India's total population reached nearly **** billion people as of 2023, making the country by far the most populous throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Contrastingly, Micronesia had a total population of around *** thousand people in the same year. The demographics of APAC Asia-Pacific, made up of many different countries and regions, is the most populated region across the globe. Being home to a significant number of megacities, and with the population ever-increasing, the region is unsurprisingly expected to have the largest urban population by 2050. However, as of 2021, the majority of Asia-Pacific countries had rural populations greater than ** percent.  Population densities Despite China being the most populated country across the region, it fell in the middle of Asia-Pacific regions in terms of population density. On the other hand, Macao, Singapore, and Hong Kong all had the highest population densities across the Asia-Pacific region. These three Asia-Pacific regions also ranked among the top four densest populations worldwide.   

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific (SPPOPTOTLEAP) from 1960 to 2024 about East Asia, Pacific, and population.

Macao, Singapore, and Hong Kong all had completely urban populations in 2023, with *********** percent of the respective territory's populations living in urban areas. Contrastingly, just around **** percent of Papua New Guinea’s population were living in urban areas in 2023. APAC’s rural population Despite the increasing development of new industries across the Asia-Pacific region, many countries across the region still had predominantly rural populations. However, with the agriculture sector displaying little growth throughout the Asia Pacific region, the rural populations throughout the region have also experienced little growth or have even declined. This was likely due to citizens migrating from rural to urban areas. Growing urbanization  With the emergence of new economies and an increasing focus on industrialization throughout the Asia Pacific region, citizens have flocked to the cities and urban areas in hopes of better employment and salary opportunities. The migration of citizens has naturally resulted in bigger urban populations and has catalyzed the emergence of megacities throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Urbanization is expected to grow throughout the coming years, with urban populations in the ASEAN region forecasted to grow by 2025.

Between 2018 and 2023, the Maldives had the highest average annual population growth rate across the Asia-Pacific region, 2.9 percent. In contrast, Taiwan's population experienced a negative growth of 0.2 percent during this period.

As of January 2024, Guangzhou had the largest metropolitan population in the Asia-Pacific region, with approximately 70.1 million inhabitants. Tokyo had the second-largest metropolitan population of around 41 million inhabitants. There were a total of 28 megacities with a population of over 10 million inhabitants in the Asia-Pacific region as of January 2024.

In 2023, approximately ** percent of the population in Papua New Guinea were living in rural areas. In comparison, approximately ***** percent of the population in Japan were living in rural areas that year. Urbanization and development Despite the desirable outcomes that urbanization entails, these rapid demographic shifts have also brought about unintended changes. For instance, in countries like India, rapid urbanization has led to unsustainable and crowded cities, with **** of the urban population in India estimated to live in slums. In China, population shifts from rural to urban areas have aggravated regional economic disparities. For example, the migration of workers into coastal cities has made possible the creation of urban clusters of immense economic magnitude, with the Yangtze River Delta city cluster accounting for about a ******of the country’s gross domestic product. Megacities and their future Home to roughly 60 percent of the world’s population, the Asia-Pacific region also shelters most of the globe’s largest urban agglomerations. Megacities, a term used for cities or urban areas with a population of over ten million people, are characterized by high cultural diversity and advanced infrastructure. As a result, they create better economic opportunities, and they are often hubs of innovation. For instance, many megacities in the Asia-Pacific region offer high local purchasing power to their residents. Despite challenges like pollution, income inequality, or the rising cost of living, megacities in the Asia-Pacific region have relatively high population growth rates and are expected to expand.

Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 15 to 64 for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific (SPPOP1564TOZSEAP) from 1960 to 2024 about East Asia, Pacific, 15 to 64 years, and population.

Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 0 to 14 for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific (SPPOP0014TOZSEAP) from 1960 to 2023 about 0 to 14 years, East Asia, Pacific, and population.

Graph and download economic data for Employment to Population Ratio for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific (SLEMPTOTLSPZSEAP) from 1991 to 2024 about East Asia, Pacific, employment-population ratio, employment, and population.

Population Growth for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific was 0.18595 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Growth for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific reached a record high of 2.81033 in January of 1966 and a record low of -0.04428 in January of 1961. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Growth for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Age Dependency Ratio: Older Dependents to Working-Age Population for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific (SPPOPDPNDOLEAP) from 1960 to 2024 about East Asia, Pacific, working-age, ratio, and population.

In 2024, just under 41 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's population was below the age of 15; in contrast, this figure was just 17 percent in Europe & Central Asia and in North America. Across these regions, the share of the population aged 65 and over inversely correlated with the younger population, in that the regions with the largest share aged under 15 had the smallest share aged over 64, and vice versa. For most regions, the share of the population aged between 15 and 64 years ranged between 64 and 65 percent, except for Sub-Saharan Africa where it was below 56 percent. These trends can largely be explained by looking at global demographic development.

In 2023, Singapore reported the biggest urban population growth in the Asia-Pacific region, at around 4.9 percent. Comparatively, the urban population in Japan shrank by approximately 0.4 percent that year.

In 2024, the employment-to-population ratio in Southeast Asia was estimated at 64.7 percent, the highest among subregions in the Asia-Pacific region. That year, South Asia's employment-to-population ratio was estimated at 51.9 percent.

In 2022, the online population in the Asia-Pacific region amounted to 2.6 billion. This was a significant increase from 2020 and the overall highest number of online users in the Asia-Pacific region.

Graph and download economic data for Refugee Population by Country or Territory of Asylum for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific (SMPOPREFGEAP) from 1990 to 2023 about East Asia, Pacific, refugee, World, and population.

In 2022, the online population in China amounted to 991.7 million, followed by India with 755.2 million. In 2022, the total online population throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region reached 2.6 billion.

Graph and download economic data for Population ages 65 and above for Developing Countries in East Asia and Pacific (SPPOP65UPTOZSEAP) from 1960 to 2024 about East Asia, Pacific, 65-years +, and population.

As of January 2024, Hangzhou in China had the highest annual metropolitan population growth rate among megacities in the Asia-Pacific region, at about five percent. In contrast, all three Japanese megacities Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka had the lowest annual population growth rates across APAC, with Osaka's population shrinking by 0.05 percent as of January 2024.

In 2022, the number of adults in China amounted to over 1.1 billion, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. India had the second largest adult population in APAC at around 931.2 million. In contrast, there were approximately 318 thousand adults in Brunei that year.