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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 Syria, 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 SyriaUnited StatesGermany
15,930279,04081,439
16,329282,16281,474
16,730284,96981,534
17,132287,62581,595
17,534290,10881,566
17,942292,80581,473
18,423295,51781,354
19,252298,38081,190
20,493301,23181,009
21,221304,09480,781
21,542306,77280,500
22,050309,32780,301
22,458311,58380,292
22,258313,87880,443
20,901316,06080,663
19,318318,38681,000
18,272320,73981,704
17,669323,07282,366
17,327325,12282,674
17,601326,83882,923
18,440328,33083,110
19,241331,51283,178
20,226332,03283,213
20,985333,28883,811

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

Syria

  • 1820, 1870, 1913, 1950: Pamuk, S. (2006), Estimating Economic Growth in the Middle East since 1820, The Journal of Economic History, vol 66, no. 3, pp. 809 - 828

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.