Türkiye home to world's 18th-highest population in 2022

ISTANBUL

With 85.28 million inhabitants, Türkiye was the world's 18th most populous country last year, according to official data released Thursday.

In a press release, the country's statistical authority TurkStat noted that the total population of 194 countries across the world had reached 8 billion in 2022, up from 7 billion in 2011 and 6 billion in 1999, according to UN estimates.

China was home to the most people — over 1.42 billion — last year, according to the UN, followed by India with more than 1.41 billion and the US with 338 million, added TurkStat.

The Central African Republic had the greatest share of people under 18 years old in its overall population with 55.8% in 2022, followed by Niger with 55.6% and Chad with 54.3%.

South Korea had the lowest share, with only 14.2% of its population under 18 years old, with Japan and Singapore coming next with 14.3% and Italy and Monaco also tied at 15.3%.

The country with the highest total fertility rate was Niger, where 6.75 children were born per woman in 2022, while South Korea had the lowest birth rate in the world at roughly 0.8.