Top 25 Countries by Population Density (2023)

Population density, measured by the number of people per square kilometer, reveals how crowded a country is relative to its land area. In 2023, the world’s most densely populated regions are dominated by small territories and city-states where high populations are packed into tiny areas.

World’s Densest Countries and Territories in 2023

1. Macao SAR, China — 20,681.82 people/sq. km
   With just 30 sq. km of land, Macao leads the world in population density, fueled by its vibrant tourism and casino industries.
2. Monaco — 18,680.90 people/sq. km
   Monaco, a glamorous microstate on the French Riviera, ranks second despite its tiny 100 sq. km territory.
3. Singapore — 7,851.01 people/sq. km
   This city-state blends high population density with advanced urban planning across 728 sq. km.
4. Hong Kong SAR, China — 7,060.10 people/sq. km
   With its dense urban hubs, Hong Kong maintains one of the world’s highest densities over 1,110 sq. km.
5. Bahrain — 1,929.99 people/sq. km
   An island nation in the Middle East, Bahrain’s density stems from its small land area of 790 sq. km.

6-10:

• Maldives: 1,747.02 people/sq. km
• Malta: 1,659.73 people/sq. km
• Bangladesh: 1,301.26 people/sq. km — the densest large country by population.
• Sint Maarten (Dutch part): 1,239.38 people/sq. km
• Bermuda: 1,199.06 people/sq. km

Insights

• Bangladesh stands out as the most densely populated large nation globally.
• European microstates like Monaco and Malta top the list despite their small populations.
• Larger countries like India (479.43) and Netherlands (525.72) also rank highly due to significant population sizes relative to their landmass.

Ranking: Population Density by Country (2023)

