Planet Earth is the only known planet that can support life forms. According to the United Nations projections, the world population is about 7.8 billion as of March 2020. The human population has experienced rapid growth in the last millennium, particularly in the last five centuries. While it took about two million years for the population to cross the one billion mark, the population size has increased by about six billion in the last 200 years. The UN predicts that there will be 9-10 billion people on Earth by 2050 and 10-12 billion by the beginning of the 22nd century.

　　Asia is the most populated continent and home to some of the largest countries and cities by population. The continent is home to 4.6 billion people, about 59% of the world’s population. Africa is the second-most populated continent, with 1.3 billion people, followed by Europe with 748 million people. China is the world’s most populated country, hosting 1.4 billion people about 18% of the global population. India, the world’s second-most populous country, is home to 1.37 billion people (17.5%). Germany is Europe’s most populated country located entirely on the continent, while the US and Nigeria are the Americas and Africa’s most populous countries.

　　Read MoreCountries By Population

　　China is home to some of the world’s largest cities by population, including six of the ten largest cities (city proper population). Some of its largest cities are Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu. However, Tokyo is, by far, Asia’s and world’s largest capital city, with about 37.3 million people within the metropolitan area. In Europe, Moscow is the largest capital city, with 20 million people, while Mexico City is the Americas’ largest capital city, with 22 million people. Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country and hosts the continent’s largest capital city (Lagos), which is home to about 21 million people. Although Sydney is the largest city in both Australia and Oceania with over 4.3 million people, Canberra is the region’s largest capital city, with about 355,000 people. Below is a list of the world capital cities and their populations.

Country, Capital City, Population

　　Afghanistan, Kabul, 3,289,000 Albania, Tirane, 763,634 Algeria, Algiers, 3,574,000 Andorra, Andorra la Vella, 22,884 Angola, Luanda, 2,453,779 Antigua and Barbuda, (Antigua) St. John's, 22,679; (Barbuda) Codrington, 1,325 Argentina, Buenos Aires, city: 2,891,082; metro: 13,074,000 Armenia, Yerevan, 1,121,900 Australia, Canberra, 354,644 Austria, Vienna, 1,552,789 Azerbaijan, Baku, 1,879,251 B

　　Bahamas, Nassau, 248,948 Bahrain, Manama, 140,616 Bangladesh, Dhaka, city: 7,000,940; metro: 12,797,394 Barbados, Bridgetown, 96,578 Belarus, Minsk, 1,702,061 Belgium, Brussels, 1,080,790 Belize, Belmopan, 12,300 Benin, Porto-Noveo (official): 223,552; Cotonou (de facto capital): 779,314 Bhutan, Thimphu, 101,259 Bolivia, Sucre (official): 300,000; La Paz (de facto capital): 877,363 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 383,604 Botswana, Gaborone, 225,656 Brazil, Brasilia, 2,648,532 Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, 28,135 Bulgaria, Sofia, 1,090,295 Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, 1,005,231 Burundi, Bujumbura, 384,461 C

　　Cambodia, Phnom Penh, 2,011,725 Cameroon, Yaounde, 1,616,000 Canada, Ottawa, 898,150 Cape Verde, Praia, 125,464 Central African Republic, Bangui, 731,548 Chad, N'Djamena, 751,288 Chile, Santiago, 5,084,038 China, Beijing, 20,180,000 Colombia, Bogota, 7,613,303 Comoros, Moroni, 60,200 Congo, Brazzaville, 1,088,044 Costa Rica, San Jose, 328,195 Cote d'Ivoire, Yamoussoukro, 454,929 Croatia, Zagreb, 804,200 Cuba, Havana, 2,135,498 Cyprus, Nicosia, 239,277 Czech Republic, Prague, 1,227,332 D

　　Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa, 4,385,264 Denmark, Copenhagen, 1,231,166 Djibouti, Djibouti, 475,332 Dominica, Roseau, 14,847 Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 2,995,211 E

　　East Timor, Dili, 193,563 Ecuador, Quito, 1,504,991 Egypt, Cairo, 7,438,376 El Salvador, San Salvador, 521,366 Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, 100,677 Eritrea, Asmara, 543,707 Estonia, Tallinn, 403,547 Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 3,040,740 F

　　Fiji, Suva, 84,410 Finland, Helsinki, 596,661 France, Paris, 2,268,265 G

　　Gabon, Libreville, 556,425 Gambia, Banjul, 34,828 Georgia, Tbilisi, 1,044,993 Germany, Berlin, 3,520,000 Ghana, Accra, 1,640,507 Greece, Athens, 721,477 Grenada, St. George's, 7,500 Guatemala, Guatemala City, 1,103,865 Guinea, Conakry, 1,399,981 Guinea-Bissau, Bissau, 452,640 Guyana, Georgetown, 134,599 H

　　Haiti, Port-au-Prince, 1,235,227 Honduras, Tegucigalpa, 735,982 Hungary, Budapest, 1,728,718 I

　　Iceland, Reykjavik, 115,000 India, New Delhi, 292,300 Indonesia, Jakarta, 10,187,595 Iran, Tehran, city: 12,223,598; metro: 13,828,365 Iraq, Baghdad, 7,216,040 Ireland, Dublin, 1,045,769 Israel, Jerusalem, 780,200 Italy, Rome, 2,792,508 J

