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Countries Gaining the Most Population by 2070

Guess the countries that are projected to gain the greatest number of residents by the year 2070.
Based on UN estimates. More info here.
Current population as of 3 November 2022.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: November 5, 2022
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First submittedDecember 14, 2017
Times taken39,573
Average score70.0%
Rating4.47
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#
%
Country
271 m
19%
India
252 m
114%
Nigeria
213 m
213%
D. R. Congo
202 m
85%
Pakistan
147 m
118%
Ethiopia
114 m
172%
Tanzania
80.1 m
302%
Niger
#
%
Country
73.9 m
66%
Egypt
64.5 m
135%
Uganda
64.0 m
178%
Angola
63.5 m
134%
Sudan
58.7 m
51%
Philippines
52.8 m
127%
Afghanistan
50.6 m
152%
Mozambique
#
%
Country
48.2 m
108%
Iraq
47.1 m
87%
Kenya
46.6 m
14%
United States
43.3 m
190%
Mali
41.8 m
15%
Indonesia
40.1 m
141%
Ivory Coast
+65
Level ∞
Dec 14, 2017
It's hard not to see major humanitarian crises ahead in many of these countries.
+32
Level 62
Dec 14, 2017
Definitely, but also possibly some new economic powerhouses. I think Egypt and Nigeria might become pretty influential. I reckon the situation is likely to get really bad for Sudan, Uganda, and DRC though
+17
Level 88
Jan 12, 2018
In What way do you see Nigeria becoming influential? They make almost all of the money they earn on Oil which we all know will die out at some point. I don't see any structural developments happening overthere what may lead them to becoming a economic power other than cheap labor.
+27
Level 62
Jan 12, 2018
Nigeria holds a pivotal spot housing the delta of the Niger River, so trade to Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, will probably go through them. Though Western countries will slowly move away from oil, developing countries such as many in Africa will still rely on oil for many decades to come. They're also branching out and have a pretty prolific movie industry, "Nollywood". Even though the movies are terrible, it shows that Nigerians are trying to innovate and create.

It's still personal opinion and I don't have any hard data. I just feel like they have more going for them than some of their neighbors.

+9
Level 58
Jan 12, 2018
Nigeria is where Africa's tech boom will take place.
+24
Level 65
Jan 13, 2018
Is Bangladesh influential nowadays? Booming population doesn't build nor soft neither hard power. It simply inflates risks and threats.
+9
Level 50
Apr 25, 2020
I get the points about trade and movies, but claiming that African countries will rely on oil for decades is not true. Many countries in Africa are rapidly making the switch to renewables and are often bypassing oil altogether, similar to how they went straight to cell phones and bypassed landlines.
+6
Level 82
Oct 3, 2021
I think Nigeria's young, English-speaking population will mean it can readily integrate into the global economy, particularly in the tech sector, much as India has already done. Having such a large population and a central location also makes it a natural focal point for trade and investment. That said, it has major issues to overcome. Even before the pandemic struck, its GDP growth was outstripped by its population growth, meaning its people were growing poorer over time, not wealthier. Now its economy is shrinking. If the numbers in this quiz come to pass, by 2070 it will have a population density of 600/km2 - higher than India and similar to Taiwan or South Korea. Still barely half of Bangladesh today, though. In that time climate change will see a decrease in arable land and in productivity on what land can be used. Water will become scarcer. It's gonna be a tough century and the country could go either way.
+29
Level 76
Dec 15, 2017
103 million extra people for Niger! There are hardly over 20 million right now! Just look at a satellite image of the place - there's no way Niger can comfortably support so many people. This is actually a pretty scary quiz...

Also, the omission of Indonesia was pretty surprising considering its current population and the fact that most Islamic countries tend to have pretty high birth rates.

