- India, 1,428,627,663
- China, 1,425,671,352
- Indonesia, 277,534,122
- Pakistan, 240,485,658
- Bangladesh, 172,954,319
- Japan, 123,294,513
- Philippines, 117,337,368
- Vietnam, 98,858,950
- Iran, 89,172,767
- Turkey, 85,816,199
- Thailand, 71,801,279
- Myanmar, 54,577,997
- South Korea, 51,784,059
- Iraq, 45,504,560
- Afghanistan, 42,239,854
- Saudi Arabia, 36,947,025
- Uzbekistan, 35,163,944
- Malaysia, 34,308,525
- Yemen, 34,449,825
- Nepal, 30,896,590
Asia’s most populated country was China, but it has since been overtaken by India, followed by Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
More than 100 million people are living in eight (8) Asian nations. More than 30 million people live in eighteen (18) countries.
In this article, we rank, the top twenty most populated countries in Asia.
India, 1,428,627,663
According to United Nations predictions, India a country located in south Asia surpassed China as the world’s most populated country in April with 1.486 billion inhabitants. And it continues to expand.
The sheer number of people can conjure up pictures of congested city streets jammed with cars and pedestrians, commuter train trains crammed to the doors with passengers, and food shortages and environmental catastrophes.
Despite this, India is still attempting to find out how to transform progress into prosperity for everyone – specifically, how to guarantee that the next generation has access to the utilities, education, jobs, and healthcare they need to live better lives.
China, 1,425,671,352
China is now the second most populous Asian country after India. It’s also the second most densely populated country in the world with a population of 1,425,671,352.
China had 1.4118 billion people as of December 2022. 91.11% of people were Han Chinese, while 8.89% were minorities, according to the 2020 census.
Indonesia, 277,534,122
According to the 2020 national census, Indonesia had 270.20 million people, up from 237.64 million in 2010. It’s currently the fourth-most populous nation in the world and third in Asia. The most populous island in the world, Java, is home to almost 55% of Indonesia’s inhabitants.
Pakistan, 240,485,658
The South Asian nation of Pakistan is formally known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. With nearly 249.5 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populated nation in Asia and, as of 2023, it will have the biggest Muslim population.
The nation’s main city and financial hub is Karachi, and its capital is Islamabad. Lahore and Faisalabad are the next two largest cities.
Bangladesh, 172,954,319
South Asia is home to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. It is the fifth most populous nation in the world, with 170 million inhabitants spread across an area of 148,460 square kilometres (57,320 sq mi).
With land borders to the west with India, Bangladesh is one of the world’s most populous nations.
Japan, 123,294,513
Japan is an island nation found in Eastern Asia.
Japan is one of the nations with the densest population and has the eleventh-highest population in the world. Since mountains make up almost three-fourths of the country’s landmass, its densely populated coastal plains are home to the majority of its inhabitants.
Within Japan, there are eight traditional regions and 47 administrative prefectures. Most people live in the Greater Tokyo Area, which is the world’s most populous metropolitan area. Despite a drop in its population, Japan maintains the highest life expectancy in the world.
Philippines, 117,337,368
Southeast Asian nation with an archipelago, the Philippines is formally known as the Republic of the Philippines.
According to forecasts using the most recent United Nations data, the population of the Philippines is 117,492,558. The UN projects a population of 117,337,368 on July 1, 2023.
Population growth of nearly 2 million people each year will cause it to double in roughly 40 years.
Vietnam, 98,858,950
Southeast Asia’s easternmost nation is Vietnam, also known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV).
Around 97.5 million people are living in Vietnam as of 2021. Since the 1979 census, which put the country’s population at 52.7 million for all of Vietnam after its unification, the population has increased dramatically. 96,208,984 people were living in the nation as of the most recent census in 2019.
According to the 2019 census, only 34.4% of Vietnamese people reside in urban areas, leaving rural areas home to 65.6% of the country’s population.
Recent increases in the average growth rate of the urban population are mostly attributable to migration and increasing urbanization.
Iran, 89,172,767
Iran is a multicultural nation made up of a large number of ethnic and linguistic groups that are united by a common Iranian nationality.
Iran’s population increased significantly in the second half of the 20th century, rising from 19 million in 1956 to 85 million in February 2023.
However, Iran’s fertility rate has substantially decreased recently, falling from a fertility rate of 6.5 per woman to just over 1.7 two decades later, resulting in a population growth rate of roughly 1.39% as of 2018.
Nearly a million migrants, largely from Afghanistan and Iraq, make up one of the greatest refugee populations in the world in Iran.