　　Jamaica, Kingston, 701,063 Japan, Tokyo, city: 13,185,502; metro: 35,862,460 Jordon, Amman, 2,600,603 K

　　Kazakhstan, Astana, 700,000 Kenya, Nairobi, 2,665,657 Kiribati, South Tarawa, 30,000 Korea (North), Pyongyang, 3,144,005 Korea (South), Seoul, city 10,581,728; metro 25,620,000 Kuwait, Kuwait City, 1,171,880 Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, 843,240 L

　　Laos, Vientiane, 287,579 Latvia, Riga, 713,016 Lebanon, Beirut, 1,574,387 Lesotho, Maseru, 267,652 Liberia, Monrovia, 1,010,970 Libya, Tripoli, 1,184,045 Liechtenstein, Vaduz, 5,248 Lithuania, Vilnius, 556,723 Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 76,420 M

　　Macedonia, Skopje, 506,926 Madagascar, Antananarivo, 1,918,117 Malawi, Lilongwe, 902,388 Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 1,381,830 Maldives, Male, 103,693 Mali, Bamako, 1,289,626 Malta, Valletta, 6,315 Marshall Islands, Majuro, 25,400 Mauritania, Nouakchott, 719,167 Mauritius, Port Louis, 147,251 Mexico, Mexico City, 8,851,080 Micronesia, Palikir, 9,900 Moldova, Chisinau, 794,800 Monaco, Monaco, 35,986 Mongolia, Ulan Bator, 907,802 Montenegro, Podgorica, 141,854 Morocco, Rabat, 1,789,635 Mozambique, Maputo, 1,076,689 Myanmar (Burma), Nay Pyi Taw, 925,000 N

　　Namibia, Windhoek, 252,721 Nauru, Yaren, 1,100 Nepal, Kathmandu, 812,026 (The) Netherlands, Amsterdam, 740,094 New Zealand, Wellington, 381,900 Nicaragua, Managua, 926,883 Niger, Niamey, 794,814 Nigeria, Abuja, 778,567 Norway, Oslo, 575,475 O

　　Oman, Muscat, 797,000 P

　　Pakistan, Islamabad, 955,629 Palau, Ngerulmud, 391 Panama, Panama City, 813,097 Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, 307,643 Paraguay, Asuncion, 520,722 Peru, Lima, city: 7,605,742; metro: 8,472,935 Philippines, Manila, city: 1,652,171; metro: 11,855,975 Poland, Warsaw, 1,706,724 Portugal, Lisbon, 564,657 Q

　　Qatar, Doha, 1,450,000 R

　　Romania, Bucharest, 1,942,254 Russia, Moscow, 11,541,000 Rwanda, Kigali, 718,414 S

　　St. Kitts and Nevis, Basseterre, 13,043 St. Lucia, Castries, 57,000 St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Kingstown, 16,031 Samoa, Apia, 39,813 San Marino, San Marino, 4,493 Sao Tome and Principe, Sao Tome, 56,166 Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 4,878,723 Senegal, Dakar, 1,030,594 Serbia, Belgrade, 1,154,589 Seychelles, Victoria, 29,298 Sierra Leone, Freetown, 1,070,200 Singapore, Singapore, 5,312,000 Slovakia, Bratislava, 424,207 Slovenia, Ljubljana, 280,140 Solomon Islands, Honiara, 59,288 Somalia, Mogadishu, 1,097,133 South Africa, Pretoria (official: 2,345,908), 1,097,133; Bloemfontein (judicial: 369,568); Cape Town (legislative: 827,218) South Sudan, Juba, 372,410 Spain, Madrid, 3,233,527 Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, 118,556 Sudan, Khartoum, 1,740,661 Suriname, Paramaribo, 254,147 Swaziland, Mbabane, 81,594 Sweden, Stockholm, 770,284 Switzerland, Berne, 121,631 Syria, Damascus, 3,500,000 T

　　Taiwan, Taipei, 2,618,772 Tajikistan, Dushanbe, 582,496 Tanzania, Dodoma, 287,200 Thailand, Bangkok, 8,249,117 Togo, Lome, 824,738 Tonga, Nukuʻalofa, 22,400 Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain, 50,479 Tunisia, Tunis, 767,629 Turkey, Ankara, 4,890,893 Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, 763,537 Tuvalu, Funafuti, 4,492 U

　　Uganda, Kampala, 1,659,600 Ukraine, Kiev, 2,832,398 United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, 585,097 United Kingdom, London, 8,174,100 United States, Washington, D.C., 601,723 Uruguay, Montevideo, 1,369,797 Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 2,207,850 V

　　Vanuatu, Port Vila, 38,000 (The) Vatican, Vatican City, 826 Venezuela, Caracas, 1,838,939 Vietnam, Hanoi, 3,398,889 W

　　Western Sahara, El Aaiun, 194,668 Y

　　Yemen, Sana'a, 1,431,649 Z

　　Zambia, Lusaka, 1,331,254 Zimbabwe, Harare, 1,487,028