+6
Level 77
Dec 15, 2017
All in all that's way over a billion people. Yes, it's Scary. Why "Ivory Coast" and not "Cote d'Ivoire" though?
+38
Level ∞
Dec 15, 2017
I plan on using Ivory Coast on all new quizzes and gradually changing the old ones as well. The tipping point for me when was Cape Verde tried to change the English name of their country to "Cabo Verde", and I realized how ridiculous that is. No one insists that we use Italia, Suomi, Росси́я or 中国. English is a dynamic language that exists in a realm that is separate from government dictates. Queue the debate!
+5
Level 71
Dec 16, 2017
sillie ....... change your name to stirrer
+1
Level 14
Jan 12, 2018
The world population is supposed to increase by over 2 billion by 2020 anyway so its not that surprising
+27
Level 78
Jan 12, 2018
Then, why not revert to Peking, Calcutta and Bombay?
+11
Level 66
Jan 12, 2018
*cue
+2
Level ∞
Jan 12, 2018
Classic blunder on my part. :)
+5
Level 36
Jan 12, 2018
So then, Czechia or Czech Republic?
+4
Level 70
Jan 13, 2018
@RedSoloZach 2 billion in 2 years? You must have got that from subtracting some out-of-date statistic from the projection.
+11
Level 75
Apr 24, 2020
So why did you switch to Eswatini?
+2
Level 77
Dec 22, 2022
You most likely know it as Myanmar, but it’ll always be Burma to me.
+12
Level 37
Jan 12, 2018
I was about to type Nigeria and it accepted Niger, I was too "wth?". Most of the country is desert. Water and agrarian problems already exist. I cannot imagine how far the problem would go if they multiply their population by five by the late 21st century.
+7
Level 71
Jan 12, 2018
A lot of us like to act like another world war wouldn't happen again but I'm pretty sure there will be another one before 2070 and if that takes place, these numbers will be off by a longshot.
+10
Level 48
Jan 12, 2018
For the Earth's sake I hope you're wrong.
+3
Level 74
Jan 12, 2018
The people of Earth or Earth itself?
+11
Level 71
Jan 12, 2018
Most likely both ^^
+2
Level 66
Mar 16, 2020
That seems like a contradiction..
+3
Level 43
Oct 23, 2018
No doubt but I think ww3 will be fought by different powers then what we think because China by 2070 will probably be dealing with it's own internal issues due to having communism so long. Russia by 2070 will probably still be the country that thinks of itself as a grizzly bear still but is actually just an old tired lion. Western Europe is going to end up losing a lot of power weather we believe it or not due to them not even being able to replace their population outside of migration and the fact that they have a lot of debt due to their socialist systems. The only nation I see being definite would be the US as long as we don't all kill each other with all this bickering. Also i'm not saying that all these countries wouldn't participate I just don't think they would play as big a role as we think due to their own issues that they will face sooner or later. Where ww3 will start or when? Idk, hell it could start any day and where I think it would start in the current day is Ukraine.
+1
Level 66
Apr 24, 2020
As of the situation now, including Kim Jung Un's illness but also the economic troubles that will probably come because of Covid-19 lockdown. I think there will be a WW3 somewhere in the coming 5 to 10 years. If Kim dies this year it can already happen within in 5 years and this WW will start on the Korean peninsula. It could also be triggered by China if China decides to attack Taiwan in wich response America will defend Taiwan since the US has guarenteed Taiwan independence like the UK did with Poland in 1939.
+1
Level 71
Apr 24, 2020
Some good arguments there. About the migrant issue though, Germany already had over 80 million people before Merkel let in over 1 million migrants in a single year several years ago; they were already overpopulated prior to that. Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and a few others are drowning in debt but several others in Europe in addition to Germany are not.
+3
Level 64
Apr 26, 2020
You should take a look at the amount of debt the US has.
+1
Level 77
Nov 7, 2022
A pretty good crystal ball you had back in 2018!
+1
Level 68
Dec 25, 2022
This aged very well, especially the last part
+1
Level 47
Dec 22, 2022
mutually assured destruction disagrees
+1
Level 79
Aug 31, 2023
That's what I was thinking, not sure WW3 would be anything besides a nuclear holocaust, and there are only a handful of countries with nukes right now, most of them major powers
+1
Level 72
Oct 5, 2023
With the Nigerien crisis, there's certainly a chance of a war in Africa. On a positive note, the "Alliance of Sahel States" has a fun acronym.
+3
Level 66
Jan 12, 2018
(Singing) Guessing all the countries in Africa, Africa. Why are there so many in Af-Ri-Caaaa!
+1
Level 14
Jan 12, 2018
The reason there are so many African countries with the biggest population booms is because nobody there can afford contraception methods.
+25
Level 42
Jan 14, 2018
That is not strictly true, is it? It is way more complicated
+17
Level 47
Jan 19, 2018
That's probably about three and a half percent of the total answer right there.
+1
Level 59
Mar 5, 2024
WOW so educated hmm

nah the real reason is they're not as developed, when education and urbanization and move away from farming happens, people have less kids (especially cuz more will live to reproductive age)

