Top 10 Populated Countries

Not surprisingly, the largest countries in the world concerning population are China and India, with both countries now having populations of well more than a billion. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), generally regarded as the four major emerging economies expected to control in the 21st century, are all in the top ten most populous countries, suggesting how important the sheer size of the populations would be to their economic expansion.

But a number of countries considered by the International Monetary Fund to be developing nations (that is, having never achieved a high degree of industrialization relative to their populations, and where the population generally has a medium to low standard of living) also have large populations, such as Nigeria (over 190 million), Bangladesh (almost 165 million) and Mexico (approximately 129 million), demonstrating that the problems affecting developing countries span several continents.

It's noteworthy that some of the biggest markets in the world have smaller populations, especially in Europe. Their numbers range from 82 million (Germany) to just under 60 million (Italy).

What's more, several extremely small nations, including Monaco, Luxembourg, along with the Cayman Islands - with fewer than a million residents - play a far bigger role in the financial world than their population numbers would imply. By comparison, Canada, that is also a major financial player and one of the largest nations in the world by landmass, has a rather small population for its size, with around 36.5 million residents.

1. China

Population 2020: 1,439,323,776

2. India

Population 2020: 1,380,004,385

3. United States

Population 2020: 331,002,651

4. Indonesia

Population 2020: 273,523,615

5. Pakistan

Population 2020: 220,892,340

6. Brazil

Population 2020: 212,559,417

7. Nigeria

Population 2020: 206,139,589

8. Bangladesh

Population 2020: 164,689,383

9. Russia

Population 2020: 145,934,462

10. Mexico

Population 2020: 128,932,753

Top 10 Populated Countries