2026 country ranking

Fastest-Growing Populations in 2026

See where the UN medium scenario projects the fastest one-year population growth and compare that pace with the population expected in 2050.

Countries and areas: 172
Highest-ranked: Central African Republic
Rank 10: Oman
Top-20 concentration: Africa

Estimate or projection?

The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.

Complete fastest-growing populations in 2026 ranking

Select any country to inspect its full age-by-sex structure and projections.

Fastest-Growing Populations in 2026
Rank	Country or area	Region	2026 growth	2050 population
1	Central African Republic	Africa	+3.3%	10,616,752
2	Somalia	Africa	+3.2%	37,206,512
3	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	+3.1%	218,246,072
4	Niger	Africa	+3.1%	52,513,876
5	Mayotte	Africa	+3.0%	645,426
6	Syria	Asia	+3.0%	37,793,372
7	Sudan	Africa	+3.0%	85,206,383
8	Angola	Africa	+3.0%	74,295,394
9	Mali	Africa	+2.9%	46,154,079
10	Oman	Asia	+2.8%	7,827,002
11	Mozambique	Africa	+2.8%	63,530,952
12	Tanzania	Africa	+2.8%	129,621,102
13	Yemen	Asia	+2.8%	70,976,403
14	Zambia	Africa	+2.7%	38,083,385
15	Afghanistan	Asia	+2.7%	76,885,134
16	Mauritania	Africa	+2.7%	9,415,598
17	Uganda	Africa	+2.6%	85,431,202
18	Chad	Africa	+2.6%	38,857,686
19	Tokelau	Oceania	+2.6%	3,821
20	Malawi	Africa	+2.5%	37,361,683
21	Cameroon	Africa	+2.5%	51,096,317
22	Ethiopia	Africa	+2.5%	225,021,874
23	Benin	Africa	+2.4%	24,433,809
24	Ivory Coast	Africa	+2.3%	55,746,985
25	Madagascar	Africa	+2.3%	53,185,475
26	Republic of the Congo	Africa	+2.3%	11,006,472
27	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	+2.3%	3,143,728
28	Burundi	Africa	+2.3%	24,131,720
29	Solomon Islands	Oceania	+2.3%	1,309,110
30	Senegal	Africa	+2.3%	30,364,954
31	Guinea	Africa	+2.2%	23,404,584
32	Liberia	Africa	+2.2%	8,910,530
33	Vanuatu	Oceania	+2.2%	534,388
34	Burkina Faso	Africa	+2.1%	37,304,383
35	Gambia	Africa	+2.1%	4,301,895
36	Togo	Africa	+2.1%	15,584,778
37	Jordan	Asia	+2.1%	16,367,354
38	Rwanda	Africa	+2.1%	22,707,910
39	Guinea-Bissau	Africa	+2.1%	3,438,608
40	Eritrea	Africa	+2.1%	5,696,062
41	Gabon	Africa	+2.0%	4,084,533
42	Iraq	Asia	+2.0%	71,928,750
43	Nigeria	Africa	+2.0%	359,185,556
44	South Sudan	Africa	+2.0%	18,341,974
45	Sierra Leone	Africa	+2.0%	12,948,325
46	Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	+1.9%	365,115
47	State of Palestine	Asia	+1.9%	8,451,891
48	Kenya	Africa	+1.9%	83,593,239
49	Namibia	Africa	+1.9%	4,512,300
50	Zimbabwe	Africa	+1.9%	25,866,385
51	Bahrain	Asia	+1.8%	2,139,464
52	Comoros	Africa	+1.8%	1,307,558
53	Ghana	Africa	+1.8%	50,553,047
54	Uzbekistan	Asia	+1.8%	52,210,755
55	Tajikistan	Asia	+1.7%	15,574,642
56	Cayman Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.7%	103,958
57	Gibraltar	Europe	+1.7%	49,798
58	Saudi Arabia	Asia	+1.7%	47,693,910
59	United Arab Emirates	Asia	+1.7%	15,367,392
60	Papua New Guinea	Oceania	+1.7%	14,906,590
61	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.6%	34,742
62	French Guiana	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.6%	471,916
63	Qatar	Asia	+1.6%	4,164,460
64	Botswana	Africa	+1.6%	3,437,430
65	Honduras	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.6%	14,846,778
66	Pakistan	Asia	+1.6%	371,863,793
67	Western Sahara	Africa	+1.6%	777,316
68	Seychelles	Africa	+1.5%	141,746
69	Turkmenistan	Asia	+1.5%	9,639,708
70	Guatemala	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.5%	24,670,857
71	Egypt	Africa	+1.4%	161,630,192
72	Kiribati	Oceania	+1.4%	182,621
73	Kyrgyzstan	Asia	+1.4%	9,642,952
74	Kuwait	Asia	+1.4%	6,367,756
75	Vatican City	Europe	+1.4%	714
76	Israel	Asia	+1.4%	13,092,722
77	Belize	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.3%	516,627
78	Bolivia	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.3%	16,110,162
79	Djibouti	Africa	+1.3%	1,530,540
80	Timor-Leste	Asia	+1.3%	1,889,249
81	Laos	Asia	+1.3%	9,757,286
82	Nicaragua	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.3%	8,756,430
83	Algeria	Africa	+1.2%	59,565,554
84	Bangladesh	Asia	+1.2%	214,709,097
85	Panama	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.2%	5,630,680
