The world’s population in 1981

4.49B people. One hexagon represents 100,000 people.

Open the 1981 map →

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

Largest populations in 1981

RegionPopulation
1Sichuan99.3M
2Java92.8M
3Bangladesh87.1M
4Pakistan84.3M
5Shandong73.2M
6Henan72.8M
7Nigeria70.3M
8Bihar69.9M
9Mexico68.3M
10Maharashtra62.8M

The largest relative change from 1980: North, BR (+4.0M people).