List of countries by population in 1939
Population distribution by country in 1939
This is a list of countries by population in 1939 (including any dependent, occupied or colonized territories for empires ), providing an approximate overview of the world population before World War II .
Estimate numbers are from the beginning of the year, and exact population figures are for countries that were having a census in the year 1939 (which were on various dates in that year).
Rank
Country/territory
Population c. 1939
Percentage of world's population
World [1]
2,300,000,000
–
1
British Empire [2] [3]
United Kingdom – 47,760,000 India – 377,800,000British Africa – 80,235,225
Nigeria – 19,753,000
Egypt – 16,492,000
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan – 6,342,500
Tanganyika – 5,372,812
Kenya – 4,500,000
Uganda – 3,747,200
Gold Coast – 3,700,300
Sierra Leone – 1,974,700
Nyasaland – 1,680,000
Southern Rhodesia – 1,400,000
Northern Rhodesia – 1,390,000
British Cameroons – 1,024,425
Basutoland – 622,000
Mauritius – 422,000
British Somaliland – 350,000
Bechuanaland Protectorate – 275,000
Gambia – 205,000
Swaziland – 158,000
Zanzibar – 150,088
Seychelles – 31,500
Burma – 16,119,000 Australia – 6,968,000Malaya – 5,386,300British West Indies – 3,702,600
Jamaica – 1,178,600 British Honduras – 55,000 Trinidad and Tobago – 476,000 British Guiana – 339,000 Windward Islands – 216,100 Barbados – 177,000 Leeward Islands – 142,400 The Bahamas – 67,000 Bermuda – 30,500
New Zealand – 1,668,800 Mandatory Palestine – 1,466,500 Papua and New Guinea – 1,292,000 Hong Kong — 1,282,000 Aden [note 1] – 994,000 Jordan — 991,000 Sarawak — 460,000British Western Pacific Territories – 425,820 Cyprus — 393,000 Muscat and Oman — 386,000 Newfoundland – 314,900 North Borneo — 300,000 Malta – 269,000 Trucial States — 110,000 Maldives — 87,000 Kuwait — 50,000 Brunei – 38,000 Gibraltar [4] – 19,000
Saint Helena – 4,700 Falkland Islands – 2,400
545,463,825
23.7%
2
Japanese Empire [2] [3]
Japan – 71,900,000 Recently occupied China – 200,000,000
Manchukuo – 50,000,000 Korea – 24,326,000 Formosa – 6,586,000 South Pacific Mandate – 127,000
304,119,000
13.2%
3
China [3]
267,568,000
11.6%
4
Soviet Union [5]
Russian SFSR – 108,377,000 Ukrainian SSR – 32,425,000 Uzbek SSR – 6,271,269 Kazakh SSR – 6,081,000 Byelorussian SSR – 5,568,994 Georgian SSR – 3,540,023 Azerbaijan SSR – 3,205,000 Kirghiz SSR – 1,458,213 Tajik SSR – 1,458,091 Armenian SSR – 1,282,338 Turkmen SSR – 1,251,883
170,918,811
7.4%
5
United States [3]
148,594,713
6.5%
6
French Empire [2] [3] [6]
France – 42,000,000 French Indochina – 24,664,000French North Africa [7] [note 2] – 16,920,000 French West Africa – 13,393,200
French Sudan – 3,635,100
French Upper Volta – 3,308,000
French Guinea – 2,065,500
Colony of Niger – 1,809,600
French Dahomey – 1,532,000
French Togoland – 1,043,000
French Equatorial Africa – 4,421,000 French Madagascar – 3,900,000 Syria – 2,516,000 French Cameroons – 2,381,272 Lebanon – 1,168,000 French Comoros – 137,000 French Polynesia – 51,200 French Guiana – 24,000
111,524,472
4.8%
7
Germany [2] [3] [8]
86,755,281
3.8%
8
Dutch Empire [3]
78,366,300
3.4%
9
Italian Empire [2] [3] [9]
57,596,517
2.5%
10
Brazil [3]
40,289,000
1.8%
11
Poland [3]
34,849,000
1.5%
12
Spanish Empire [3]
26,822,800
1.2%
13
Belgian Empire [3]
22,491,000
1.0%
14
Romania [3]
19,933,800
0.9%
15
Mexico [3]
19,320,000
0.8%
16
Portuguese Empire [3]
Portugal – 7,627,000 Mozambique – 5,086,500 Angola – 3,740,800 Portuguese India – 624,100
Portuguese Timor – 480,000 Portuguese Guinea – 420,000 Macau – 374,700 Cape Verde – 181,300 São Tomé and Príncipe – 61,000
18,595,400
0.8%
17
Turkey [3]
17,370,000
0.8%
18
Yugoslavia [3]
15,490,000
0.7%
19
Thailand [3]
15,023,000
0.7%
20
Persia [3]
14,340,000
0.6%
21
Argentina [3]
13,948,000
0.6%
22
Canada [14] [a]
11,267,000
0.5%
23
Union of South Africa [b]
10,160,000
0.4%
24
Hungary [3]
9,129,000
0.4%
25
Colombia [3]
8,896,000
0.4%
26
Greece [3]
7,222,000
0.3%
27
Afghanistan
6,970,000
0.3%
28
Peru [3]
6,572,000
0.3%
29
Bulgaria [3]
6,458,000
0.3%
30
Sweden [3]
6,341,000
0.3%
31
Nepal [3]
6,087,000
0.3%
32
Chile [3]
4,914,000
0.2%
33
Cuba [3]
4,235,000
0.18%
34
Switzerland [3]
4,210,000
0.18%
35
Denmark (including colonies)[3] [15] [16]
3,959,200
0.17%
36
Finland [3]
3,700,000
0.16%
37
Iraq [3]
3,698,000
0.16%
38
Venezuela [3]
3,628,000
0.16%
39
Ireland [3]
2,960,000
0.13%
40
Norway [3]
2,945,000
0.13%
41
Yemen [3] [note 4]
2,775,000
0.12%
42
Haiti [3]