86	Paraguay	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.1%	8,640,464
87	Libya	Africa	+1.1%	9,260,606
88	Kazakhstan	Asia	+1.1%	26,544,265
89	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.1%	51,016
90	Cambodia	Asia	+1.1%	21,931,455
91	Malaysia	Asia	+1.1%	44,289,772
92	Lesotho	Africa	+1.1%	2,993,076
93	Mongolia	Asia	+1.1%	4,501,493
94	Eswatini	Africa	+1.1%	1,505,331
95	Haiti	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.1%	14,710,862
96	Saint Barthélemy	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.1%	12,789
97	South Africa	Africa	+1.1%	79,177,328
98	Luxembourg	Europe	+1.0%	791,464
99	Peru	Latin America and the Caribbean	+1.0%	40,583,876
100	Andorra	Europe	+1.0%	82,195
101	Colombia	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.9%	59,385,356
102	Iceland	Europe	+0.9%	432,993
103	Australia	Oceania	+0.9%	32,506,969
104	Ireland	Europe	+0.9%	5,970,042
105	Faroe Islands	Europe	+0.9%	63,036
106	India	Asia	+0.9%	1,679,589,259
107	Ecuador	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.8%	21,337,237
108	Lebanon	Asia	+0.8%	6,999,260
109	Morocco	Africa	+0.8%	43,440,431
110	New Caledonia	Oceania	+0.8%	340,580
111	Suriname	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.8%	733,904
112	Cyprus	Europe	+0.8%	1,508,482
113	Canada	Northern America	+0.8%	45,621,882
114	Philippines	Asia	+0.8%	134,373,439
115	Mexico	Northern America	+0.8%	148,946,274
116	Iran	Asia	+0.8%	101,861,993
117	Dominican Republic	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.8%	12,996,293
118	Indonesia	Asia	+0.7%	320,712,949
119	Brunei	Asia	+0.7%	519,551
120	Bhutan	Asia	+0.7%	882,340
121	Guam	Oceania	+0.7%	191,458
122	New Zealand	Oceania	+0.7%	5,755,288
123	Nauru	Oceania	+0.6%	15,758
124	Myanmar	Asia	+0.6%	58,623,232
125	Guyana	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.6%	940,608
126	Turks and Caicos Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.6%	50,988
127	Liechtenstein	Europe	+0.6%	43,013
128	Samoa	Oceania	+0.6%	272,726
129	Singapore	Asia	+0.6%	6,081,692
130	Vietnam	Asia	+0.6%	110,008,908
131	Azerbaijan	Asia	+0.5%	11,224,923
132	Tunisia	Africa	+0.5%	13,145,141
133	United Kingdom	Europe	+0.5%	75,504,681
134	Netherlands	Europe	+0.5%	18,958,475
135	Sri Lanka	Asia	+0.5%	24,813,690
136	United States	Northern America	+0.5%	380,846,910
137	Anguilla	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.5%	14,552
138	Réunion	Africa	+0.5%	941,413
139	British Virgin Islands	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.4%	40,340
140	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.4%	95,055
141	Fiji	Oceania	+0.4%	1,000,261
142	Micronesia	Oceania	+0.4%	126,408
143	Cabo Verde	Africa	+0.4%	566,134
144	Switzerland	Europe	+0.4%	9,342,586
145	Venezuela	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.4%	31,094,883
146	Chile	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.4%	20,320,306
147	Costa Rica	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.4%	5,354,150
148	El Salvador	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.4%	6,663,346
149	Sweden	Europe	+0.4%	11,309,630
150	Bahamas	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.4%	424,265
151	Malta	Europe	+0.4%	535,722
152	Norway	Europe	+0.4%	5,899,829
153	Maldives	Asia	+0.3%	589,962
154	Brazil	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.3%	217,489,300
155	Argentina	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.3%	48,308,944
156	Niue	Oceania	+0.3%	1,966
157	Denmark	Europe	+0.3%	6,124,838
158	Turkey	Asia	+0.3%	91,258,061
159	Macao	Asia	+0.2%	668,860
160	North Korea	Asia	+0.2%	25,787,127
161	French Polynesia	Oceania	+0.2%	284,750
162	Saint Lucia	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.2%	172,080
163	Guernsey	Europe	+0.1%	62,800
164	France	Europe	+0.1%	68,219,675
165	Nepal	Asia	+0.1%	34,642,027
166	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.1%	44,249
167	Belgium	Europe	+0.1%	11,870,906
168	Jersey	Europe	+0.1%	104,766
169	Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.1%	1,399,800
170	San Marino	Europe	+0.1%	33,696
171	Barbados	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.0%	264,216
172	Grenada	Latin America and the Caribbean	+0.0%	113,244

