Data / Rankings / Population growth rate / Countries

Countries by population growth

Bahrain had the highest population growth of 215 countries in 2017, at 5.29%. South Sudan had the lowest, at -5.42%. The median was 1.2% and the figure for the World was 1.13%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest5.29Bahrain
Lowest-5.42South Sudan
Median1.2215 countries
World1.13History

Top 40 countries, 2017

CSVChart (SVG)

BahrainBahrain: 5.29 %5.29Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos Islands: 4.09 %4.09SomaliaSomalia: 3.88 %3.88KuwaitKuwait: 3.69 %3.69Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo: 3.66 %3.66NigerNiger: 3.56 %3.56AngolaAngola: 3.54 %3.54Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea: 3.53 %3.53UgandaUganda: 3.49 %3.49SudanSudan: 3.46 %3.46Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands: 3.46 %3.46TanzaniaTanzania: 3.34 %3.34MaldivesMaldives: 3.32 %3.32ChadChad: 3.31 %3.31OmanOman: 3.28 %3.28MaliMali: 3.19 %3.19United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates: 3.17 %3.17ZambiaZambia: 3.07 %3.07YemenYemen: 3.01 %3.01MozambiqueMozambique: 2.99 %2.99MauritaniaMauritania: 2.99 %2.99SenegalSenegal: 2.89 %2.89BeninBenin: 2.88 %2.88Burkina FasoBurkina Faso: 2.85 %2.85CameroonCameroon: 2.83 %2.83Côte d’IvoireCôte d’Ivoire: 2.82 %2.82AfghanistanAfghanistan: 2.81 %2.81QatarQatar: 2.74 %2.74NamibiaNamibia: 2.74 %2.74MaltaMalta: 2.73 %2.73EthiopiaEthiopia: 2.73 %2.73MalawiMalawi: 2.71 %2.71GabonGabon: 2.66 %2.66MadagascarMadagascar: 2.6 %2.6GuineaGuinea: 2.56 %2.56GambiaGambia: 2.53 %2.53TajikistanTajikistan: 2.45 %2.45Guinea-BissauGuinea-Bissau: 2.44 %2.44NigeriaNigeria: 2.43 %2.43LuxembourgLuxembourg: 2.43 %2.43
%. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Bahrain5.29+1.47 pts
2Turks and Caicos Islands4.09-0.48 pts
3Somalia3.88+0.03 pts
4Kuwait3.69-0.63 pts
5Democratic Republic of the Congo3.66+0.12 pts
6Niger3.56-0.11 pts
7Angola3.54-0.04 pts
8Equatorial Guinea3.53-0.13 pts
9Uganda3.49+0.17 pts
10Sudan3.46+0.42 pts
11Solomon Islands3.46-0.07 pts
12Tanzania3.34-0.07 pts
13Maldives3.32-0.16 pts
14Chad3.31+0.17 pts
15Oman3.28-1.52 pts
16Mali3.19+0.02 pts
17United Arab Emirates3.17-1.76 pts
18Zambia3.07-0.03 pts
19Yemen3.01+0.01 pts
20Mozambique2.99+0.06 pts
21Mauritania2.99-0.01 pts
22Senegal2.89-0.09 pts
23Benin2.88-0.04 pts
24Burkina Faso2.85-0.07 pts
25Cameroon2.83-0.15 pts
26Côte d’Ivoire2.82-0.08 pts
27Afghanistan2.81+0.27 pts
28Qatar2.74-2.76 pts
29Namibia2.74+0.04 pts
30Malta2.73+0.45 pts
31Ethiopia2.73+0.02 pts
32Malawi2.71-0.02 pts
33Gabon2.66-0.21 pts
34Madagascar2.6-0.01 pts
35Guinea2.56-0.01 pts
36Gambia2.53-0.1 pts
37Tajikistan2.45-0.08 pts
38Guinea-Bissau2.44-0.08 pts
39Nigeria2.43-0.04 pts
40Luxembourg2.43+0.28 pts
41Republic of the Congo2.43+0.01 pts
42Papua New Guinea2.39-0.08 pts
43Sierra Leone2.39+0.03 pts
44Burundi2.35+0.63 pts
45Iceland2.35+0.96 pts
46Rwanda2.35-0.02 pts
47Vanuatu2.33+0.11 pts
48Belize2.3-0.02 pts
49Turkmenistan2.29-0.01 pts
50Jordan2.25-2.47 pts
51Cayman Islands2.25-0.09 pts
52Iraq2.23-0.16 pts
53Ghana2.2-0.08 pts
54Kenya2.17-0.03 pts
55Andorra2.17+2.16 pts
56San Marino2.16+1.55 pts
57Kyrgyzstan2.1-0.11 pts
58New Zealand2.09-0.16 pts
59Algeria2.03-0.02 pts
60Egypt2-0.04 pts
61Comoros1.99-0.06 pts
62Palestine1.99-0.26 pts
63Liberia1.94-0.1 pts
64Israel1.94-0.02 pts
65Sint Maarten1.93-0.12 pts
66Mongolia1.93-0.1 pts
67Timor-Leste1.89-0.02 pts
68Honduras1.85-0.03 pts
69Guatemala1.82-0.02 pts
70Malaysia1.76-0 pts
71Gibraltar1.73+0.34 pts
72Panama1.71-0.02 pts
73Togo1.7-0.11 pts
74Uzbekistan1.69-0.03 pts
75Central African Republic1.68-0.13 pts
76Australia1.65+0.08 pts
77Djibouti1.64-0.04 pts
78São Tomé and Príncipe1.6-0.08 pts
79Libya1.6+0.07 pts
