Population density by country
Monaco is the most densely populated country in this matching-year dataset; Mongolia is the least. But the answer changes when you ask about countries with millions of residents rather than tiny city-states.
2023 population and land area · Reviewed 1 October 2026 · Sources & methodology
A world map of people per square kilometre
Density divides population by land area. Using total area, including lakes and reservoirs, gives a different number. This page uses the same 2023 reference year for both inputs so the ranking is reproducible. It is a dated comparison, not an estimate of today’s density.
Natural Earth generalized boundaries. Dots locate countries too small to see at this scale. Select a country to explore its profile.
Country population-density ranking
Monaco and Singapore lead this series, while Mongolia is at the opposite extreme. The first entry’s density is roughly 8,368.8 times the last entry’s. A ratio that large is a reminder that national averages combine radically different kinds of territory, from compact urban states to extensive sparsely settled land.
Among countries with at least ten million residents, Bangladesh leads at 1,319.2 people per land km². Its population is large enough that the result cannot be explained simply as a tiny city-state occupying a small denominator. Filtering out microstates changes the comparison in a useful, explicitly defined way while preserving the underlying data.
Compare both input columns before interpreting an apparent surprise. Two countries can have similar density but completely different population and land totals. Conversely, a country can rank high in population and low in density because its land footprint is exceptionally large. Density is a relationship between those quantities, not a substitute for either one.
The population and land-area columns expose both ingredients of every calculation. Use “At least 10 million people” to compare substantial populations, or filter by region. You can sort land area or population without confusing either with density.
194 countries. Scroll the table for all entries. Base rank follows the page’s main measure; sorting another column keeps that rank.
| Base rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Monaco | 18,692.9 | 38,956 | 2.08 |
| 2 |  Singapore | 8,241.8 | 5,917,648 | 718.00 |
| 3 |  Bahrain | 1,971.3 | 1,577,059 | 800.00 |
| 4 |  Maldives | 1,765.1 | 525,994 | 298.00 |
| 5 |  Malta | 1,727.3 | 552,747 | 320.00 |
| 6 |  Bangladesh | 1,319.2 | 171,466,990 | 129,980.00 |
| 7 |  Palestine | 857.4 | 5,165,775 | 6,025.00 |
| 8 |  Barbados | 656.6 | 282,336 | 430.00 |
| 9 |  Mauritius | 625.3 | 1,248,647 | 1,997.00 |
| 10 |  Nauru | 593.8 | 11,875 | 20.00 |
| 11 |  Rwanda | 565.6 | 13,954,471 | 24,670.00 |
| 12 |  Lebanon | 564.4 | 5,773,493 | 10,230.00 |
| 13 |  San Marino | 564.3 | 33,860 | 60.00 |
| 14 |  Burundi | 533.1 | 13,689,450 | 25,680.00 |
| 15 |  Netherlands | 531.0 | 17,877,117 | 33,670.00 |
| 16 |  South Korea | 529.8 | 51,712,619 | 97,600.00 |
| 17 |  India | 483.7 | 1,438,069,596 | 2,973,190.00 |
