The world’s population in 1979

4.32B people. One hexagon represents 100,000 people.

Open the 1979 map →

Drawn as they stood de facto, the map this year includes Czechoslovakia, Germany, Timor (whole island), Yugoslavia.

Largest populations in 1979

RegionPopulation
1Sichuan95.2M
2Java89.4M
3Bangladesh82.7M
4Pakistan80.0M
5Shandong70.9M
6Henan69.7M
7Bihar67.2M
8Nigeria67.0M
9Mexico65.0M
10Maharashtra60.3M

The largest relative change from 1978: United Arab Emirates (+108k people).