80Chile1.58+0.37 pts
81Laos1.57+0.01 pts
82Kazakhstan1.56+0.02 pts
83Nauru1.55-0.22 pts
84Ecuador1.53+0.07 pts
85Kiribati1.51+0.09 pts
86Peru1.47+0.14 pts
87Bolivia1.46-0.03 pts
88Colombia1.45+0.46 pts
89Zimbabwe1.44+0.05 pts
90Iran1.44+0.01 pts
91Faroe Islands1.44+0.29 pts
92Paraguay1.42-0.03 pts
93Botswana1.420 pts
94Pakistan1.41+0.11 pts
95Cambodia1.38-0.08 pts
96Cyprus1.38-0.06 pts
97Haiti1.36-0.04 pts
98Ireland1.35+0.07 pts
99Sweden1.35+0.09 pts
100Nicaragua1.33-0.01 pts
101Türkiye1.3-0.05 pts
102Philippines1.29-0.05 pts
103Lesotho1.24+0.03 pts
104Vietnam1.24-0.02 pts
105Seychelles1.22-0.11 pts
106Brunei1.21-0.05 pts
107Morocco1.2+0.01 pts
108Canada1.2+0.06 pts
109India1.16-0.03 pts
110Sri Lanka1.14+0.01 pts
111Dominican Republic1.09-0.02 pts
112Monaco1.07-0.33 pts
113Tunisia1.05-0.05 pts
114Indonesia1.02-0.05 pts
115Suriname1.01-0.04 pts
116Azerbaijan0.98-0.14 pts
117Costa Rica0.94-0.07 pts
118Samoa0.94+0.09 pts
119Mexico0.94-0.03 pts
120Switzerland0.93-0.16 pts
121Argentina0.88-0.09 pts
122Bhutan0.86-0.11 pts
123Bangladesh0.85-0.04 pts
124Eritrea0.82+0.2 pts
125Norway0.81-0.07 pts
126Myanmar0.77-0.02 pts
127Hong Kong0.77+0.15 pts
128Eswatini0.75+0.17 pts
129Brazil0.73-0.03 pts
130Austria0.69-0.39 pts
131United States0.69-0.09 pts
132South Africa0.65-0.29 pts
133Liechtenstein0.65+0.06 pts
134Guyana0.64+0.02 pts
135Denmark0.64-0.14 pts
136Bahamas0.62-0.08 pts
137China0.61+0.03 pts
138Netherlands0.59+0.06 pts
139Antigua and Barbuda0.55-0.07 pts
140United Kingdom0.54-0.25 pts
141North Korea0.46-0.02 pts
142Thailand0.42-0.03 pts
143Saint Lucia0.4-0.03 pts
144Belgium0.39-0.12 pts
145Germany0.37-0.43 pts
146Micronesia0.37+0.04 pts
147French Polynesia0.33-0.15 pts
148Curaçao0.32-0.74 pts
149France0.29+0.03 pts
150South Korea0.28-0.12 pts
151Uruguay0.27-0.06 pts
152Grenada0.27-0.13 pts
153Czechia0.27+0.07 pts
154Spain0.24+0.17 pts
155Finland0.23-0.05 pts
156Jamaica0.21-0.06 pts
157El Salvador0.21-0.07 pts
158Barbados0.2-0.01 pts
159Bermuda0.2+0.23 pts
160Trinidad and Tobago0.2-0.11 pts
161Nepal0.2-0.27 pts
162Russia0.19-0.07 pts
163Isle of Man0.17+0.32 pts
164Syria0.16+1.36 pts
165Slovakia0.16+0.03 pts
166Estonia0.12+0.09 pts
167Montenegro0.1-0.01 pts
168Mauritius0.09+0.02 pts
169Singapore0.09-1.21 pts
170Palau0.08-0.07 pts
171Saudi Arabia0.07-3.67 pts
172Cape Verde0.07+0.03 pts
173Slovenia0.07-0.01 pts
174New Caledonia0.04-0.05 pts
175Georgia0.01-0.05 pts
176Poland0.01+0.06 pts
177Aruba0.01-0.75 pts
178Greenland-0.02-0.15 pts
179Fiji-0.04-0.11 pts
180Saint Kitts and Nevis-0.05-0.03 pts
181Japan-0.08-0.03 pts
182Belarus-0.11-0.2 pts
183Cuba-0.16-0.07 pts
184Tonga-0.16+0.38 pts
185Italy-0.190 pts
186Greece-0.2+0.22 pts
187U.S. Virgin Islands-0.22-0.04 pts
188Portugal-0.24+0.07 pts
189Hungary-0.34+0.05 pts
190Ukraine-0.4-0.03 pts
191North Macedonia-0.4-0.08 pts
192Armenia-0.43-0.02 pts
193Guam-0.45-0.05 pts
194Serbia-0.53-0.01 pts
195Tuvalu-0.56-0.26 pts
196Romania-0.58-0 pts
197Macao-0.63-2.11 pts
198Saint Vincent and the Grenadines-0.65-0.07 pts
199Venezuela-0.65-1.28 pts
200Latvia-0.89+0.03 pts
201Saint Martin-0.91-0.39 pts
202Lithuania-1.21-0.05 pts
203American Samoa-1.27-0.07 pts
204Bosnia and Herzegovina-1.28+0.02 pts
205Bulgaria-1.32-0.03 pts
206Albania-1.54-0 pts
207Croatia-1.61-0.52 pts
208Dominica-1.61-0.46 pts
209Northern Mariana Islands-1.62-0.17 pts
210Moldova-1.73-0.56 pts
211Puerto Rico-2.02-0.46 pts
212Marshall Islands-2.5-0.24 pts
213Lebanon-2.61-0.28 pts
214British Virgin Islands-3.54-1.73 pts
215South Sudan-5.42-2.89 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?

Bahrain, with 5.29% in 2017, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest population growth?

South Sudan, with -5.42% in 2017.

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