UK,Germany and France no longer figure in list of 15 biggest countries in terms of population
Shams Ur Rehman Alavi
NewsBits.in
It's a change that has taken decades but it's a major transformation, a global shift. In the midst of last century, four European nations were the major nations of the world.
UK, Germany, France and Italy were among the top ten countries of the world in terms of population. By 1950-1951, other nations had just begun growing and these four major European countries still had huge clout even as colonial rule was ending in the most part of the world.
The big powers retained their clout for a few more decades. In fact, between 1975-1976 and 2025-2026, the change has been fast. Now, no European nation figures in the list of top ten countries of the world. Not even in the top fifteen.
Population is not the most important factor but it is one of the main strengths. It also determines market size and signals the world about the future of a nation. The growth is connected to man power and the young population that exists in a country.
The population figures suggest that Germany is the sole country from Europe that figures in the top 20 most populated nations of the world, apart from the transcontinental Russia. India has replaced China in recent years and has become the most populated country in the world.
After India, China is at the second spot. USA is at third place, followed by Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria. Then, it's Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia and Ethiopia (tenth) that complete the list of top ten most populatous nations on earth. These are followed by Mexico, Japan, Egypt, Philippines and Congo.
Germany, Britain and Italy used to be among the top ten most populated nations, in the middle part of the last century. In fact, even fifty years ago [by 1975], the four nations--Germany, UK, Italy and France were at 8th, 13th, 14th and 15th spots. But in the last few decades, countries in Asia and Africa have seen faster growth while European nations have failed to grow at such a pace.
Nigeria, Ethiopia and Congo have grown rapidly. Egypt has also moved up in the list. Mexico is at the eleventh spot and Japan has been slowly being edged out. UK is currently at 22nd spot, France at 23rd, Italy at 25th and Spain at 34th place. That's how the world is changing and though the fallout is not immediately visible, the clout and the power in terms of purchase and the clout, also shifts. That's how the world changes.
