World Bank Data · 211 countries

Fastest Growing Countries by Population

Population growth rates reveal which countries are expanding fastest and which are shrinking. The fastest-growing countries are predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, where high fertility rates, improving healthcare (reducing mortality without yet reducing births), and young populations create momentum for continued growth. Niger, with a growth rate exceeding 3% annually, could double its population in just 23 years. Rapid growth creates enormous pressure on education, healthcare, housing, employment, and natural resources. Conversely, countries like Japan, Italy, and South Korea are experiencing population decline, facing labor shortages, shrinking consumer markets, and unsustainable pension obligations. The demographic divide between rapidly growing developing nations and shrinking wealthy nations is reshaping global economics, migration patterns, and geopolitical power.

Key Findings

1Oman leads with a population growth rate of 6.53%, followed by Kuwait (5.59%) and Syrian Arab Republic (4.92%).
2The gap between #1 Oman and #211 Ukraine (-8.42%) is 1495.0 percentage points.
3The national median across all states is 1.02% (Cyprus at the midpoint).
4The top 10 states are: Oman, Kuwait, Syrian Arab Republic, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Chad, South Sudan, Malta, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain.

Full Ranking: Fastest Growing Countries by Population

Source: Census ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates

#	Country	Growth Rate	Population	Fertility Rate
1	Zimbabwe	1.7	16,340,822	3.7
2	Zambia	2.8	20,723,965	4.1
3	Yemen, Rep.	3	39,390,799	4.6
4	Virgin Islands (U.S.)	-0.5	104,917	2
5	Viet Nam	0.7	100,352,192	1.9
6	Venezuela, RB	0.3	28,300,854	2.1
7	Vanuatu	2.3	320,409	3.6
8	Uzbekistan	2	35,652,307	3.5
9	Uruguay	-0.1	3,388,081	1.4
10	United States	0.8	336,806,231	1.6
11	United Kingdom	1.3	68,492,000	1.6
12	United Arab Emirates	4	10,483,751	1.2
13	Ukraine	-8.4	37,732,836	1
14	Uganda	2.8	48,656,601	4.3
15	Tuvalu	-1.8	9,816	3.2
16	Turks and Caicos Islands	0.8	46,198	1.5
17	Turkmenistan	1.8	7,364,438	2.7
18	Turkiye	0.4	85,325,965	1.5
19	Tunisia	0.7	12,200,431	1.8
20	Trinidad and Tobago	0.1	1,367,510	1.5
21	Tonga	-0.4	104,597	3.1
22	Togo	2.3	9,304,337	4.2
23	Timor-Leste	1.1	1,384,286	2.7
24	Thailand	-0	71,702,435	1.2
25	Tanzania	2.9	66,617,606	4.6
26	Tajikistan	2	10,389,799	3.1
27	Syrian Arab Republic	4.9	23,594,623	2.7
28	Switzerland	1.3	8,888,822	1.3
29	Sweden	0.5	10,536,632	1.5
30	Suriname	0.9	628,886	2.2
31	Sudan	1.3	50,042,791	4.3
32	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	-0.7	101,323	1.8
33	St. Martin (French part)	-4.8	27,515	2.7
34	St. Lucia	0.3	179,285	1.4
35	St. Kitts and Nevis	0.1	46,758	1.5
36	Sri Lanka	-0.7	22,037,000	2
37	Spain	1.2	48,352,528	1.1
38	South Sudan	4.1	11,483,374	3.9
39	South Africa	1.3	63,212,384	2.2
40	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	3.1	18,358,615	6.1
41	Solomon Islands	2.4	800,005	3.6
42	Slovenia	0.4	2,120,461	1.5
43	Slovak Republic	-0.1	5,426,740	1.5
44	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	1.4	42,749	1.4
45	Singapore	4.9	5,917,648	1
46	Sierra Leone	2.2	8,460,512	3.8
47	Seychelles	-0.1	119,773	2.2
