Population, long-run history: compare countries

See Population, long-run history for up to four countries side by side.

Countries being compared

Four countries are being compared, the most the chart can show clearly. Remove one to add another.

Population, long-run history by country

Annual, Persons, thousands

Source: Maddison Project Database 2023

Population, long-run history: latest observations by country
Date	Barbados	Oman	China	Belgium
Dec 31, 1999	273	2,348	1,248,899	10,227
Dec 31, 2000	274	2,403	1,258,401	10,252
Dec 31, 2001	275	2,457	1,267,178	10,288
Dec 31, 2002	276	2,510	1,275,379	10,334
Dec 31, 2003	278	2,562	1,283,064	10,377
Dec 31, 2004	279	2,613	1,290,620	10,422
Dec 31, 2005	280	2,663	1,298,245	10,480
Dec 31, 2006	281	2,713	1,305,116	10,549
Dec 31, 2007	282	2,764	1,311,877	10,627
Dec 31, 2008	283	2,816	1,318,559	10,711
Dec 31, 2009	285	2,871	1,324,993	10,797
Dec 31, 2010	286	2,928	1,331,357	10,897
Dec 31, 2011	287	2,986	1,339,549	11,039
Dec 31, 2012	288	3,047	1,349,537	11,108
Dec 31, 2013	289	3,110	1,357,520	11,160
Dec 31, 2014	290	3,174	1,366,654	11,210
Dec 31, 2015	291	3,240	1,373,406	11,275
Dec 31, 2016	291	3,307	1,382,401	11,332
Dec 31, 2017	292	3,375	1,390,136	11,376
Dec 31, 2018	293	3,444	1,395,398	11,429
Dec 31, 2019	294	3,512	1,400,035	11,491
Dec 31, 2020	294	3,582	1,402,060	11,546
Dec 31, 2021	295	3,651	1,402,537	11,594
Dec 31, 2022	295	3,696	1,401,693	11,695

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

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.

Belgium

1: Scheidel, W. and Friesen, S. J., ‘The size of the economy and the distribution of income in the Roman Empire’, Journal of Roman Studies, 99 (2009), pp. 61–91
1500- 1846: Buyst, E. (2011), “Towards Estimates of Long Term Growth in the Southern Low Countries, ca.1500-1846”, Results presented at the Conference on Quantifying Long Run Economic Development, Venice, 22-24 March, 2011
1846-1913: J. Gadisseur, "Contribution à l'étude de la production agricole en Belgique de 1846 à 1913", Revue belge d'histoire contemporaine, vol. IV, 1-2, 1973,
1913-1950: C. Carbonnelle, "Recherches sur levolution de la production en Belgique de 1900à 1957", Cahiers Economiques de Bruxelles, no. 3, April 1959, p. 358.

No separate list is published for Barbados, Oman; the database as a whole is cited above.