Rank	Country	Population in 2023	Surface area in sq. km.	Population density (people per sq. km)
1	Macao SAR, China	678,800	30	20,681.82
2	Monaco	38,960	100	18,680.90
3	Singapore	5,917,648	728	7,851.01
4	Hong Kong SAR, China	7,536,100	1,110	7,060.10
5	Bahrain	1,577,059	790	1,929.99
6	Maldives	525,994	300	1,747.02
7	Malta	552,747	320	1,659.73
8	Bangladesh	171,466,990	147,570	1,301.26
9	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	42,750	30	1,239.38
10	Bermuda	64,700	4,290	1,199.06
11	Channel Islands	167,691	198	842.13
12	Palestine – West Bank and Gaza	5,165,775	6,030	817.05
13	Barbados	282,336	430	656.55
14	Mauritius	1,261,041	2,010	632.21
15	Aruba	107,359	180	596.17
16	Nauru	11,880	20	590.05
17	St. Martin (French part)	27,520	50	577.40
18	San Marino	33,860	60	562.58
19	Lebanon	5,773,493	10,450	561.53
20	Rwanda	13,954,471	26,340	553.35
21	Korea, Rep.	51,712,619	100,440	529.43
22	Netherlands	17,877,117	41,540	525.72
23	Burundi	13,689,450	27,830	518.73
24	South Asia	1,662,580,579	3,686,310	492.38
25	India	1,438,069,600	3,287,260	479.43
26	Comoros	850,387	1,861	448.25
27	Haiti	11,637,398	27,750	417.40
28	Belgium	11,800,000	30,689	383.03
29	Philippines	114,891,199	300,000	382.21
30	Puerto Rico	3,203,792	8,870	363.04
31	Sri Lanka	22,000,000	65,610	358.57
32	Grenada	117,081	340	343.86
33	Japan	124,516,650	377,970	343.28
34	Curacao	200,000	444	337.83
35	Tuvalu	9,800	30	333.07
36	Viet Nam	100,352,192	331,340	318.03
37	Pakistan	247,504,495	796,100	316.13
38	Guam	166,506	540	305.89
39	El Salvador	6,309,624	21,040	303.10
40	Virgin Islands (U.S.)	104,917	350	301.18
41	Cayman Islands	73,040	264	298.30
42	St. Lucia	179,285	620	293.08
43	United Kingdom	68,492,000	243,610	279.44
44	Trinidad and Tobago	1,367,510	5,130	266.24
45	Jamaica	2,839,786	10,990	262.16
46	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	101,323	390	261.66
47	Seychelles	119,773	460	260.60
48	Gambia, The	2,697,845	11,300	260.52
49	Kuwait	4,853,420	17,820	257.56
50	Luxembourg	666,430	2,590	253.69
51	Liechtenstein	–	160	246.83
52	Nigeria	227,882,945	923,770	245.01
53	American Samoa	47,520	200	241.71
54	Germany	83,901,923	357,600	239.86
55	Uganda	48,656,601	241,550	235.95
56	Sao Tome and Principe	230,871	960	235.73
57	Dominican Republic	11,331,265	146,839	233.01
58	Qatar	2,656,032	11,490	231.27
59	Marshall Islands	38,830	180	222.65
60	Switzerland	8,900,000	41,300	222.15
61	Korea, Dem. People’s Rep.	26,418,204	120,540	218.66
62	Malawi	21,104,482	118,480	218.17
63	Antigua and Barbuda	93,320	440	211.00
64	Nepal	29,694,614	147,180	207.29
65	Italy	59,000,000	302,070	199.56
66	St. Kitts and Nevis	46,760	260	179.65
67	Andorra	80,860	470	169.59
68	Togo	9,304,337	56,790	167.12
69	Guatemala	18,124,838	108,890	166.55
70	Lower middle income	3,082,002,900	19,305,020	162.83
71	Kiribati	132,530	810	161.07
72	Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	112,630	700	160.16
73	China	1,410,710,000	9,562,910	150.42
74	Isle of Man	84,170	570	147.60
75	Denmark	5,946,952	42,920	147.58
76	Indonesia	281,190,067	1,916,910	147.33
77	Tonga	104,597	750	145.89
78	Ghana	33,787,914	238,533	145.69
79	Cyprus	1,344,976	9,250	144.09
80	United Arab Emirates	10,500,000	98,600	141.86
81	Thailand	71,702,435	513,120	140.41
82	Czechia	10,864,042	78,870	138.29
83	Cabo Verde	522,331	4,030	128.97
84	Jordan	11,439,213	89,318	126.77
85	France	68,300,000	549,090	124.31
86	Azerbaijan	10,153,958	86,600	122.71
87	Benin	14,111,034	114,760	122.02
88	Syrian Arab Republic	23,594,623	185,180	121.30
89	Poland	36,687,353	312,720	120.30
90	Sierra Leone	8,460,512	72,300	114.67
91	Portugal	10,600,000	92,230	113.90
92	Egypt, Arab Rep.	114,535,772	1,001,450	113.13
93	Slovak Republic	5,426,740	49,030	112.97
94	Ethiopia	128,691,692	1,136,200	111.10
95	Turkiye	85,325,965	785,350	110.42
96	Austria	9,131,761	83,879	109.57
97	Cuba	11,019,930	109,880	106.55
98	Malaysia	35,126,298	330,411	105.60
99	Hungary	9,592,186	93,030	105.25
100	Slovenia	2,120,461	20,480	104.89
101	Armenia	2,964,300	29,740	104.29
102	Iraq	45,074,050	435,050	101.52
103	Albania	2,700,000	28,750	101.38
104	Northern Mariana Islands	45,140	460	100.17
105	Costa Rica	5,105,525	51,100	99.53
106	Cambodia	17,423,880	181,040	97.45
107	East Asia & Pacific	2,384,479,340	24,793,720	97.34
108	Spain	48,300,000	505,978	95.63
109	Cote d’Ivoire	31,165,654	322,460	95.58
110	Kenya	55,339,003	580,370	95.32
111	Honduras	10,644,851	112,490	93.52
112	Timor-Leste	1,384,286	14,870	92.08
113	Senegal	18,077,570	196,710	91.68
114	Dominica	66,510	750	89.10
115	Moldova	2,500,000	33,850	88.02
116	Brunei Darussalam	458,949	5,770	86.41
117	Morocco	37,712,505	446,550	83.64
118	Romania	19,100,000	238,400	82.79
119	Myanmar	54,133,798	676,590	82.36
120	Burkina Faso	23,025,780	274,200	82.27
121	Greece	10,400,000	131,960	80.97
122	French Polynesia	281,118	3,471	80.78
123	Uzbekistan	35,652,307	448,924	79.29
124	Serbia	6,623,183	84,990	79.25
125	Tunisia	12,200,431	163,610	78.01
126	Samoa	216,663	2,840	77.43
