Population density (people per sq. km of land area)

For 2023, Population density (people per sq. km of land area) is led by Macao SAR, China at 20,570. This page combines ranking, historical trend, and map-based distribution.

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.

Countries ranked 215
Snapshot year 2023
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0.05.1 K10 K15 K21 KMacao SAR, ChinaMacao SAR, China: 20,57021 KMonacoMonaco: 18,69319 KSingaporeSingapore: 8,2428.2 KHong Kong SAR, ChinaHong Kong SAR, China: 7,1777.2 KGibraltarGibraltar: 3,8473.8 KBahrainBahrain: 1,9712.0 KMaldivesMaldives: 1,7651.8 KMaltaMalta: 1,7271.7 KBangladeshBangladesh: 1,3191.3 KSint Maarten (Dutch part)Sint Maarten (Dutch part): 1,2571.3 KBermudaBermuda: 1,1981.2 KWest Bank and GazaWest Bank and Gaza: 857857
Rank Country Value
1 Macao SAR, China 20,570
2 Monaco 18,693
3 Singapore 8,242
4 Hong Kong SAR, China 7,177
5 Gibraltar 3,847
6 Bahrain 1,971
7 Maldives 1,765
8 Malta 1,727
9 Bangladesh 1,319
10 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 1,257
11 Bermuda 1,198
12 West Bank and Gaza 857
13 Barbados 657
14 Mauritius 625
15 Aruba 596
16 Naoero 594
17 Rwanda 566
18 Lebanon 564
19 San Marino 564
20 St. Martin (French part) 550
21 Burundi 533
22 Netherlands 531
23 Korea, Rep. 530
24 India 484
25 Comoros 457
26 Israel 455
27 Haiti 422
28 Belgium 386
29 Philippines 385
30 Puerto Rico (US) 361
31 Sri Lanka 356
32 Curacao 348
33 Grenada 344
34 Japan 342
35 Tuvalu 327
36 Pakistan 321
37 Viet Nam 320
38 Guam 308
39 El Salvador 305
40 Cayman Islands 304
41 Virgin Islands (U.S.) 300
42 St. Lucia 294
43 United Kingdom 283
44 Kuwait 272
45 Gambia, The 267
46 Trinidad and Tobago 267
47 Jamaica 262
48 Seychelles 260
49 British Virgin Islands 260
50 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 260
Some World Bank indicators are published with a lag. The site always shows the latest actually available year for each country and indicator.

Analytical takeaways

  • Macao SAR, China sits at the top of the Population density (people per sq. km of land area) distribution in 2023 at 20,570, with a lead of 1,877 over the next country.
  • The median country in the current global snapshot is Kenya at 95, which helps frame the center of the distribution rather than only the leaders.
  • At the lower end of the current sample sits Greenland (0), and the page currently covers 215 countries.