48	Serbia	-0.6	6,623,183	1.6
49	Senegal	2.4	18,077,573	3.8
50	Saudi Arabia	4.6	33,702,731	2.3
51	Sao Tome and Principe	2	230,871	3.6
52	San Marino	0.3	33,860	1.1
53	Samoa	0.6	216,663	3.8
54	Rwanda	2.2	13,954,471	3.7
55	Russian Federation	-0.3	143,826,130	1.4
56	Romania	0.1	19,061,062	1.5
57	Qatar	-0	2,656,032	1.7
58	Puerto Rico (US)	-0.5	3,203,792	0.9
59	Portugal	1.4	10,578,174	1.5
60	Poland	-0.4	36,687,353	1.2
61	Philippines	0.8	114,891,199	1.9
62	Peru	1.1	33,845,617	2
63	Paraguay	1.2	6,844,146	2.4
64	Papua New Guinea	1.8	10,389,635	3.1
65	Panama	1.3	4,458,759	2.1
66	Palau	-0.2	17,727	1.9
67	Pakistan	1.5	247,504,495	3.6
68	Oman	6.5	5,049,269	2.5
69	Norway	1.1	5,519,601	1.4
70	Northern Mariana Islands	-2.1	45,143	2.3
71	North Macedonia	-0.2	1,827,816	1.5
72	Nigeria	2.1	227,882,945	4.5
73	Niger	3.3	26,159,867	6.1
74	Nicaragua	1.4	6,823,613	2.2
75	New Zealand	2.3	5,200,000	1.6
76	New Caledonia	1	289,870	2
77	Netherlands	1	17,877,117	1.4
78	Nepal	-0.1	29,694,614	2
79	Nauru	0.6	11,875	3.3
80	Namibia	2.5	2,963,095	3.2
81	Myanmar	0.7	54,133,798	2.1
82	Mozambique	3	33,635,160	4.8
83	Morocco	1	37,712,505	2.2
84	Montenegro	-0	623,529	1.7
85	Mongolia	1.4	3,481,145	2.7
86	Monaco	0.1	38,956	2.1
87	Moldova	-2.8	2,457,783	1.7
88	Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	0.5	112,630	2.7
89	Mexico	0.9	129,739,759	1.9
90	Mauritius	-1.1	1,248,647	1.4
91	Mauritania	3	5,022,441	4.7
92	Marshall Islands	-3.2	38,827	2.9
93	Malta	4	552,747	1.1
94	Mali	3	23,769,127	5.6
95	Maldives	0.4	525,994	1.6
96	Malaysia	1.2	35,126,298	1.6
97	Malawi	2.6	21,104,482	3.6
98	Madagascar	2.5	31,195,932	4
99	Luxembourg	2	666,430	1.3
100	Lithuania	1.4	2,871,585	1.2
101	Liechtenstein	0.9	39,846	1.5
102	Libya	1.1	7,305,659	2.4
103	Liberia	2.2	5,493,031	4
104	Lesotho	1.1	2,311,472	2.7
105	Lebanon	0.5	5,773,493	2.2
106	Latvia	0.2	1,883,710	1.4
107	Lao PDR	1.4	7,664,993	2.4
108	Kyrgyz Republic	1.8	7,099,750	2.7
109	Kuwait	5.6	4,853,420	1.5
110	Kosovo	-5	1,682,668	1.5
111	Korea, Rep.	0.1	51,712,619	0.7
112	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	0.3	26,418,204	1.8
113	Kiribati	1.6	132,530	3.1
114	Kenya	2	55,339,003	3.2
115	Kazakhstan	1.5	20,330,104	3
116	Jordan	1.6	11,439,213	2.6
117	Japan	-0.5	124,516,650	1.2
118	Jamaica	0	2,839,786	1.4
119	Italy	-0	58,984,216	1.2
120	Isle of Man	0	84,165	1.5
121	Ireland	1.9	5,311,538	1.5
122	Iraq	2.3	45,074,049	3.2
123	Iran, Islamic Rep.	1.2	90,608,707	1.7
124	Indonesia	0.8	281,190,067	2.1
125	India	0.9	1,438,069,596	2
126	Iceland	1	385,663	1.6
127	Hungary	-0.1	9,592,186	1.6
128	Honduras	1.7	10,644,851	2.5
129	Haiti	1.2	11,637,398	2.7
130	Guyana	0.6	826,353	2.4
131	Guinea-Bissau	2.2	2,153,339	3.8
132	Guinea	2.5	14,405,468	4.2
133	Guatemala	1.5	18,124,838	2.3
134	Guam	0.8	166,506	2.8
135	Grenada	0.1	117,081	1.5
136	Greenland	0.4	56,865	1.8
137	Greece	-0.3	10,407,351	1.3
138	Ghana	1.9	33,787,914	3.4
139	Germany	0.1	83,287,273	1.4
140	Georgia	0.1	3,715,483	1.8
141	Gambia, The	2.3	2,697,845	4
142	Gabon	2.2	2,484,789	3.6
143	French Polynesia	0.3	281,118	1.5
144	France	0.3	68,372,286	1.7
145	Finland	0.5	5,583,911	1.3
146	Fiji	0.5	924,145	2.3
147	Faroe Islands	0.9	54,414	1.9
148	Ethiopia	2.6	128,691,692	4
149	Eswatini	0.9	1,230,506	2.8
150	Estonia	1.6	1,370,286	1.3
151	Eritrea	1.8	3,470,390	3.7
152	Equatorial Guinea	2.4	1,847,549	4.1
