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Population, long-run history: compare countries

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

To start, we chose Cameroon, United States, Germany. Add or remove countries to compare the ones you want.

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Population, long-run history by country

Population, long-run history

Annual, Persons, thousands

Source: Maddison Project Database 2023
Population, long-run history: latest observations by country
Date CameroonUnited StatesGermany
15,483279,04081,439
15,913282,16281,474
16,354284,96981,534
16,815287,62581,595
17,289290,10881,566
17,764292,80581,473
18,249295,51781,354
18,746298,38081,190
19,278301,23181,009
19,843304,09480,781
20,419306,77280,500
21,002309,32780,301
21,586311,58380,292
22,181313,87880,443
22,800316,06080,663
23,513318,38681,000
24,273320,73981,704
24,995323,07282,366
25,680325,12282,674
26,373326,83882,923
27,114328,33083,110
27,878331,51283,178
28,663332,03283,213
29,417333,28883,811

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

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).

Germany

  • 1500-1850: Pfister, U. (2022). Economic Growth in Germany, 1500–1850. The Journal of Economic History, 82(4), 1071–1107
  • 1850-1950: Hoffmann, Grumbach and Hesse, op. cit., pp. 454-5.

No separate list is published for Cameroon; the database as a whole is cited above.