Data / Rankings / Population growth rate / Countries

Countries by population growth

Qatar had the highest population growth of 215 countries in 2016, at 5.5%. South Sudan had the lowest, at -2.53%. The median was 1.19% and the figure for the World was 1.16%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest5.5Qatar
Lowest-2.53South Sudan
Median1.19215 countries
World1.16History

Top 40 countries, 2016

CSVChart (SVG)

QatarQatar: 5.5 %5.5United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates: 4.93 %4.93OmanOman: 4.8 %4.8JordanJordan: 4.72 %4.72Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos Islands: 4.57 %4.57KuwaitKuwait: 4.33 %4.33SomaliaSomalia: 3.85 %3.85BahrainBahrain: 3.82 %3.82Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia: 3.75 %3.75NigerNiger: 3.67 %3.67Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea: 3.66 %3.66AngolaAngola: 3.58 %3.58Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo: 3.54 %3.54Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands: 3.53 %3.53MaldivesMaldives: 3.48 %3.48TanzaniaTanzania: 3.41 %3.41UgandaUganda: 3.32 %3.32MaliMali: 3.17 %3.17ChadChad: 3.14 %3.14ZambiaZambia: 3.09 %3.09SudanSudan: 3.04 %3.04YemenYemen: 3 %3MauritaniaMauritania: 3 %3CameroonCameroon: 2.99 %2.99SenegalSenegal: 2.98 %2.98MozambiqueMozambique: 2.93 %2.93Burkina FasoBurkina Faso: 2.93 %2.93BeninBenin: 2.92 %2.92Côte d’IvoireCôte d’Ivoire: 2.9 %2.9GabonGabon: 2.86 %2.86MalawiMalawi: 2.73 %2.73EthiopiaEthiopia: 2.71 %2.71NamibiaNamibia: 2.7 %2.7GambiaGambia: 2.63 %2.63MadagascarMadagascar: 2.61 %2.61GuineaGuinea: 2.57 %2.57AfghanistanAfghanistan: 2.54 %2.54TajikistanTajikistan: 2.53 %2.53Guinea-BissauGuinea-Bissau: 2.51 %2.51NigeriaNigeria: 2.47 %2.47
%. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Qatar5.5-3.08 pts
2United Arab Emirates4.93-0.45 pts
3Oman4.8+0.35 pts
4Jordan4.72-3.49 pts
5Turks and Caicos Islands4.57+0.22 pts
6Kuwait4.33-0.17 pts
7Somalia3.85+0.4 pts
8Bahrain3.82-0.33 pts
9Saudi Arabia3.75-1.44 pts
10Niger3.67-0.02 pts
11Equatorial Guinea3.66-0.13 pts
12Angola3.58-0.03 pts
13Democratic Republic of the Congo3.54+0.24 pts
14Solomon Islands3.53-0.05 pts
15Maldives3.48+0.02 pts
16Tanzania3.41+0.15 pts
17Uganda3.32+0.25 pts
18Mali3.17+0.04 pts
19Chad3.14-0.04 pts
20Zambia3.09-0.03 pts
21Sudan3.04-0.01 pts
22Yemen3-0.04 pts
23Mauritania3-0.01 pts
24Cameroon2.99-0.15 pts
25Senegal2.98-0.09 pts
26Mozambique2.93+0.03 pts
27Burkina Faso2.93-0.04 pts
28Benin2.92-0.03 pts
29Côte d’Ivoire2.9+0.01 pts
30Gabon2.86-0.25 pts
31Malawi2.73-0.03 pts
32Ethiopia2.71+0.02 pts
33Namibia2.7+0.04 pts
34Gambia2.63-0.11 pts
35Madagascar2.61-0.03 pts
36Guinea2.57+0.04 pts
37Afghanistan2.54-0.58 pts