| 18 |  Comoros | 457.0 | 850,387 | 1,861.00 |
| 19 |  Israel | 455.1 | 9,849,000 | 21,640.00 |
| 20 |  Haiti | 422.3 | 11,637,398 | 27,560.00 |
| 21 |  Belgium | 386.3 | 11,779,946 | 30,494.00 |
| 22 |  Philippines | 385.3 | 114,891,199 | 298,170.00 |
| 23 |  Sri Lanka | 356.2 | 22,037,000 | 61,860.00 |
| 24 |  Grenada | 344.4 | 117,081 | 340.00 |
| 25 |  Japan | 341.5 | 124,516,650 | 364,569.27 |
| 26 |  Tuvalu | 327.2 | 9,816 | 30.00 |
| 27 |  Pakistan | 321.1 | 247,504,495 | 770,880.00 |
| 28 |  Vietnam | 320.2 | 100,352,192 | 313,429.00 |
| 29 |  El Salvador | 304.5 | 6,309,624 | 20,720.00 |
| 30 |  Saint Lucia | 293.9 | 179,285 | 610.00 |
| 31 |  United Kingdom | 283.2 | 68,526,000 | 241,930.00 |
| 32 |  Kuwait | 272.4 | 4,853,420 | 17,820.00 |
| 33 |  Gambia | 266.6 | 2,697,845 | 10,120.00 |
| 34 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 266.6 | 1,367,510 | 5,130.00 |
| 35 |  Jamaica | 262.2 | 2,839,786 | 10,830.00 |
| 36 |  Seychelles | 260.4 | 119,773 | 460.00 |
| 37 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 259.8 | 101,323 | 390.00 |
| 38 |  Luxembourg | 258.9 | 666,430 | 2,574.46 |
| 39 |  Nigeria | 250.2 | 227,882,945 | 910,770.00 |
| 40 |  Liechtenstein | 249.0 | 39,846 | 160.00 |
| 41 |  Uganda | 242.7 | 48,656,601 | 200,520.00 |
| 42 |  Sao Tome and Principe | 240.5 | 230,871 | 960.00 |
| 43 |  Germany | 238.4 | 83,287,273 | 349,430.00 |
| 44 |  Dominican Republic | 235.1 | 11,331,265 | 48,198.02 |
| 45 |  Qatar | 231.2 | 2,656,032 | 11,490.00 |
| 46 |  Switzerland | 225.0 | 8,888,822 | 39,509.63 |
| 47 |  Malawi | 223.8 | 21,104,482 | 94,280.00 |
| 48 |  North Korea | 219.4 | 26,418,204 | 120,410.00 |
| 49 |  Marshall Islands | 215.7 | 38,827 | 180.00 |
| 50 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 212.1 | 93,316 | 440.00 |
| 51 |  Nepal | 207.1 | 29,694,614 | 143,350.00 |
| 52 |  Italy | 199.5 | 58,984,216 | 295,720.00 |
| 53 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | 179.8 | 46,758 | 260.00 |
| 54 |  Andorra | 172.0 | 80,856 | 470.00 |
| 55 |  Guatemala | 169.1 | 18,124,838 | 107,160.00 |
| 56 |  Kiribati | 163.6 | 132,530 | 810.00 |
| 57 |  Micronesia | 160.9 | 112,630 | 700.00 |
| 58 |  Togo | 151.2 | 8,223,850 | 54,390.00 |
| 59 |  China | 150.3 | 1,410,710,000 | 9,388,210.00 |
| 60 |  Denmark | 148.7 | 5,946,952 | 40,000.00 |
| 61 |  Indonesia | 148.6 | 281,190,067 | 1,892,555.47 |
| 62 |  Ghana | 148.5 | 33,787,914 | 227,533.00 |
| 63 |  United Arab Emirates | 147.6 | 10,483,751 | 71,020.00 |
| 64 |  Cyprus | 145.6 | 1,344,976 | 9,240.00 |
| 65 |  Tonga | 145.3 | 104,597 | 720.00 |
| 66 |  Czech Republic | 140.8 | 10,864,042 | 77,167.31 |
| 67 |  Thailand | 140.3 | 71,702,435 | 510,890.00 |
| 68 |  Cape Verde | 129.6 | 522,331 | 4,030.00 |
| 69 |  Jordan | 128.8 | 11,439,213 | 88,794.00 |
| 70 |  Syria | 128.5 | 23,594,623 | 183,630.00 |
| 71 |  France | 126.9 | 68,372,286 | 538,950.00 |
| 72 |  Benin | 125.1 | 14,111,034 | 112,760.00 |
| 73 |  Azerbaijan | 122.9 | 10,153,958 | 82,650.00 |
| 74 |  Poland | 119.8 | 36,687,353 | 306,270.00 |
| 75 |  Sierra Leone | 117.2 | 8,460,512 | 72,180.00 |