153	El Salvador	0.5	6,309,624	1.8
154	Egypt, Arab Rep.	1.7	114,535,772	2.8
155	Ecuador	0.9	17,980,083	1.8
156	Dominican Republic	0.9	11,331,265	2.2
157	Dominica	-0.5	66,510	1.5
158	Djibouti	1.4	1,152,944	2.6
159	Denmark	0.7	5,946,952	1.5
160	Czechia	1.8	10,864,042	1.5
161	Cyprus	1	1,344,976	1.4
162	Curacao	0.9	154,654	1.3
163	Cuba	-0.4	11,019,931	1.4
164	Croatia	0.1	3,859,686	1.5
165	Cote d'Ivoire	2.5	31,165,654	4.3
166	Costa Rica	0.5	5,105,525	1.3
167	Congo, Rep.	2.4	6,182,885	4.2
168	Congo, Dem. Rep.	3.3	105,789,731	6.1
169	Comoros	1.9	850,387	3.9
170	Colombia	1.1	52,321,152	1.6
171	China	-0.1	1,410,710,000	1
172	Chile	0.5	19,658,835	1.2
173	Chad	4.6	19,319,064	6.1
174	Central African Republic	1.1	5,152,421	6
175	Cayman Islands	2	73,038	1.5
176	Canada	2.9	40,083,484	1.3
177	Cameroon	2.6	28,372,687	4.3
178	Cambodia	1.3	17,423,880	2.6
179	Cabo Verde	0.5	522,331	1.5
180	Burundi	2.7	13,689,450	4.9
181	Burkina Faso	2.3	23,025,776	4.2
182	Bulgaria	-0.3	6,446,596	1.8
183	Brunei Darussalam	0.8	458,949	1.7
184	British Virgin Islands	1.7	38,985	1
185	Brazil	0.4	211,140,729	1.6
186	Botswana	1.6	2,480,244	2.7
187	Bosnia and Herzegovina	-0.6	3,185,073	1.5
188	Bolivia	1.4	12,244,159	2.5
189	Bhutan	0.7	786,385	1.5
190	Bermuda	-0.1	64,698	1.4
191	Benin	2.5	14,111,034	4.6
192	Belize	2.1	411,106	2
193	Belgium	0.9	11,779,946	1.5
194	Belarus	-0.5	9,178,298	1.2
195	Barbados	0	282,336	1.7
196	Bangladesh	1.2	171,466,990	2.2
197	Bahrain	3.4	1,577,059	1.8
198	Bahamas, The	0.5	399,440	1.4
199	Azerbaijan	0.1	10,153,958	1.6
200	Austria	1	9,131,761	1.3
201	Australia	2.4	26,659,922	1.5
202	Aruba	0	107,359	1.6
203	Armenia	-0.2	2,964,300	1.9
204	Argentina	0.3	45,538,401	1.5
205	Antigua and Barbuda	0.5	93,316	1.6
206	Angola	3.1	36,749,906	5.1
207	Andorra	1.4	80,856	1.1
208	American Samoa	-1.7	47,521	2.3
209	Algeria	1.5	46,164,219	2.8
210	Albania	-1.5	2,414,095	1.3
211	Afghanistan	2.1	41,454,761	4.8

Methodology

Rankings are based on American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-Year estimates from the US Census Bureau. All 50 states and the District of Columbia are included. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data. 5-Year estimates offer the most reliable data for state-level comparisons by averaging responses over a 60-month period. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Oman has the highest population growth rate at 6.53%, according to Census ACS 2023 data. Kuwait and Syrian Arab Republic round out the top three.

Ukraine has the lowest population growth rate at -8.42%. Kosovo is second-lowest at -4.95%.

The median across all 211 states is 1.02%. Note that the national median and the state-level median are calculated differently — the state median represents the midpoint when all states are ranked.

This data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-Year estimates published by the US Census Bureau. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides the most comprehensive demographic data available between decennial censuses.

Rankings are based on the latest available Census ACS data (currently 2023 5-Year estimates). The Census Bureau releases new ACS data annually, typically in September. Our data was last updated on April 12, 2026.

Sources: US Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates