Population Growth Rate by Country

215 countries ranked · Data year: 2024

Latest available data

This page uses the latest available World Bank observation (2024). Country-level datasets often lag the current calendar year because they depend on official reporting and validation.

World Bank 2024
World Average
1.09 % per year
Highest
Qatar
7.32 % per year
Lowest
Saint Martin
-5.17 % per year
Countries with Data
215
Data year: 2024
What is Population Growth Rate?

Population growth rate measures the annual average rate of change in a country's population size. It accounts for the natural increase, which is the difference between births and deaths, along with net migration. This indicator reflects the exponential growth of midyear populations and serves as a primary gauge of demographic shifts and societal pressure.

Methodology

The World Bank calculates this rate using an exponential growth model based on midyear population estimates. The formula evaluates the natural logarithm of the ratio of population in a given year to the previous year. This approach assumes that growth is continuous rather than occurring in discrete intervals, incorporating data from census reports and vital registration systems.

Top Countries

#1 Qatar 7.32 % per year
#2 Chad 4.95 % per year
#3 United Arab Emirates 4.68 % per year
#4 Saudi Arabia 4.63 % per year
#5 Oman 4.5 % per year

Regional Averages

#1 Africa
2.17 % per year
54 countries
#2 Asia
1.41 % per year
49 countries
#3 Americas
0.54 % per year
46 countries
#4 Oceania
0.34 % per year
19 countries
#5 Europe
0.33 % per year
47 countries

The average Population Growth Rate for 2024 based on 215 countries was 1.09 % per year. The highest value was in Qatar: 7.32 % per year and the lowest value was in Saint Martin: -5.17 % per year.

Which country has the highest Population Growth Rate?

As of 2024, Qatar has the highest Population Growth Rate at 7.32 % per year. The top 5 countries by Population Growth Rate are Qatar, Chad, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman. Data covers 215 countries. Source: World Bank.

Top 10 Countries by Population Growth Rate

# Country Population Growth Rate (% per year)
1 Qatar 7.32
2 Chad 4.95
3 United Arab Emirates 4.68
4 Saudi Arabia 4.63
5 Oman 4.5
6 Syria 4.47
7 South Sudan 3.93
8 Somalia 3.48
9 Central African Republic 3.4
10 Niger 3.28

