Population density - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Population density, people per square km, 2021:
The average for 2021 based on 47 countries was 119 people per square km. The highest value was in Mauritius: 634 people per square km and the lowest value was in Namibia: 3 people per square km. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: people per square km; Source: Food and Agriculture Organization
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | Population density, 2021 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauritius | 634 | 1 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Rwanda | 546 | 2 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Burundi | 489 | 3 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Comoros | 441 | 4 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Gambia | 261 | 5 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Nigeria | 234 | 6 | 1961 - 2021 |
| S.T.&Principe | 232 | 7 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Uganda | 229 | 8 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Seychelles | 216 | 9 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Malawi | 211 | 10 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Togo | 159 | 11 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Cape Verde | 146 | 12 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Ghana | 144 | 13 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Sierra Leone | 117 | 14 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Benin | 115 | 15 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Ethiopia | 107 | 16 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Kenya | 93 | 17 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Senegal | 88 | 18 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Ivory Coast | 86 | 19 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Burkina Faso | 81 | 20 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Lesotho | 75 | 21 | 1961 - 2021 |
| G.-Bissau | 73 | 22 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Tanzania | 72 | 23 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Swaziland | 69 | 24 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Cameroon | 58 | 25 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Eq. Guinea | 58 | 26 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Guinea | 55 | 27 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Liberia | 54 | 28 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Madagascar | 50 | 29 | 1961 - 2021 |
| South Africa | 49 | 30 | 1961 - 2021 |
| DR Congo | 42 | 31 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Mozambique | 41 | 32 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Zimbabwe | 41 | 33 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Eritrea | 30 | 34 | 1993 - 2021 |
| Angola | 28 | 35 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Somalia | 27 | 36 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Zambia | 26 | 37 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Sudan | 24 | 38 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Niger | 20 | 39 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Mali | 18 | 40 | 1961 - 2021 |
| R. of Congo | 17 | 41 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Chad | 14 | 42 | 1961 - 2021 |
| C.A. Republic | 9 | 43 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Gabon | 9 | 44 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Botswana | 5 | 45 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Mauritania | 4 | 46 | 1961 - 2021 |
| Namibia | 3 | 47 | 1961 - 2021 |
Definition: Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.
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634
546
489
441
261
234
232
229
216
211
159
146
144
117
115
107
93
88
86
81
75
73
72
69
58
58
55
54
50
49
42
41
41
30
28
27
26
24
20
18
17
14
9
9
5
4
3
0
158.5
317
475.5
634
Population density around the world Population density in Europe Population density in Asia Population density in Africa Population density in North America Population density in South America Population density in Australia/Oceania Population density in the European union Population density in MENA Population density in South East Asia Population density in Latin America