DEMOGRAPHICSMapped: The Population of India’s States Compared with CountriesPublished 2 days ago on December 18, 2022
By Nick Routley
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Infographic map showing the population of India’s states and territories compared to countries
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The Population of India’s States Compared with Countries
In a world with eight billion people, even the numbers of the largest population centers like China and India can start to lose their impact.
The visualization above looks to give people a different frame of reference to think about the country’s massive population figures.
The Population Breakdown
Similar to other big countries, the gap between India’s largest and smallest states is quite wide.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous country subdivision in the world at 232 million people, while Sikkim, in the northeast of the country, is the least populated state in India (0.7 million).
Here are India’s 28 states and 8 union territories compared to other countries and territories with comparable sizes:
State Population (2022) Country Population (2022)
Uttar Pradesh 232M 🇧🇷 Brazil + 🇪🇨 Ecuador 234M
Bihar 129M 🇲🇽 Mexico 132M
Maharashtra 125M 🇯🇵 Japan 126M
West Bengal 101M 🇪🇬 Egypt 107M
Madhya Pradesh 85M 🇹🇷 Turkey 87M
Tamil Nadu 84M 🇩🇪 Germany 84M
Rajasthan 80M 🇺🇦 Ukraine + 🇵🇱 Poland 81M
Gujarat 70M 🇹🇭 Thailand 70M
Karnataka 70M 🇬🇧 UK 69M
Andhra Pradesh 54M 🇲🇲 Myanmar 55M
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Hypothetically, if India’s states were to all became countries today, they would take up half the spots in a ranking of the world’s top 20 most populous countries.
A number of Indian states match up evenly against some very large countries, including Maharashtra (Japan), West Bengal (Egypt), and Tamil Nadu (Germany). Of course, the largest is Uttar Pradesh (Brazil+Chile), which also happens to measure up to neighboring Pakistan.
For people living in countries such as Canada or Australia, it may be humbling to know that these countries are equal to a smallish Indian state.
The Big Get Bigger
According to United Nations projections, India is on track to become the most populous country in the world in 2023.
The population of India’s growth is fueled by several factors, including declining mortality rates, increased life expectancy, and high birth rates. While India’s population growth has slowed in recent years due to factors such as urbanization and increasing access to contraception, the country’s population is still expected to continue growing at a significant rate for the foreseeable future.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Population projections for India are from indiacensus.net. Population figures for comparison countries are from the UN’s World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision (medium-fertility variant), accessed via Worldometers‘ live tracker. All population figures shown are 2022 projections.
Data note: Because there are only so many countries, the populations of comparison countries may not perfectly match that of the various Indian states and union territories. Numbers are rounded.
Map note: A number of borders and regions in India are disputed with other countries. Our depiction of borders is a good faith, apolitical attempt at reflecting the “de facto” situation in each region.