Full ranking

# Country Value Trend
1 Qatar 7.32 % per year
2 Chad 4.95 % per year
3 United Arab Emirates 4.68 % per year
4 Saudi Arabia 4.63 % per year
5 Oman 4.5 % per year
6 Syria 4.47 % per year
7 South Sudan 3.93 % per year
8 Somalia 3.48 % per year
9 Central African Republic 3.4 % per year
10 Niger 3.28 % per year
11 DR Congo 3.24 % per year
12 Angola 3.04 % per year
13 Yemen 2.98 % per year
14 Canada 2.96 % per year
15 Mali 2.94 % per year
16 Mozambique 2.92 % per year
17 Mauritania 2.88 % per year
18 Tanzania 2.87 % per year
19 Malta 2.87 % per year
20 Afghanistan 2.84 % per year
21 Zambia 2.81 % per year
22 Uganda 2.75 % per year
23 Cameroon 2.61 % per year
24 Burundi 2.58 % per year
25 Ethiopia 2.58 % per year
26 Malawi 2.58 % per year
27 Benin 2.46 % per year
28 Ivory Coast 2.44 % per year
29 Madagascar 2.44 % per year
30 Equatorial Guinea 2.4 % per year
31 Republic of the Congo 2.4 % per year
32 Guinea 2.4 % per year
33 Solomon Islands 2.37 % per year
34 Palestine 2.36 % per year
35 Senegal 2.32 % per year
36 Armenia 2.31 % per year
37 Gambia 2.28 % per year
38 Vanuatu 2.27 % per year
39 Burkina Faso 2.25 % per year
40 Togo 2.24 % per year
41 Namibia 2.24 % per year
42 Gibraltar 2.21 % per year
43 Guinea-Bissau 2.21 % per year
44 Liberia 2.16 % per year
45 Gabon 2.16 % per year
46 Rwanda 2.14 % per year
47 Iraq 2.12 % per year
48 Sierra Leone 2.12 % per year
49 Nigeria 2.08 % per year
50 São Tomé and Príncipe 2 % per year
51 Singapore 1.99 % per year
52 Australia 1.99 % per year
53 Uzbekistan 1.97 % per year
54 Kenya 1.96 % per year
55 Cayman Islands 1.92 % per year
56 Tajikistan 1.92 % per year
57 Comoros 1.89 % per year
58 Ghana 1.88 % per year
59 Eritrea 1.86 % per year
60 Papua New Guinea 1.78 % per year
61 Zimbabwe 1.78 % per year
62 Turkmenistan 1.75 % per year
63 Egypt 1.73 % per year
64 Kyrgyzstan 1.71 % per year
65 Honduras 1.68 % per year
66 New Zealand 1.67 % per year
67 Botswana 1.64 % per year
68 Luxembourg 1.58 % per year
69 Ireland 1.57 % per year
70 Guatemala 1.54 % per year
71 Pakistan 1.51 % per year
72 Liechtenstein 1.5 % per year
73 Kiribati 1.49 % per year
74 Belize 1.44 % per year
75 Algeria 1.4 % per year
76 Sint Maarten 1.4 % per year
77 Bolivia 1.37 % per year
78 Djibouti 1.36 % per year
79 Laos 1.36 % per year
80 Nicaragua 1.35 % per year
81 Andorra 1.33 % per year
82 Seychelles 1.31 % per year
83 Switzerland 1.31 % per year
84 Kazakhstan 1.28 % per year
85 Panama 1.27 % per year
86 Israel 1.27 % per year
87 South Africa 1.25 % per year
88 Mongolia 1.25 % per year
89 British Virgin Islands 1.24 % per year
90 Paraguay 1.23 % per year
91 Cambodia 1.23 % per year
92 Malaysia 1.22 % per year
93 Bangladesh 1.21 % per year
94 Macau 1.2 % per year
95 Timor-Leste 1.17 % per year
96 Haiti 1.15 % per year
97 Lesotho 1.12 % per year
98 Portugal 1.1 % per year
99 Peru 1.09 % per year
100 Colombia 1.07 % per year
101 United Kingdom 1.07 % per year
102 Iran 1.05 % per year
103 Libya 1.03 % per year
104 Spain 1.02 % per year
105 Eswatini 1 % per year
106 Jordan 0.99 % per year
107 Cyprus 0.98 % per year
108 United States 0.98 % per year
109 Morocco 0.97 % per year
110 New Caledonia 0.95 % per year
111 Norway 0.95 % per year
112 Kuwait 0.9 % per year
113 India 0.89 % per year
114 Suriname 0.88 % per year
115 Ecuador 0.86 % per year
116 Mexico 0.86 % per year
117 Dominican Republic 0.85 % per year
118 Curaçao 0.85 % per year
119 Philippines 0.83 % per year
120 Brunei 0.82 % per year
121 Indonesia 0.81 % per year
122 Sudan 0.81 % per year
123 Guam 0.76 % per year
124 Bahrain 0.73 % per year
125 Turks and Caicos Islands 0.73 % per year
126 Myanmar 0.67 % per year
127 Belgium 0.67 % per year
128 Bhutan 0.65 % per year
129 Netherlands 0.65 % per year
130 Finland 0.64 % per year
131 Vietnam 0.63 % per year
132 Tunisia 0.63 % per year
133 Samoa 0.62 % per year
134 Nauru 0.6 % per year
135 Aruba 0.59 % per year
136 Lithuania 0.58 % per year
137 Guyana 0.57 % per year
138 Lebanon 0.56 % per year
139 Chile 0.54 % per year
140 Austria 0.5 % per year
141 Denmark 0.5 % per year
142 Fiji 0.5 % per year
143 Faroe Islands 0.49 % per year
144 Antigua and Barbuda 0.49 % per year
145 Cape Verde 0.49 % per year
146 Azerbaijan 0.48 % per year
147 Costa Rica 0.48 % per year
148 Micronesia 0.47 % per year
149 Bahamas 0.46 % per year
150 El Salvador 0.45 % per year
151 Brazil 0.41 % per year
152 Czechia 0.38 % per year
153 Venezuela 0.37 % per year
154 Argentina 0.35 % per year
155 San Marino 0.34 % per year
156 Maldives 0.34 % per year
157 Ukraine 0.34 % per year
158 Slovenia 0.33 % per year
159 Sweden 0.31 % per year
160 North Korea 0.3 % per year
161 Germany 0.27 % per year
162 France 0.26 % per year
163 Saint Lucia 0.26 % per year
164 French Polynesia 0.24 % per year
165 Turkey 0.23 % per year
166 Iceland 0.22 % per year
167 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.18 % per year
168 Croatia 0.17 % per year
169 Estonia 0.15 % per year
170 Grenada 0.11 % per year
171 South Korea 0.07 % per year
172 Trinidad and Tobago 0.06 % per year
173 Barbados 0.05 % per year
174 Montenegro -0 % per year
175 Isle of Man -0.01 % per year
176 Puerto Rico -0.02 % per year
177 Greece -0.02 % per year
178 Jamaica -0.02 % per year
179 Uruguay -0.04 % per year
180 Thailand -0.05 % per year
181 Romania -0.05 % per year
182 Greenland -0.05 % per year
183 Italy -0.05 % per year
184 Bulgaria -0.08 % per year
185 Slovakia -0.09 % per year
186 Bermuda -0.1 % per year
187 China -0.12 % per year
188 Nepal -0.15 % per year
189 Hong Kong -0.16 % per year
190 Palau -0.18 % per year
191 North Macedonia -0.19 % per year
192 Russia -0.2 % per year
193 Mauritius -0.23 % per year
194 Hungary -0.31 % per year
195 Poland -0.35 % per year
196 Cuba -0.36 % per year
197 Tonga -0.4 % per year
198 Georgia -0.43 % per year
199 Japan -0.44 % per year
200 Dominica -0.46 % per year
201 Belarus -0.5 % per year
202 United States Virgin Islands -0.52 % per year
203 Sri Lanka -0.55 % per year
204 Serbia -0.56 % per year
205 Bosnia and Herzegovina -0.66 % per year
206 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -0.7 % per year
207 Monaco -0.84 % per year
208 Latvia -0.94 % per year
209 Albania -1.54 % per year
210 American Samoa -1.6 % per year
211 Tuvalu -1.75 % per year
212 Northern Mariana Islands -1.93 % per year
213 Moldova -2.28 % per year
214 Marshall Islands -3.35 % per year
215 Saint Martin -5.17 % per year