38Tajikistan2.53-0.02 pts
39Guinea-Bissau2.51-0.06 pts
40Nigeria2.47-0.06 pts
41Papua New Guinea2.47-0.08 pts
42Republic of the Congo2.42+0.01 pts
43Iraq2.39-0.34 pts
44Rwanda2.37-0.02 pts
45Sierra Leone2.35+0.04 pts
46Cayman Islands2.34-0.1 pts
47Belize2.32+0.22 pts
48Turkmenistan2.29+0.01 pts
49Malta2.29-0.16 pts
50Ghana2.28-0.03 pts
51Palestine2.25-0.04 pts
52New Zealand2.25+0.21 pts
53Vanuatu2.22-0 pts
54Kyrgyzstan2.22-0.03 pts
55Kenya2.21-0.02 pts
56Luxembourg2.16-0.2 pts
57Algeria2.06-0 pts
58Sint Maarten2.06-0.1 pts
59Comoros2.05-0.06 pts
60Liberia2.04-0.02 pts
61Egypt2.03-0.06 pts
62Mongolia2.03-0.1 pts
63Israel1.96-0.02 pts
64Timor-Leste1.91-0.04 pts
65Honduras1.88-0.03 pts
66Guatemala1.84+0.01 pts
67Togo1.81-0.1 pts
68Central African Republic1.81+1.67 pts
69Nauru1.77-0.18 pts
70Malaysia1.77+0.03 pts
71Panama1.73-0 pts
72Uzbekistan1.73-0 pts
73Burundi1.72-0.55 pts
74Djibouti1.69-0.05 pts
75São Tomé and Príncipe1.68-0.09 pts
76Laos1.56+0.1 pts
77Australia1.56+0.12 pts
78Kazakhstan1.53+0.04 pts
79Libya1.52-0.09 pts
80Bolivia1.49-0.03 pts
81Macao1.48-1.87 pts
82Cambodia1.46-0 pts
83Ecuador1.46+0.03 pts
84Paraguay1.45-0.01 pts
85Cyprus1.43-0.03 pts
86Iran1.43+0.07 pts
87Botswana1.42-0.01 pts
88Kiribati1.41+0.13 pts
89Monaco1.4-0.32 pts
90Haiti1.4-0.04 pts
91Gibraltar1.39+0.24 pts
92Zimbabwe1.39+0.05 pts
93Iceland1.39+0.35 pts
94Türkiye1.35+0.01 pts
95Nicaragua1.34-0.01 pts
96Philippines1.34-0.14 pts
97Seychelles1.34-0.89 pts
98Peru1.33+0.21 pts
99Pakistan1.3-0.1 pts
100Singapore1.3+0.11 pts
101Ireland1.28+0.34 pts
102Vietnam1.26+0.02 pts
103Brunei1.26-0.04 pts
104Sweden1.26+0.2 pts
105Lesotho1.22+0.05 pts
106Chile1.21+0.19 pts
107Morocco1.19+0.02 pts
108India1.19-0 pts
109Faroe Islands1.15+0.18 pts
110Sri Lanka1.13+0.21 pts
111Canada1.13+0.37 pts
112Azerbaijan1.12-0.07 pts
113Dominican Republic1.11-0.04 pts
114Tunisia1.1-0.03 pts
115Switzerland1.09-0.05 pts
116Austria1.08-0.04 pts
117Indonesia1.07-0.05 pts
118Curaçao1.06-0.26 pts
119Suriname1.05-0.03 pts
120Costa Rica1.01-0.05 pts
121Colombia0.99+0.13 pts
122Bhutan0.97-0.04 pts
123Mexico0.97-0.1 pts
124Argentina0.97-0.08 pts
125South Africa0.94-1.07 pts
126Bangladesh0.89-0 pts
127Norway0.88-0.11 pts
128Samoa0.85-0.02 pts
129Germany0.81-0.06 pts
130United Kingdom0.79+0.07 pts
131Myanmar0.79-0.01 pts
132United States0.79-0.01 pts
133Denmark0.78+0.07 pts
134Brazil0.76-0.03 pts
135Aruba0.76-0.27 pts
136Bahamas0.7-0.09 pts
137Guyana0.63+0.02 pts
138Venezuela0.63-0.43 pts
139Antigua and Barbuda0.62-0.1 pts
140Hong Kong0.62-0.23 pts
141San Marino0.62-0.12 pts
142Eritrea0.61+0.28 pts
143Liechtenstein0.59-0.07 pts
144Eswatini0.58+0.01 pts
145China0.57-0.01 pts
