Population, long-run history: compare countries

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Population, long-run history by country

Annual, Persons, thousands

Source: Maddison Project Database 2023

Population, long-run history: latest observations by country
Date	Australia	United States	China	Central African Republic
Dec 31, 1999	18,692	279,040	1,248,899	3,889
Dec 31, 2000	18,907	282,162	1,258,401	3,980
Dec 31, 2001	19,151	284,969	1,267,178	4,054
Dec 31, 2002	19,371	287,625	1,275,379	4,128
Dec 31, 2003	19,595	290,108	1,283,064	4,215
Dec 31, 2004	19,805	292,805	1,290,620	4,289
Dec 31, 2005	20,048	295,517	1,298,245	4,363
Dec 31, 2006	20,320	298,380	1,305,116	4,449
Dec 31, 2007	20,694	301,231	1,311,877	4,544
Dec 31, 2008	21,113	304,094	1,318,559	4,641
Dec 31, 2009	21,553	306,772	1,324,993	4,742
Dec 31, 2010	21,891	309,327	1,331,357	4,845
Dec 31, 2011	22,197	311,583	1,339,549	4,950
Dec 31, 2012	22,588	313,878	1,349,537	5,057
Dec 31, 2013	22,980	316,060	1,357,520	5,167
Dec 31, 2014	23,326	318,386	1,366,654	5,278
Dec 31, 2015	23,664	320,739	1,373,406	5,392
Dec 31, 2016	24,036	323,072	1,382,401	5,507
Dec 31, 2017	24,445	325,122	1,390,136	5,625
Dec 31, 2018	24,823	326,838	1,395,398	5,745
Dec 31, 2019	25,204	328,330	1,400,035	5,874
Dec 31, 2020	25,529	331,512	1,402,060	6,025
Dec 31, 2021	25,574	332,032	1,402,537	6,154
Dec 31, 2022	25,826	333,288	1,401,693	6,291

Source: Bolt, J. and van Zanden, J.L. (2024), Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update, Journal of Economic Surveys, 1-41, DOI 10.1111/joes.12618. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. The original sources are listed on each page.

All data sources

Original sources of these estimates

GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics

Australia

1820-1828: Butlin, N.G. 'Our 200 Years', Queesland Calendar, 1988
1828-1860: N.G. Butlin, "Contours of the Australian Economy 1788-1860", Australian Economic Review, Sept. 1986, pp. 112-13;
1861-1938/9: N.G. Butlin, Australian Domestic Product, Investment and Foreign Borrowing 1861-1938/9, Cambridge, 1962,pp.460-1; amdended as indicated in N.G. Butlin, Investment in Australian Economic Development 1861-19000, Cambridge, 1964, p. 453 and with revised deflator shown in M.W. Butlin, A Preliminary Annual Databae 1900/1901 to 1973/1974, Discussion Paper 7701, Reserve Bank of Australia, 1977, p. 41
1938/9-1950: from expenditure aggregates in 1966/7 prices in M.W. Butlin, RS/FLW/, p.85.

United States

1650 - 1790: McCusker, John J., ‘Colonial Statistics’, Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Time to the Present, in S. B. Carter, S. S. Gartner, M. R. Haineset al. New York, Cambridge University Press. V-671.
1790 - 1870: Sutch, R. (2006). National Income and Product. Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Time to the Present, in S. B. Carter, S. S. Gartner, M. R. Haineset al. New York, Cambridge University Press III-23-25.
1800-1830: Prados de la Escosura, L. (2009). “Lost Decades? Economic Performance in Post-Independence Latin America,” Journal of Latin America Studies 41: 279–307. (updated data)
1820-1950: GDP movement from Maddison (1995a), amended for 1820–70 to include income of the indigenous population (taken to be $400 per capita in 1820 and 1870).

China

1000-1661: Broadberry, S.N., Guan, Hanhui and David Daokui Li (2018), “China, Europe and the Great Divergence: a Study in Historical National Accounting, 980-1850”, Journal of Economic History, 78, 4, 955-1000
1661–1933: Broadberry, S.N., Guan, Hanhui and David Daokui Li (2018), “China, Europe and the Great Divergence: a Study in Historical National Accounting, 980-1850”, Journal of Economic History, 78, 4, 955-1000
1661–1933: Xu, Y. Z. Shi, B. van Leeuwen, Y Ni, Z Zhang, and Y Ma, (2016) 'Chinese National Income, ca. 1661-1933', Australian Economic History Review 57(3), 368–393
1952–2008: Wu, Harry X. (2014), “China’s growth and productivity performance debate revisited – Accounting for China’s sources of growth with a new data set” The Conference Board Economics Program Working Paper Series EWP#14-01.

No separate list is published for Central African Republic; the database as a whole is cited above.