Five Most Populated Countries in 1950 by Continent

Name the five most populous countries per continent in the year 1950.
Quiz by Quizzer6794
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Last updated: February 13, 2017
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First submittedJanuary 25, 2017
Times taken3,612
Average score90.0%
Rating4.00
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Africa
31 mil
Nigeria
21 mil
Egypt
20 mil
Ethiopia
13 mil
South Africa
13 mil
DR Congo
 
 
Asia
562 mil
China
369 mil
India
83 mil
Japan
45 mil
Bangladesh
40 mil
Pakistan
Europe
157 mil
Soviet Union
50 mil
United Kingdom
50 mil
West Germany
47 mil
Italy
42 mil
France
 
 
North America
151 mil
United States
28 mil
Mexico
14 mil
Canada
5 mil
Cuba
3 mil
Haiti
Oceania
8 mil
Australia
2 mil
New Zealand
1 mil
Papua New Guinea
288,000
Fiji
107,000
Solomon Islands
 
 
South America
53 mil
Brazil
17 mil
Argentina
11 mil
Colombia
7 mil
Peru
6 mil
Chile
+5
Level 90
Jan 26, 2017
If I got the first Soviet Union how did I not get the second Soviet Union?
+5
Level 40
Jan 26, 2017
USSR needs to be a type in for both otherwise nice addition to the seris.
+2
Level 65
Jan 26, 2017
thanks, it is!
+13
Level 88
Jan 27, 2017
I don't think Bangladesh was a sovereign country in 1950...I believe it was a part of Pakistan at that time.
+1
Level 65
Jan 27, 2017
Good point! My source (Wikipedia) includes them as separate countries, and counts their populations as two, too. (who knew Bangladesh would be more populous than Pakistan in 1950?)
+10
Level 45
Jan 18, 2018
bangladesh was part of pakistan it was known as east pakistan....
+10
Level 81
Nov 6, 2023
...then your source is wrong. Bangladesh wasn't a country until 1971.

Those figures need to be added together into Pakistan, and a new country found to round out the top 5 in Asia. (Not to mention the other issues - mentioned by other commenters regarding countries that didn't exist in 1950.)

OR you can change the quiz to be something like "Modern-day countries with the highest population in 1950," and likewise switch USSR and West Germany to be their modern equivalents.

As it is, it's completely inconsistent, and for that reason, is not a good quiz.

+1
Level 61
Feb 12, 2017
Japan had a population of almost 82 million in 1950.
+4
Level 45
Jan 18, 2018
heads up on the europe section guys...it includes OLD COUNTRIES THAT DONT EXIST.
+3
Level 45
Jan 18, 2018
im not mad...just frustrated with myself
+14
Level 86
Aug 26, 2018
Why does the European section include the USSR and uses the Federal Republic of Germany boundaries from before reunification while the rest uses modern borders? As already mentioned, Bangladesh was then a part of Pakistan. Also, Nigeria, the DRC, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands were colonies of Belgium (DRC) or UK (the other four) in 1950.
+4
Level 76
Mar 20, 2022
Papua New Guinea was a colony of Australia, not that that changes your point.
+7
Level 79
Nov 20, 2019
Interesting... You included the Soviet Union and West Germany which were countries in 1950, but many of these weren't (independent) countries yet, e.g. Nigeria, 'DR Congo' (which by the way was Belgian Congo), Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Bangladesh did not exist yet as it was part of Pakistan. Also, does India include population for Portuguese and French India in the source, does South Africa include South West Africa (then under South African administration), and does China include Tibet (only annexed in 1951)?
+1
Level 29
Jul 2, 2023
today i learned that bangladesh was more populous than pakistan in 1950
+1
Level 60
Nov 6, 2023
Bangladesh was Pakistan at the time.
+7
Level 76
Nov 6, 2023
I think you either need to use the modern countries, or the countries that existed then, but not both. Or call it 'countries or colonies'. Even then, Pakistan was a single country at the time...
+4
Level 65
Nov 6, 2023
Incredibly inconsistent. Quite Eurocentric, even, as you obviously care about what was happening in Europe in 1950 far more than you care about what was happening in Asia, Africa, or Oceania. There weren't even five independent nations in Oceania in 1950; to get to 3 you need to include Indonesia. Either fix Europe to make the quiz about modern-day countries whose land was the most populated in 1950, or fix Africa, Asia, and Oceania to make the quiz about which countries had the most population in each continent in 1950.