123839% |
| 193 |  Indonesia | 287,886,782 | 3.468232% |
| 194 |  United States | 349,035,494 | 4.204903% |
| 195 |  China | 1,412,914,089 | 17.021670% |
| 196 |  India | 1,476,625,576 | 17.789216% |
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Compare two countries
Both values use the same measure and reference period as the main table. A ratio describes the figures, not the quality of life in either country.
What these small numbers do—and do not—mean
Residents are not the same as citizens
A population series generally describes people living in a place according to the source’s population concept. Citizenship, passport holders and people of national ancestry abroad answer different questions. That distinction is especially important for small countries with international workforces or substantial overseas communities.
A projection is not a live headcount
The figures are outputs of a demographic model using evidence about births, deaths and migration. A detailed-looking number should not be read as precision to the individual person. A new census or a revised migration estimate can change a country’s entire historical series as well as its future projections.
Why do small countries move in the ranking?
When a population is small, a modest number of arrivals or departures can represent a substantial percentage change. A revision of a few hundred people can matter more to the order here than a revision of millions in a very populous country. Close ranks should therefore not be treated as permanent characteristics.
Where are the Falkland Islands, Niue and Tokelau?
They are outside this site’s stated 196-profile convention. Different directories include dependencies and self-governing associated states in different ways. A list of countries and territories can be useful, but it should identify those statuses instead of silently mixing them.
Does a small population imply isolation or low density?
No. A country can have few residents but occupy even less land, producing a high density. It can also be closely connected to neighboring labor markets and transport networks. Compare the area ranking and density ranking before drawing conclusions from population alone.
Sources & methodology
All country populations and the global denominator come from the same UN revision and projection year. We sort the unrounded country figures and calculate shares as country population divided by the UN global population, multiplied by 100. Our directory total differs from the UN world total because their geographical coverage differs.
- UN World Population Prospects 2024, revision 1
Medium-variant projections for 1 July 2026; the common-date series used throughout this page.
- UN WPP demographic indicators workbook
Underlying population series. Country records are matched by ISO code; regional aggregates are not ranked.
- World Population Prospects methodology
Population estimation and projection methods; a projection is distinct from a census count.
Country lists follow our 196-profile directory convention: 193 UN members, Vatican City, Palestine and Taiwan. Dependent territories are identified separately. A missing observation never means zero.