+2
Level 64
Jan 12, 2018
What's the US doing between all these developing countries?
+5
Level 66
Jan 12, 2018
Assuming more immigration?
+10
Level ∞
Jan 12, 2018
Yes, it's immigration.
+3
Level 82
Jan 14, 2018
Current population growth projections, if you remove immigration from the equation, have the United States' total population peaking in 2040 at around 342 million and then slowly declining after that.
+6
Level 30
Jan 12, 2018
Holy crap! Tanzania, Niger and Uganda are done for. Especially Uganda.
+11
Level 49
Jan 13, 2018
It might sound cynical but..a population growth should only occur if the territory can substain it.. 103 million people more in Niger? They are already starving...
+2
Level 43
Oct 23, 2018
It'll happen weather you can sustain it or not. The only way I see you controlling your population so you don't end up destroying your own countries is China's one child policy.
+4
Level 50
Nov 8, 2022
No, there have been many mass famines in history that resulted in massive population decline (many starved and many more left)
+2
Level 82
Dec 22, 2022
Veliky: never heard of birth control before?

Also... it seems like the most effective way to lower birth rates that the world has seen is to raise standards of living... through education, medicine, general prosperity, et cetera. Historically, extremely high death and infant mortality rates kept population levels relatively low/constant. With the industrial and agricultural revolutions and modern medicine, death and infant mortality rates plummeted, but birth rates were still high, so population figures began to skyrocket. But almost everywhere that this has happened... eventually the birth rate starts to fall, as well, and after several generations is often below replacement levels. It takes a while for the culture to change, though, when coming out of a place where you had to have a ton of kids to work the farm or for any of them to survive to adulthood.

+1
Level 55
Jan 14, 2018
With the exception of the US, countries that can ill afford to have population booms considering the scarcity of food; unstable governments; epidemic poverty and diseases...makes Trump's insult of a few days ago sound downright prescient.
+12
Level 82
Jan 14, 2018
No sound Trump has ever uttered deserves to be described with an adjective with "scio" as a root.
+6
Level 47
Jan 14, 2018
Over the next 50 years, the World's population growth, on average, is due to come almost entirely from everyone getting older. As a species, our fertility rate is now basically at the replacement level. India, despite being the top of this quiz, already is having fewer babies born each year. However much of Asia and West have below replacement level fertility rates, which means that Africa is still way above. What's most shocking about Africa is that even in 2070, most of these countries will still have a population pyramid that still looks like a pyramid (the number of babies born increasing every year), and not barrel shaped like the rest of the world
+5
Level 74
Jan 15, 2018
Rest In Piece, Uganda
+2
Level 73
Apr 24, 2020
Rest in PEACE
+3
Level 75
Apr 24, 2020
Pieces.
+4
Level 82
Apr 2, 2018
Whilst these numbers are pretty shocking, even Uganda - which will narrowly beat out Nigeria on population density in 2070 - will have 633/sq km compared to Bangladesh which today has 1,141/sq km (and will in 2070 have 1,384/sq km according to the UN). Only Nigeria and Uganda will have a population density greater than South Korea has today and none will reach Taiwan's current density. Of course these are exceedingly poor countries currently, but that was also the case for much of East Asia in the mid-20th century. Bangladesh is currently very poor (its PPP per capita is a third lower than Nigeria's). Not that things are exactly peachy in Bangladesh, but my point is these figures do not indicate Africa going into uncharted territory. Certainly this level of population density is not prohibitive in and of itself to prosperity - Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands are all in the same range.
+3
Level 82
Apr 2, 2018
Also, the Ivory Coast having 72,000,000 was pretty shocking to me, but looking into past population statistics, it pretty closely mirrors Thailand's growth from the late 1950s to today. Thailand is slightly larger than the Ivory Coast, but they're in the same ballpark, size-wise.
+3
Level 71
Apr 10, 2021
First of all, where are you getting that Bangladesh has a PPP per capita a third lower than Nigeria? Wikipedia shows that Bangladesh and Nigeria are about the same (and in fact in PPP, Bangladesh is slightly ahead).