127	Ireland	5,307,600	70,280	75.67
128	Lesotho	2,311,472	30,360	75.30
129	Guinea-Bissau	2,153,339	36,130	74.88
130	Tajikistan	10,389,799	141,379	73.36
131	Tanzania	66,617,606	947,300	73.05
132	North Macedonia	1,827,816	25,710	72.63
133	Yemen, Rep.	39,390,799	527,970	72.40
134	Ecuador	17,980,083	256,370	71.77
135	Eswatini	1,230,506	17,360	70.87
136	Ukraine	37,732,836	603,550	70.85
137	Croatia	3,859,686	88,070	68.90
138	Mexico	129,739,759	1,964,375	66.16
139	Georgia	3,715,483	69,700	64.95
140	Equatorial Guinea	1,847,549	28,050	64.30
141	Upper middle income	2,809,441,887	44,501,579	64.22
142	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,185,073	51,210	62.59
143	Afghanistan	41,454,761	652,860	62.22
144	Middle East & North Africa	797,801,454	12,806,400	62.02
145	World	8,064,976,601	140,419,457	61.60
146	Bulgaria	6,446,596	111,000	59.55
147	Panama	4,458,759	75,320	59.33
148	Cameroon	28,372,687	475,440	58.46
149	Guinea	14,405,468	245,860	57.20
150	Nicaragua	6,823,613	130,370	55.93
151	Liberia	5,493,031	111,370	55.79
152	Iran, Islamic Rep.	90,608,707	1,745,150	55.18
153	Madagascar	31,195,932	587,295	52.32
154	Sub-Saharan Africa	1,259,902,353	24,328,252	51.45
155	South Africa	63,212,384	1,219,090	51.42
156	Fiji	924,145	18,270	50.32
157	Djibouti	1,152,944	23,200	49.06
158	Turks and Caicos Islands	46,200	950	48.26
159	Colombia	52,321,152	1,140,620	46.63
160	Montenegro	623,529	13,810	46.36
161	Belarus	9,178,298	207,630	45.46
162	Lithuania	2,871,585	65,286	45.23
163	Congo, Dem. Rep.	105,789,731	2,344,860	45.17
164	Low income	607,774,703	13,892,718	43.43
165	Zimbabwe	16,340,822	390,760	41.54
166	Mozambique	33,635,160	799,380	41.53
167	Bahamas, The	399,440	13,880	39.71
168	Faroe Islands	54,440	12,960	39.36
169	Palau	17,730	460	38.61
170	United States	336,806,231	9,831,510	36.51
171	Kyrgyz Republic	7,099,750	199,950	36.37
172	Europe & Central Asia	925,640,799	28,816,871	33.71
173	Lao PDR	7,664,993	236,800	32.75
174	Latin America & Caribbean	657,617,663	20,517,665	32.59
175	Venezuela, RB	28,300,854	912,050	31.99
176	Estonia	1,370,286	45,340	31.57
177	Latvia	1,877,445	64,590	30.20
178	Angola	36,749,906	1,246,700	28.58
179	Somalia	18,358,615	637,660	28.38
180	Eritrea	3,470,390	121,630	28.17
181	Solomon Islands	800,005	28,900	27.91
182	Zambia	20,723,965	752,610	27.11
183	High income	1,408,764,584	60,671,855	27.03
184	Sudan	50,042,790	1,878,000	26.44
185	Chile	19,658,835	756,700	26.30
186	Peru	33,845,617	1,285,220	26.15
187	Sweden	10,536,632	528,860	25.75
188	Vanuatu	320,409	12,190	25.68
189	Brazil	211,140,729	8,510,418	25.16
190	Papua New Guinea	10,389,635	462,840	22.53
191	North America	376,954,413	25,470,210	20.80
192	Bhutan	786,385	38,390	20.47
193	Niger	26,159,867	1,267,000	19.98
194	New Zealand	5,245,000	267,710	19.43
195	Uruguay	3,388,081	176,220	19.37
196	Algeria	46,164,219	2,381,741	19.09
197	Mali	23,769,127	1,240,190	18.91
198	Finland	5,583,911	338,470	18.28
199	Congo, Rep.	6,182,885	342,000	17.67
200	Belize	411,106	22,970	17.66
201	South Sudan	11,483,374	646,883	17.44
202	Paraguay	6,844,146	406,752	17.07
203	Argentina	45,538,401	2,780,400	16.59
204	New Caledonia	289,870	18,580	15.71
205	Turkmenistan	7,364,438	491,209	15.39
206	Oman	5,049,270	309,500	15.28
207	Norway	5,519,594	624,500	14.98
208	Saudi Arabia	33,702,731	2,149,690	14.97
209	Chad	19,319,064	1,284,000	14.66
210	Bolivia	12,244,159	1,098,580	11.15
211	Gabon	2,484,789	267,670	9.43
212	Russian Federation	143,826,130	17,098,250	8.81
213	Central African Republic	5,152,421	622,980	8.18
214	Kazakhstan	20,330,104	2,724,902	7.42
215	Mauritania	5,022,440	1,030,700	4.73
216	Canada	40,083,480	15,634,410	4.43
217	Botswana	2,480,244	581,730	4.31
218	Guyana	826,353	214,970	4.17
219	Libya	7,305,659	1,759,540	4.11
220	Suriname	628,886	163,820	3.88
221	Iceland	393,349	103,000	3.79
222	Namibia	2,963,095	824,290	3.51
223	Australia	26,652,777	7,741,220	3.38
224	Mongolia	3,481,145	1,564,120	2.20
225	Greenland	56,870	410,450	0.14

FAQ

1. What is the most densely populated country in the world in 2023?
The most densely populated region in the world in 2023 is Macao SAR, China, with a staggering 20,681.82 people per square kilometer. Its small land area combined with a high population contributes to this exceptionally high density.

2. Which large country has the highest population density?
Among larger countries, Bangladesh holds the record for the highest population density, with 1,301 people per square kilometer. Despite its relatively small size compared to its large population of over 171 million, it ranks 8th globally in density.

3. Why are some small countries or territories so densely populated?
Small countries or city-states like Monaco, Singapore, and Macao are highly urbanized with limited land but attract large populations due to economic opportunities, favorable living conditions, and strong infrastructure, leading to extremely high population densities.

Source:

World Bank. World Development Indicators: Size of the economy