146Netherlands0.53+0.09 pts
147Belgium0.51-0.07 pts
148North Korea0.48-0.01 pts
149Nepal0.47-0.07 pts
150French Polynesia0.47-0.06 pts
151Thailand0.45-0.01 pts
152Saint Lucia0.42-0.02 pts
153South Korea0.4-0.13 pts
154Grenada0.4-0.08 pts
155Uruguay0.33-0.01 pts
156Micronesia0.33+0.03 pts
157Trinidad and Tobago0.31-0.01 pts
158Finland0.29-0.04 pts
159El Salvador0.28-0.06 pts
160France0.26-0.09 pts
161Jamaica0.26-0.05 pts
162Russia0.26-0.02 pts
163Barbados0.22-0.01 pts
164Czechia0.19-0 pts
165Palau0.15-0.16 pts
166Slovakia0.13+0.03 pts
167Greenland0.13+0.45 pts
168Montenegro0.11-0.03 pts
169New Caledonia0.09-0.6 pts
170Belarus0.09-0.05 pts
171Spain0.08+0.16 pts
172Slovenia0.07-0 pts
173Mauritius0.07-0.06 pts
174Fiji0.06-0.04 pts
175Georgia0.06-0.1 pts
176Cape Verde0.03+0.02 pts
177Estonia0.03-0.04 pts
178Andorra0.01+2.15 pts
179Bermuda-0.02+0.08 pts
180Saint Kitts and Nevis-0.03-0.02 pts
181Poland-0.04+0.02 pts
182Japan-0.05+0.05 pts
183Cuba-0.08+0.01 pts
184Isle of Man-0.15+0.21 pts
185U.S. Virgin Islands-0.18-0.02 pts
186Italy-0.19-0.04 pts
187Tuvalu-0.3-0.11 pts
188Portugal-0.32+0.1 pts
189North Macedonia-0.32-0.05 pts
190Ukraine-0.37+0.04 pts
191Hungary-0.39-0.03 pts
192Guam-0.41-0.06 pts
193Armenia-0.41-0.1 pts
194Greece-0.42+0.24 pts
195Saint Martin-0.52-0.3 pts
196Serbia-0.52-0.01 pts
197Tonga-0.54-0.06 pts
198Saint Vincent and the Grenadines-0.57-0.04 pts
199Romania-0.57-0.1 pts
200Latvia-0.91-0.1 pts
201Croatia-1.09+0.11 pts
202Dominica-1.15-1.2 pts
203Moldova-1.16-0.4 pts
204Lithuania-1.17-0.27 pts
205Syria-1.2+3.08 pts
206American Samoa-1.2-0.1 pts
207Bulgaria-1.3-0.03 pts
208Bosnia and Herzegovina-1.30 pts
209Northern Mariana Islands-1.45-0.17 pts
210Albania-1.54-0 pts
211Puerto Rico-1.56-0.16 pts
212British Virgin Islands-1.81-6.37 pts
213Marshall Islands-2.26-0.24 pts
214Lebanon-2.34-4.29 pts
215South Sudan-2.53-1.39 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Exponential rate of change of the mid-year population from the previous year to the reported year, as a percentage. Includes births, deaths and migration.

Total change, not natural increase (births minus deaths). World Bank series.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators. Population growth, annual % (SP.POP.GROW). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

Which country has the highest population growth?

Qatar, with 5.5% in 2016, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest population growth?

South Sudan, with -2.53% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Population growth, annual % (SP.POP.GROW). Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Population growth rate: other rankings

Countries: more rankings