| 76 |  Portugal | 115.5 | 10,578,174 | 91,605.60 |
| 77 |  Egypt | 115.1 | 114,535,772 | 995,450.00 |
| 78 |  Ethiopia | 114.0 | 128,691,692 | 1,128,498.80 |
| 79 |  Slovakia | 112.9 | 5,426,740 | 48,080.00 |
| 80 |  Turkey | 110.9 | 85,325,965 | 769,630.00 |
| 81 |  Austria | 110.7 | 9,131,761 | 82,520.00 |
| 82 |  Malaysia | 106.9 | 35,126,298 | 328,550.00 |
| 83 |  Cuba | 106.2 | 11,019,931 | 103,800.00 |
| 84 |  Slovenia | 105.3 | 2,120,461 | 20,134.50 |
| 85 |  Armenia | 105.1 | 2,964,300 | 28,199.44 |
| 86 |  Hungary | 105.1 | 9,592,186 | 91,260.00 |
| 87 |  Iraq | 103.8 | 45,074,049 | 434,130.00 |
| 88 |  Costa Rica | 100.0 | 5,105,525 | 51,060.00 |
| 89 |  Cambodia | 98.7 | 17,423,880 | 176,520.00 |
| 90 |  Ivory Coast | 98.0 | 31,165,654 | 318,000.00 |
| 91 |  Spain | 96.8 | 48,352,528 | 499,697.40 |
| 92 |  Kenya | 95.3 | 55,339,003 | 580,876.30 |
| 93 |  Honduras | 95.1 | 10,644,851 | 111,890.00 |
| 94 |  Senegal | 93.9 | 18,077,573 | 192,530.00 |
| 95 |  Timor-Leste | 93.1 | 1,384,286 | 14,870.00 |
| 96 |  Dominica | 88.7 | 66,510 | 750.00 |
| 97 |  Albania | 88.0 | 2,411,658 | 27,400.00 |
| 98 |  Brunei | 87.1 | 458,949 | 5,270.00 |
| 99 |  Morocco | 84.5 | 37,712,505 | 446,300.00 |
| 100 |  Burkina Faso | 84.2 | 23,025,776 | 273,600.00 |
| 101 |  Myanmar | 82.9 | 54,133,798 | 652,670.00 |
| 102 |  Romania | 82.8 | 19,061,062 | 230,080.00 |
| 103 |  Uzbekistan | 80.9 | 35,652,307 | 440,650.00 |
| 104 |  Greece | 80.7 | 10,407,351 | 128,900.00 |
| 105 |  Serbia | 78.8 | 6,623,183 | 84,090.00 |
| 106 |  Tunisia | 78.5 | 12,200,431 | 155,360.00 |
| 107 |  Samoa | 77.9 | 216,663 | 2,780.00 |
| 108 |  Ireland | 77.1 | 5,311,538 | 68,890.00 |
| 109 |  Guinea-Bissau | 76.6 | 2,153,339 | 28,120.00 |
| 110 |  Lesotho | 76.1 | 2,311,472 | 30,360.00 |
| 111 |  Tanzania | 75.2 | 66,617,606 | 885,800.00 |
| 112 |  Tajikistan | 74.9 | 10,389,799 | 138,790.00 |
| 113 |  Moldova | 74.6 | 2,457,783 | 32,930.00 |
| 114 |  Yemen | 74.6 | 39,390,799 | 527,970.00 |
| 115 |  North Macedonia | 72.5 | 1,827,816 | 25,220.00 |
| 116 |  Ecuador | 72.4 | 17,980,083 | 248,360.00 |
| 117 |  Eswatini | 71.5 | 1,230,506 | 17,200.00 |
| 118 |  Croatia | 69.0 | 3,859,686 | 55,960.00 |
| 119 |  Mexico | 66.7 | 129,739,759 | 1,943,950.00 |
| 120 |  Equatorial Guinea | 65.9 | 1,847,549 | 28,050.00 |
| 121 |  Ukraine | 65.1 | 37,732,836 | 579,400.00 |
| 122 |  Afghanistan | 63.6 | 41,454,761 | 652,230.00 |
| 123 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 62.2 | 3,185,073 | 51,200.00 |
| 124 |  Panama | 60.1 | 4,458,759 | 74,180.00 |
| 125 |  Cameroon | 60.0 | 28,372,687 | 472,710.00 |
| 126 |  Bulgaria | 59.4 | 6,446,596 | 108,560.00 |
| 127 |  Guinea | 58.6 | 14,405,468 | 245,720.00 |
| 128 |  Liberia | 57.0 | 5,493,031 | 96,320.00 |
| 129 |  Nicaragua | 56.7 | 6,823,613 | 120,340.00 |
| 130 |  Iran | 55.8 | 90,608,707 | 1,622,500.00 |
| 131 |  Madagascar | 53.6 | 31,195,932 | 581,800.00 |
| 132 |  Georgia | 53.5 | 3,715,483 | 69,490.00 |
| 133 |  South Africa | 52.1 | 63,212,384 | 1,213,090.00 |
| 134 |  Fiji | 50.6 | 924,145 | 18,270.00 |
| 135 |  Djibouti | 49.7 | 1,152,944 | 23,180.00 |
