Population, long-run history: compare countries

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

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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	United States	Germany	Japan	South Africa
Dec 31, 1999	279,040	81,439	126,512	46,257
Dec 31, 2000	282,162	81,474	126,755	46,958
Dec 31, 2001	284,969	81,534	127,056	47,820
Dec 31, 2002	287,625	81,595	127,324	48,480
Dec 31, 2003	290,108	81,566	127,558	48,951
Dec 31, 2004	292,805	81,473	127,658	49,478
Dec 31, 2005	295,517	81,354	127,679	50,054
Dec 31, 2006	298,380	81,190	127,762	50,667
Dec 31, 2007	301,231	81,009	127,904	51,339
Dec 31, 2008	304,094	80,781	127,969	52,077
Dec 31, 2009	306,772	80,500	127,958	52,862
Dec 31, 2010	309,327	80,301	127,967	53,682
Dec 31, 2011	311,583	80,292	127,755	54,518
Dec 31, 2012	313,878	80,443	127,476	55,356
Dec 31, 2013	316,060	80,663	127,257	56,215
Dec 31, 2014	318,386	81,000	127,186	57,075
Dec 31, 2015	320,739	81,704	127,034	57,947
Dec 31, 2016	323,072	82,366	126,857	58,830
Dec 31, 2017	325,122	82,674	126,631	59,715
Dec 31, 2018	326,838	82,923	126,368	60,595
Dec 31, 2019	328,330	83,110	126,092	61,469
Dec 31, 2020	331,512	83,178	125,634	62,355
Dec 31, 2021	332,032	83,213	125,427	62,900
Dec 31, 2022	333,288	83,811	124,762	63,382

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.

Japan

724-1874: Bassino, Jean-Pascal & Broadberry, Stephen & Fukao, Kyoji & Gupta, Bishnupriya & Takashima, Masanori, (2018). "Japan and the Great Divergence, 730-1874," CEI Working Paper Series 2018-13, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University
1874-1940: Fukao, K., Bassino, J.-P., Makino, T., Paprzycki, R., Settsu, T., Takashima, M., and Tokui, J. (2015) Regional Inequality and Industrial Structure in Japan: 1874-2008, Tokyo: Maruzen Publishing.

South Africa

1700–1900 (Cape Colony): Fourie, J. and Van Zanden, J.L. (2013). GDP in the Dutch Cape Colony: the Nationals Accounts of a Slave-Based Society, South African Journal of Economics, vol. 81 (4): 467 - 490