In 2022, the population density in India remained nearly unchanged at around 479.43 inhabitants per square kilometer. Still, the population density reached its highest value in the observed period in 2022. Population density is calculated by dividing the total population by the total land area, to show the average number of people living there per square kilometer of land.Find more key insights for the population density in countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

In 2022, the union territory of Delhi had the highest urban population density of over 18 thousand persons per square kilometer. While the rural population density was highest in union territory of Puducherry, followed by the state of Bihar.

Monaco led the ranking for countries with the highest population density in 2024, with nearly 26,000 residents per square kilometer. The Special Administrative Region Macao came in second, followed by Singapore. The world’s second smallest country Monaco is the world’s second smallest country, with an area of about two square kilometers, and its population only numbers around 40,000. It is a constitutional monarchy located by the Mediterranean Sea, and while Monaco is not part of the European Union, it does participate in some EU policies. The country is perhaps most famous for the Monte Carlo casino and for hosting the Monaco Grand Prix, the world's most prestigious Formula One race. The global population Globally, the population density per square kilometer stands at about 60 inhabitants, and Asia is the most densely populated region in the world. The global population is increasing rapidly, so population density is only expected to increase as well. In 1950, for example, the global population stood at about 2.54 billion people, and it reached over eight billion during 2023.

The statistic shows the 30 largest countries in the world by area. Russia is the largest country by far, with a total area of about 17 million square kilometers.

Population of Russia

Despite its large area, Russia - nowadays the largest country in the world - has a relatively small total population. However, its population is still rather large in numbers in comparison to those of other countries. In mid-2014, it was ranked ninth on a list of countries with the largest population, a ranking led by China with a population of over 1.37 billion people. In 2015, the estimated total population of Russia amounted to around 146 million people. The aforementioned low population density in Russia is a result of its vast landmass; in 2014, there were only around 8.78 inhabitants per square kilometer living in the country. Most of the Russian population lives in the nation’s capital and largest city, Moscow: In 2015, over 12 million people lived in the metropolis.

In 2015, Czechia had the highest rail network density of any country, coming in at 122.61 meters of track per square kilometer. The density of a county’s rail network is a function not only of the amount of track laid, but also the country’s geographic size.

Freight and passenger rail

Included here is track used for both passenger and freight rail. The volume of freight rail is higher than the volume of passenger rail in all regions, but by widely varying margins. In some cases the difference is massive, such as in North America where freight volumes are approaching 100 times higher than passenger volumes. Conversely, in Europe the difference in volumes is only around 10 percent.

Overall rail network size

Rail network density is not a measure of the overall size and composition of a country’s rail network. For example, the large populations and high level of urban rail found in the Asia Pacific region means that China, India and Japan combined account for around three quarters of global passenger rail traffic, even though none are in the top five for rail network density. Similarly, Russia has a higher freight rail volume than the United States despite having a much lower track density.