Frequently Asked Questions

As of 2024, Qatar has the highest Population Growth Rate at 7.32 % per year. Data covers 215 countries. Source: World Bank.

The global average Population Growth Rate is 1.09 % per year based on data from 215 countries (2024). Source: World Bank.

Saint Martin reports the lowest Population Growth Rate at -5.17 % per year (2024).

Countries are ranked by their most recent reported value for Population Growth Rate, sourced from World Bank. Reporting years can differ slightly between countries due to publication lag.

Population growth rate is the annual percentage change in the number of individuals living in a specific area. It is determined by the balance of births, deaths, and net migration. This metric is essential for governments and organizations to plan for future infrastructure, healthcare, and educational needs based on changing demographic demands.

According to the latest available data covering 215 countries and territories, Qatar has the highest population growth rate, reaching approximately 7.32 percent annually. This rapid expansion is often attributed to significant economic development and a large influx of international workers, which causes the total population to increase much faster than the global average.

The calculation uses an exponential growth model comparing midyear population figures from consecutive periods. By applying the natural logarithm to the ratio of the current population over the previous population, statisticians derive a percentage that reflects continuous change. This method accounts for the de facto population, including all residents regardless of their legal status.

Recent data indicates that Saint Martin (French part) has the lowest population growth rate at approximately -5.17 percent. A negative growth rate signifies a shrinking population, which can be caused by various factors such as high rates of emigration, a significant decline in birth rates, or specific localized socioeconomic challenges that reduce the resident count.

About this data
Source
World Bank SP.POP.GROW
Definition
Annual population growth rate based on exponential growth model using midyear populations.
Coverage
Data for 215 countries (2024)
Limitations
Data may lag 1-2 years for some countries. Coverage varies by indicator.