Turkey, 85,816,199
Turkey is a transcontinental nation with the majority of its territory in West Asia’s Anatolia Peninsula and a tiny fraction in Southeast Europe’s Balkan Peninsula.
Turkey’s Address-Based Population Recording System estimates that 85,279,553 people called the nation home in 2022, with 93.4% of them residing in the province and district centres and only 6.6% in towns and villages. Turkey’s population density was 111 persons per km2 on average in 2022.
Turkey’s population increased from 20.9 million in 1950 to 83.6 million in 2020, more than quadrupling.
Thailand, 71,801,279
Thailand is a nation in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula, formally known as the Kingdom of Thailand and formerly known as Siam. It covers 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi) and has a population of about 70 million.
As of 2020, 69,799,978 people were living in Thailand. Thailand’s population is primarily rural and concentrated in the central, northeastern, and northern regions, which are known for their rice growing. As of 2010, the majority of Thais—45.7%—lived in urban regions, especially in and around the Bangkok Metropolitan Area.
Myanmar, 54,577,997
Southeast Asian nation Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is also referred to as Burma (the official name up until 1989). With a population of around 54 million in 2017, it is the largest country in Mainland Southeast Asia by area.
More than 600,000 migrant labourers from Myanmar are officially registered in Thailand, while millions more do so illegally. 80% of the migrant workers in Thailand are nationals of Burma.
South Korea, 51,784,059
East Asia is home to South Korea, which is also known as the Republic of Korea (ROK). It is located on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula and shares a boundary with North Korea along the Korean Demilitarised Zone. It’s one of the most populated countries in Asia.
Its 51.96 million people live in the Seoul Capital Area, the fourth-most populated metropolitan area in the world, with around half of them.
Iraq, 45,504,560
Iraq, sometimes known as the Republic of Iraq, is a West Asian nation. There are 19 governorates in this federal parliamentary republic.
43,533,592 people were living in Iraq as of 2021. In 1878, the estimated population of Iraq was 2 million. Iraq had 13.6 million people living there in 1980. A post-war population surge led to an increase in Iraq’s population to 35 million in 2013.
Afghanistan, 42,239,854
Afghanistan, also known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked nation that lies at the meeting point of Central and South Asia.
The capital of the nation and its largest city is Kabul. 42.2 million people are living in Afghanistan as of 2021.
If present population trends continue, this population is projected to reach 82 million by the year 2050.
Saudi Arabia, 36,947,025
A nation in West Asia, Saudi Arabia is officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). With a land size of around 2150000 km2 (830000 sq mi), which makes it the fifth-largest country in Asia, it occupies the majority of the Arabian Peninsula.
Although it has long been challenging to precisely estimate the population of Saudi Arabia due to Saudi leaders’ historical propensity to inflate census results, the country’s population as of July 2013 was estimated to be 26.9 million, including between 5.5 million and 10 million non-nationalized foreigners.
Uzbekistan, 35,163,944
Uzbekistan is located in central Asia and is doubly landlocked.
Uzbekistan will have the greatest population of any Central Asian nation as of 2022. Nearly half of the region’s population—36 million people—live there. 34.1% of Uzbekistan’s population, as of the 2008 estimate, is under the age of 14.
Malaysia, 34,308,525
Southeast Asia is home to Malaysia. Thirteen states and three federal territories make up the federal constitutional monarchy, which is divided into Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, which is located in Borneo. These states are divided into two parts by the South China Sea.
The population of Malaysia, which was 32,447,385 as of 2020 according to the Malaysian Department of Statistics, made it the 42nd most populous nation. The population is growing by 1.54 per cent annually, according to a 2012 projection. Malaysia is the 116th most populous country in the world, with an average population density of 96 persons per km2.
Yemen, 34,449,825
Yemen is a West Asian nation. It is situated near the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and has borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia to the north and northeast, respectively. Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia are its maritime neighbours.
As of 2023, the population of the nation is anticipated to be 34.2 million.
Nepal, 30,896,590
In South Asia, Nepal is a landlocked nation. Although it contains some of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, it is primarily located in the Himalayas.
Nepal is a multicultural and multiethnic nation with 125 distinct ethnic groups, 123 different mother tongues, and a variety of indigenous and folk faiths in addition to Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other major monotheistic religions.
The most recent census data and forecasts from Trading Economics put the country of Nepal’s population at 30.5 million in 2022.
Conclusion
In general, Asia’s overpopulation is an issue because it is growing quickly. It negatively affects this region’s socioeconomic structure and may result in problems like economic instability and poverty as a whole.
That said, these are the countries in Asia with the most populations. Our list includes only 20 but there are more such as, North Korea, Taiwan, Syria, Srilanka among others.