| 136 |  Colombia | 47.2 | 52,321,152 | 1,109,500.00 |
| 137 |  Democratic Republic of the Congo | 46.7 | 105,789,731 | 2,267,050.00 |
| 138 |  Montenegro | 46.4 | 623,529 | 13,450.00 |
| 139 |  Lithuania | 45.9 | 2,871,585 | 62,600.00 |
| 140 |  Belarus | 45.2 | 9,178,298 | 202,983.00 |
| 141 |  Mozambique | 42.8 | 33,635,160 | 786,380.00 |
| 142 |  Zimbabwe | 42.2 | 16,340,822 | 386,850.00 |
| 143 |  Bahamas | 39.9 | 399,440 | 10,010.00 |
| 144 |  Palau | 38.5 | 17,727 | 460.00 |
| 145 |  Kyrgyzstan | 37.0 | 7,099,750 | 191,800.00 |
| 146 |  United States | 36.8 | 336,755,052 | 9,147,420.00 |
| 147 |  Laos | 33.2 | 7,664,993 | 230,800.00 |
| 148 |  Venezuela | 32.1 | 28,300,854 | 882,050.00 |
| 149 |  Estonia | 32.1 | 1,370,286 | 42,730.00 |
| 150 |  Latvia | 30.3 | 1,883,710 | 62,230.00 |
| 151 |  Angola | 29.5 | 36,749,906 | 1,246,700.00 |
| 152 |  Somalia | 29.3 | 18,358,615 | 627,340.00 |
| 153 |  Eritrea | 28.6 | 3,470,390 | 121,178.20 |
| 154 |  Solomon Islands | 28.6 | 800,005 | 27,990.00 |
| 155 |  Zambia | 27.9 | 20,723,965 | 743,390.00 |
| 156 |  Sudan | 26.8 | 50,042,791 | 1,868,000.00 |
| 157 |  Chile | 26.5 | 19,658,835 | 742,831.64 |
| 158 |  Peru | 26.4 | 33,845,617 | 1,280,000.00 |
| 159 |  Vanuatu | 26.3 | 320,409 | 12,190.00 |
| 160 |  Sweden | 25.9 | 10,536,632 | 407,270.00 |
| 161 |  Brazil | 25.3 | 211,140,729 | 8,358,140.00 |
| 162 |  Papua New Guinea | 22.9 | 10,389,635 | 452,860.00 |
| 163 |  Niger | 20.7 | 26,159,867 | 1,266,700.00 |
| 164 |  Bhutan | 20.6 | 786,385 | 38,140.00 |
| 165 |  New Zealand | 19.7 | 5,200,000 | 263,310.00 |
| 166 |  Mali | 19.5 | 23,769,127 | 1,220,190.00 |
| 167 |  Algeria | 19.4 | 46,164,219 | 2,381,740.00 |
| 168 |  Uruguay | 19.4 | 3,388,081 | 175,020.00 |
| 169 |  Finland | 18.4 | 5,583,911 | 303,960.00 |
| 170 |  South Sudan | 18.2 | 11,483,374 | 631,930.00 |
| 171 |  Republic of the Congo | 18.1 | 6,182,885 | 341,500.00 |
| 172 |  Belize | 18.0 | 411,106 | 22,810.00 |
| 173 |  Paraguay | 17.3 | 6,844,146 | 396,012.03 |
| 174 |  Argentina | 16.6 | 45,538,401 | 2,736,690.00 |
| 175 |  Oman | 16.3 | 5,049,269 | 309,500.00 |
| 176 |  Saudi Arabia | 15.7 | 33,702,731 | 2,149,690.00 |
| 177 |  Turkmenistan | 15.7 | 7,364,438 | 469,930.00 |
| 178 |  Chad | 15.3 | 19,319,064 | 1,259,200.00 |
| 179 |  Norway | 15.2 | 5,519,601 | 364,270.00 |
| 180 |  Bolivia | 11.3 | 12,244,159 | 1,083,300.00 |
| 181 |  Gabon | 9.6 | 2,484,789 | 257,670.00 |
| 182 |  Russia | 8.8 | 143,826,130 | 16,376,870.00 |
| 183 |  Central African Republic | 8.3 | 5,152,421 | 622,980.00 |
| 184 |  Kazakhstan | 7.5 | 20,330,104 | 2,699,700.00 |
| 185 |  Mauritania | 4.9 | 5,022,441 | 1,030,700.00 |
| 186 |  Canada | 4.6 | 40,049,088 | 8,788,700.00 |
| 187 |  Botswana | 4.4 | 2,480,244 | 566,730.00 |
| 188 |  Libya | 4.2 | 7,305,659 | 1,759,540.00 |
| 189 |  Suriname | 3.9 | 628,886 | 160,507.61 |
| 190 |  Guyana | 3.9 | 826,353 | 211,140.00 |
| 191 |  Iceland | 3.8 | 385,663 | 100,830.00 |
| 192 |  Namibia | 3.6 | 2,963,095 | 823,290.00 |
| 193 |  Australia | 3.5 | 26,659,922 | 7,692,020.00 |
| 194 |  Mongolia | 2.2 | 3,481,145 | 1,558,499.79 |