Second of all, while Bangladesh is indeed very poor today, it also has historically always had a very large population. And that's not surprising: Bangladesh has the largest % of arable land in the world. My point is that Bangladesh is able to produce enough food to feed a LOT of people, which is one of the reasons why, despite its poverty, it is not currently a giant humanitarian crisis. On the other hand, look at the DRC or Niger: they may be way bigger than Bangladesh, but have waaaay less capacity to produce food. 100 million people in Niger scares me a lot more than 200 million in Bangladesh.

+2
Level 66
Aug 12, 2018
When you think You got Nigeria and thinking you did Nigeriaia so had an outcome of ia...
+1
Level 52
Dec 30, 2018
Those countries have too many people, while my large nation (Australia) has virtually no one in terms of population density.
+4
Level 87
Mar 15, 2020
I don't think I've ever seen Pakistan as a quiz answer where Bangladesh wasn't an answer to that same quiz. Why is Bangladesh slowing down reproduction all of a sudden? Normally they mirror Pakistan, only a bit smaller.
+5
Level 56
Apr 24, 2020
The government have taken measures to introduce safe sex and family planning measures
+2
Level 71
Dec 15, 2020
^Since independence, Bangladesh has run pretty successful family planning programs, with the result of the fertility rate dramatically decreasing to the point where it's hit the replacement rate.
+1
Level 35
Dec 7, 2023
Because Bangladesh is prospering a lot faster than Pakistan is, they know the risks.
+1
Level 89
Apr 24, 2020
Pretty much exactly what I expected. Mostly African countries, with some Asian ones and the United States.
+2
Level 69
Apr 24, 2020
To quote the late great Christopher Hitchens: "The only cure to poverty is the empowerment of women". Quality of life in these countries would go through the roof if they stopped reducing women to beasts of burden and made birth control readily available.
+1
Level 57
Sep 20, 2021
They don't necessarily have the resources to have contraception. And, it's not like that is a top priority. This population boom isn't weird, it is just large.
+1
Level 59
Apr 24, 2020
Angola's percentage increase though!?
+1
Level 59
Apr 24, 2020
Wait Niger. But they have plenty of space. Feels bad for Uganda
+1
Level 27
Apr 24, 2020
Those muslim countries are about to get powerful
+6
Level 82
Apr 24, 2020
Most of these countries are not Muslim majority. Also, while Egypt's population today is 5x what it was in 1950, they are arguably less powerful and influential than they were in 1950.
+1
Level 50
Nov 8, 2022
There are a lot of Muslim countries on this list, but population growth ≠ power.
+2
Level 71
Apr 24, 2020
We'll see what Covid-19 does to their populations.
+5
Level 46
Apr 24, 2020
Someone please introduce condoms to Africa.
+1
Level 76
Nov 21, 2022
More like proper education for all and women's empowerment, but yeah... also condoms.
+1
Level 50
Apr 24, 2020
I'm surprised that Bangladesh isn't here but Pakistan and India are. I want to say that this is due to overpopulation/emigration but as some people have already pointed out countries like Niger will also be incredibly overpopulated.
+2
Level 50
Apr 24, 2020
Bangladesh has a smaller growth rate than India and Pakistan, and they also have fewer people than either of these countries.
+4
Level 50
Apr 25, 2020
Many people seem to be forgetting that this population growth may not actually happen. It is something that is predicted based on current levels of growth, but anything could change these growth levels at any time.
+1
Level 79
Apr 25, 2020
Interesting to see the United States here but not China.
+1
Level 28
Apr 25, 2020
This is not so bad. Thought it would be much higher.

Also, considering the economic booms waiting, I think the real numbers are way lower.

Overpopulation is a big joke anyways. Just increase the living conditions for these people, and they will get less children automatically.

