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Curated list · 2026

Least densely populated countries in the world

Ranked by population density (people per km²), lowest first.

This ranking finds the countries with the fewest people per square kilometer, using World Bank population data and GeoNames land area. Mongolia is the least densely populated sovereign nation, followed by Namibia, Australia and Iceland, mostly large countries with vast deserts, tundra or outback. For a nomad, low density means space and nature but often long distances between services and patchy infrastructure outside the main cities.

#	Country	People / km²
1	Mongolia	2
2	Libya	4
3	Canada	4
4	Australia	4
5	Iceland	4
6	Namibia	4
7	Botswana	4
8	Guyana	4
9	Suriname	4
10	Mauritania	5
11	Kazakhstan	8
12	Russia	8
13	Central African Republic	9
14	Gabon	10
15	Bolivia	11
16	Chad	16
17	Turkmenistan	16
18	Paraguay	17
19	Argentina	17
20	Norway	17
21	Finland	17
22	Bhutan	17
23	Belize	18
24	Republic of the Congo	19
25	South Sudan	19
26	Uruguay	19
27	Saudi Arabia	19
28	Mali	20
29	New Zealand	20
30	Algeria	20
31	Niger	22
32	Papua New Guinea	23
33	Sweden	24
34	Brazil	25
35	Chile	26
36	Oman	26
37	Peru	27
38	Vanuatu	27
39	Sudan	28
40	Latvia	29
41	Bahamas	29
42	Zambia	29
43	Eritrea	30
44	Estonia	30
45	Somalia	31
46	Angola	31
47	Venezuela	31
48	Laos	33
49	United States	35
50	Kyrgyzstan	37
51	Palau	39
52	Zimbabwe	43
53	Belarus	44
54	Montenegro	44
55	Lithuania	44
56	Mozambique	44
57	Colombia	47
58	DR Congo	48
59	Djibouti	51
60	Liberia	51
61	Fiji	51
62	South Africa	53
63	Nicaragua	54
64	Iran	56
65	Madagascar	56
66	Georgia	56
67	Panama	58
68	Bulgaria	58
69	Guinea	61
70	Bosnia and Herzegovina	61
71	Guinea-Bissau	62
72	Cameroon	63
73	Ecuador	65
74	Ukraine	65
75	Mexico	67
76	Afghanistan	68
77	Equatorial Guinea	69
78	Croatia	69
79	Moldova	70
80	Eswatini	72
81	North Macedonia	72
82	Serbia	74
83	Samoa	74
84	Tajikistan	75
85	Tunisia	75
86	Tanzania	75
87	Lesotho	78
88	Ireland	78
89	Greece	79
90	Romania	80
91	Myanmar	81
92	Brunei	81
93	Albania	82
94	Uzbekistan	83
95	Morocco	86
96	Dominica	87
97	Burkina Faso	88
98	Timor-Leste	95
99	Senegal	96
100	Spain	98
101	Honduras	98
102	Cuba	99
103	Cambodia	99
104	Kenya	99
105	Costa Rica	101
106	Ivory Coast	101
107	Hungary	102
108	Armenia	104
109	Slovenia	105
110	Iraq	108
111	Malaysia	109
112	Turks and Caicos	109
113	Turkey	110
114	Austria	110
115	Slovakia	111
116	Portugal	117
117	Poland	117
118	Egypt	118
119	Azerbaijan	118
120	Ethiopia	120
121	Sierra Leone	123
122	Jordan	125
123	France	126
124	Anguilla	130
125	Cape Verde	131
126	Benin	132
127	Czech Republic	138
128	United Arab Emirates	139
129	Thailand	139
130	Denmark	139
131	Tonga	139
132	Kosovo	145
133	Ghana	146
134	Isle of Man	147
135	China	147
136	Cyprus	148
137	Indonesia	149
138	Togo	151
139	Guatemala	172
140	Andorra	177
141	St Kitts and Nevis	180
142	Malawi	188
143	Italy	196
144	Nepal	210
145	Antigua and Barbuda	213
146	Uganda	218
147	Switzerland	220
148	Germany	234
149	Dominican Republic	236
150	Gambia	250
151	Liechtenstein	256
152	Nigeria	257
153	Jamaica	258
154	Qatar	260
155	British Virgin Islands	260
156	Luxembourg	266
157	Trinidad and Tobago	267
158	Seychelles	270
159	Kuwait	273
160	United Kingdom	284
161	Cayman Islands	289
162	Saint Lucia	292
163	El Salvador	303
164	Vietnam	308
165	Pakistan	317
166	Japan	327
167	Sri Lanka	332
168	Grenada	341
169	Puerto Rico	350
170	Curaçao	352
171	Philippines	389
172	Belgium	391
173	Netherlands	436
174	India	445
175	Israel	487
176	Burundi	517
177	South Korea	525
178	Rwanda	553
179	San Marino	559
180	Lebanon	562
181	Aruba	564
182	Mauritius	610
183	Taiwan	652
184	Barbados	656
185	Jersey	783
186	Guernsey	836
187	Bermuda	1,218
188	Bangladesh	1,220
189	Maldives	1,766
190	Malta	1,835
191	Vatican City *	2,093
192	Bahrain	2,407
193	Macau	2,700
194	Gibraltar	6,688
195	Hong Kong	6,867
196	Singapore	8,831
197	Monaco	38,341

* Residence is not obtainable by ordinary applicants (for example, the Vatican grants residency only to clergy and Holy See employees).

Source: See the source note on each country page for the origin of every figure.

Frequently asked questions

Which country has the lowest population density?

Mongolia has the lowest population density of any sovereign country, at roughly 2 people per square kilometer. Its large area and harsh steppe and desert climate keep most of the population in and around the capital. Greenland is even less dense but is a territory of Denmark, not an independent state.

Is Mongolia the most sparsely populated country?

Yes, among fully sovereign countries Mongolia is the least densely populated. Much of the country is grassland, mountain and the Gobi Desert, which cannot support dense settlement. About half of all Mongolians live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Which countries are the least densely populated?

The least densely populated sovereign countries include Mongolia, Namibia, Australia, Iceland, Guyana, Suriname and Canada, all with only a few people per square kilometer. They offer wide-open space and nature but often long travel distances and thinner services outside major cities. Density is a national average, so their cities can still feel busy.

How is population density calculated?

Population density is a country's total population divided by its land area, giving people per square kilometer. Using land area rather than total area avoids counting large lakes or icecaps as inhabited space. It is an average, so it does not show how unevenly people are actually spread.