No countries match these filters. Try another name or reset the filters.
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 happens when we exclude microstates?
A city-state and a continent-sized country are both countries, but they represent very different settlement systems. Among the 94 countries in this dataset with at least 10 million residents, Bangladesh has the highest density: 1,319.2 people per land km².
This threshold is an analytical choice, not an official definition of a large country. It is useful because it prevents a list of small urban states from being mistaken for a comparison of large national populations. The unfiltered ranking remains the correct answer when all included countries count equally.
Eight highest densities among countries with at least 10 million people. Linear bar scale; people per land km².
Density is not the same as crowding
A national average spreads every resident evenly across all land, including deserts, mountains, farms and protected areas. People are not actually distributed that way. A low-density country can have expensive, crowded cities; a high-density country can still contain rural districts and open space.
To describe the density experienced by a typical resident, you would need population-weighted grid or neighborhood data. To describe pressure on farmland, you would need an agricultural-land denominator. Neither quantity can be inferred from the national land-area figure alone.
Why the average of country densities is misleading
Taking a simple average gives a tiny state the same weight as a vast country. Combining the populations and land areas of the 194 included countries instead gives 62.1 people per land km². That is the density of the combined covered area, not the density experienced by the average person and not a complete world statistic.
Why do other sources show different numbers?
Common reasons are a different population year, inclusion of dependent territories, use of total rather than land area, and updated boundary or area measurements. Macau and Hong Kong appear near the top of many country-and-territory lists; neither is a separate country profile in this directory.
How do I convert to people per square mile?
Multiply people per km² by 2.589988. A square mile covers more land than a square kilometre, so it contains more people at the same density. Do not divide by that factor.
Sources & methodology
All calculations use unrounded source inputs; presentation rounds density to one decimal place. Taiwan and Vatican City lack matching records in these WDI series and are excluded rather than filled from unrelated sources. These exclusions do not imply low density. Data were retrieved on 1 October 2026.
- World Bank / FAO: land area
2023 land area in square kilometres. Inland water is excluded; retained at source precision.
- World Bank: total population
2023 population observations, matched to land area by country and reference year.
- World Bank: land-area definition
Explains the land-area denominator. Figures describe national territory, not only inhabited land.
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.