2,707,000
0.12%
43
Saudi Arabia [3]
2,670,000
0.12%
44
Bolivia [3]
2,659,000
0.12%
45
Slovakia [17]
2,655,000
0.12%
46
Lithuania [3]
2,575,000
0.11%
47
Ecuador [3]
2,412,000
0.10%
48
Guatemala [3]
2,150,000
0.093%
49
Latvia [3]
1,994,500
0.087%
50
Uruguay [3]
1,953,000
0.085%
51
Dominican Republic [3]
1,634,000
0.071%
52
El Salvador [3]
1,459,600
0.063%
53
Estonia [3]
1,134,000
0.049%
54
Honduras [3]
1,096,950
0.048%
55
Albania [3]
1,073,000
0.047%
56
Tibet [3]
1,000,000
0.043%
57
Paraguay [3]
931,800
0.041%
58
Mongolia [3]
819,000
0.036%
59
Nicaragua [3]
806,000
0.035%
60
Liberia [3]
780,000
0.034%
61
Costa Rica [3]
623,400
0.027%
62
Panama [3]
605,000
0.026%
63
Bhutan (semi-independent British protectorate)
470,000
0.020%
64
Danzig [18] [note 5]
408,000
0.018%
65
Luxembourg [3]
295,000
0.013%
66
Monaco [3]
24,000
0.0010%
67
San Marino [3]
14,500
0.00063%
68
Liechtenstein [3]
13,000
0.00057%
69
Andorra [3]
6,000
0.00026%
70
Vatican City [3]
1,000
0.000046%
See also
Notes
^ The population of the Crown Colony of Aden was derived by taking the population ratio between North and South Yemen in 1975 (see reference) and applying that same distribution to both Yemens in 1939.
^ According to the preceding reference, French Morocco contained 90% of the Moroccan population in 1955. This ratio was used for the Moroccan population of 1939. Please update if more accurate information is available.
^ Population distribution according to first reference was 10% in Spanish Morocco and 90% for French Morocco in 1955. This ratio was used to divide the 1939 total Moroccan population figures. Please update if more accurate information is found.
^ The population of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen was derived by taking the population ratio between North and South Yemen in 1975 (see reference) and applying that same distribution to both Yemeni states in 1939
^ The figures for Danzig are from 1929.
Constituents
^ Semi-independent British dominion
^ Semi-independent British dominion
References
^ "U.S. Census BureauWorld Population Historical Estimates of World Population" . Retrieved March 4, 2016 .
^ a b c d e Mark Harrison, ed. (1998), "The Economics of WWII". , Cambridge University Press
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl "Population Statistics" . Library.uu.nl. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2016 .
^ "Abstract of Statistics 2011" (PDF) . H.M. Government of Gibraltar Statistics Office.
^ A. G. Volkov Census of 1937 Facts and Fictions originally published in Перепись населения СССР 1937 года. История и материалы/Экспресс-информация. Серия "История статистики". Выпуск 3–5 (часть II). М., 1990/ с. 6–63
^ Tony Chafer, The end of empire in French West Africa: France's successful decolonisation? (2002)see Chafer abstract Archived 2017-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
^ a b "Spanish Morocco" .
^ Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich, 1919–1941/42
^ Istat (December 2010). "I censimenti nell'Italia unita I censimenti nell'Italia unita Le fonti di stato della popolazione tra il XIX e il XXI secolo ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI STATISTICA SOCIETÀ ITALIANA DI DEMOGRAFIA STORICA Le fonti di stato della popolazione tra il XIX e il XXI secolo" (PDF) . Annali di Statistica . XII. 2 : 269. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2016 .
^ [1] Soldaten-Atlas (Tornisterschrift des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Heft 39). Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut. 1941. p. 32.
^ Annuario Generale, Consociazione Turistica Italiana, Roma, 1938
^ Grasselli, Enrico. "L’esercito italiano in Francia e in Oriente" p. 370-371
^ William Stanton (2004), "The Rapid Growth of Human Populations 1750–2000: Histories, Consequences, Issues, Nation by Nation". , Multi-Science Publishing Co. Ltd., ISBN 9780906522219 , retrieved May 13, 2017
^ "Censuses of Canada 1665 to 1871: Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present" . Statistics Canada. 2015. Retrieved 2020-09-12 .
^ Statistical yearbooks of Denmark
^ Statistics Faroe Islands Archived 2011-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Slovensko v rokoch 1938 - 1945" . Múzeum Slovenského národného povstania (in Slovak). Retrieved 2022-08-24 .
^ Mason, John Brown (1946). The Danzig Dilemma, A Study in Peacemaking by Compromise . Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2444-9 . Retrieved 2011-04-26 .