+1
Level 79
Aug 31, 2023
Right, because the monumental task of increasing standards of living for exponentially increasing numbers of people is a big joke. Remember also we live on a planet full of mostly finite resources and as of now are doing very little on the whole to mitigate any climate change effects or reduce emissions/resource extraction/consumption
+2
Level 68
Apr 26, 2020
With the countries of Africa being as irresponsible as they are, this can only mean more problems for Europe and the death of western civilisation. WWIII will be the end of the white man by their own admission - not a single shot will be fired by anyone. Well, it's that or a Chinese-instigated cyber-war within the next decade. Hype.
+12
Level 53
May 29, 2021
Are you alright?
+5
Level 67
Apr 23, 2022
i had to reread that 0_o
+4
Level 83
Nov 5, 2022
Imagine being this concerned over who gets laid.
+1
Level 59
Mar 2, 2024
bro is actually raging that the rest of the world is developing and they dont stay poor and they go through the same process europe has
+1
Level 51
Jun 19, 2020
Mali and Burkina Faso just missed the list.
+5
Level 68
Nov 7, 2020
Most of this can be tied to one thing...the rights and education of women. If any of these countries want to rise out of poverty and stabilize their populations, you have to stop treating women like chattel. The only proven method to work.
+3
Level 71
Sep 16, 2021
@Daewedh, you're spot on. I know I always keep coming back to the example of Bangladesh (my family is from there so I feel a strong personal connection to the country), but it's a perfect example of what you're talking about. Despite the fact that it's poor, it's doing quite well for itself, and much of its progress stems directly from giving women access to education, jobs, and leadership positions. I highly recommend this NYT article to anyone who's interested.
+1
Level 55
Nov 13, 2020
The thing about Niger is most of the rev population will be in Niamey and its suburbs, expect the desert to still be desert
+2
Level 64
Mar 25, 2021
I know that Uganda is gonna explode, but isn't there still talk about an "East African Federation" that includes Uganda and several other countries?
+1
Level 71
Nov 6, 2022
A talk as you said. Nothing has changed in practice.
+2
Level 60
Jun 9, 2021
Is Europe going to blow up or something?
+3
Level 57
Aug 31, 2021
somethin' like that
+1
Level 79
Aug 31, 2023
No it's this weird thing where old people die
+1
Level 53
Feb 16, 2022
yeah india will totally lose more than 1 billion people by then, when right now they're still growing and projected to be at 1.3 billion around 2100
+1
Level 53
Feb 16, 2022
and the united states aint going to 70 million theyre still growing and would be at around 450 million
+11
Level 67
Apr 23, 2022
that's the population increase, not the total.
+1
Level 87
Nov 8, 2022
A bit surprised not to see Brazil on this list. They start with a sizable population base, and they don't have the reputation of being notably reproductively abstemious.
+1
Level 37
Mar 22, 2023
I'm not.

Brazil obviously has a rather large population base indeed (being the second-most populated country in the Americas and such), but you're completely wrong about the fertility rates.

With a total fertility rate of 1.73 (way below replacement) in 2021 and slightly negative migration rate, it's no surprise really that the population isn't growing that much any more.

+2
Level 68
Dec 22, 2022
the west is fallen
+2
Level 79
Aug 31, 2023
is it?
+2
Level 75
Dec 22, 2022
I was going to say "cue the Malthusians," but they've clearly already been cued.
+1
Level 59
Mar 5, 2024
ikr!
+2
Level 52
Dec 22, 2022
Quite worrisome seeing all these explosions in population of African countries.
+2
Level 82
Dec 23, 2022
While those who dismiss outright any concerns people have about overpopulation I think are misguided, it's also worth pointing out that these projections are almost certainly wrong, too. They are based on assumptions about future rates of population growth which have historically been hard to predict. As populations and standards of living both increase in Africa it's likely that their high birth rates will fall, as well. Some future demography models try to take this into account but many do not, and those that do might very well be underestimating the rate and degree of change.

But it's hard to say. Nobody can actually see the future.

+1
Level 59
Mar 5, 2024
Dw yall food production is growin faster than population right now, and population growth 'round the world is slowin'

I expect this next wave of demographic transition to be even faster than last time, so even smaller population than what's seen

All european countries have gone thru this process btw and tfr wont stay high forever (education + urbanizåtion is key!)