Interpretation

What this ranking measures—and what it does not

Definition

The annual population growth rate reflects births, deaths, and net international migration. It measures proportional change during 2026, not growth across the whole projection period.

Why it matters

Fast growth can rapidly change demand for housing, infrastructure, schools, health systems, and employment. A high percentage in a small country and a modest percentage in a huge country can imply very different numbers of people.

Read with care

One-year rates can be volatile, especially in small populations or where migration is important. Do not extrapolate the displayed rate unchanged to 2050.

What stands out in the 2026 data

Central African Republic leads with +3.3%, while Oman is tenth at +2.8%. Among the top 20 entries, Africa appears most often, with 15 countries or areas.

Those positions describe this particular indicator and year. They do not imply that every country near the top has the same population pyramid or demographic path. Open the profiles below to compare the underlying cohorts.

Central African Republic — rank 1, +3.3%; 2050 population 10,616,752.
Somalia — rank 2, +3.2%; 2050 population 37,206,512.
Democratic Republic of the Congo — rank 3, +3.1%; 2050 population 218,246,072.
Niger — rank 4, +3.1%; 2050 population 52,513,876.
Mayotte — rank 5, +3.0%; 2050 population 645,426.

Questions about this ranking

Which country ranks first for 2026 growth?

Central African Republic ranks first in this comparison with +3.3%. The ranking uses the UN WPP 2024 medium scenario for 2026.

Is 2026 observed population data?

No. In World Population Prospects 2024, historical estimates run through 2023 and values from 2024 onward are projections.

Why might another source show a different rank?

Sources can use different reference dates, revisions, country definitions, estimation methods, or projection scenarios. Close ranks can also change after revisions.