Every July 11, we observe World Population Day, a day to bring awareness to global population issues and impart awareness in people about family planning, gender equality and reproductive health. The global human population reached 8.0 billion in mid-November 2022 from an estimated 2.5 billion people in 1950, adding 1 billion people since 2010 and 2 billion since 1998.
Though no theme has been announced yet this year, the last year's was "Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities".
While the focus has always been on the world's most populated countries, this time it is imperative to look at the World's least populated nations. Here are the five least populated countries.
1. Vatican City: The population of the Vatican City as of 2024 is 526 with a growth rate of 1.54 per cent. To become a citizen of Vatican City, one needs papal approval and the absence of hospitals inside the territory makes it impossible to become a citizen by birth or blood.
2) Tuvalu: The population of Tuvalu in 2024 is 11,478 with a growth rate of 0.72. Tuvalu is a tiny island nation comprised of small atolls and reef islands. The life expectancy here is just 60 at birth and population growth has been slowed by family planning. Over 10 per cent of the population lives overseas, either pursuing education, working in the Nauru phosphate industry, or working on merchant ships.
3) Nauru: Nauru is a tiny island country in Micronesia, northeast of Australia. It is a poor country and the population density is 554 inhabitants per square kilometre and the overall life expectancy is 63.9 years. The demographic history of Nauru is marked by several migrations and the government has repatriated several groups of non-Nauruans from the country, most recently in the 2000s.
4) Palau: The population as of 2024 is 18,051 and the growth rate is -0.04. The population of Palau has decreased since 2005 due to a low fertility rate and emigration. There is however a lot of immigration into Palau.
5) San Marino: The population of this mountainous microstate surrounded by north-central Italy is 33,614 this year. The growth rate too is -0.08%. Though most of the country is urban in character and nearly two-thirds of San Marino's population lives in its three main cities.
(Data from World Population Review)