Census Bureau: U.S. to remain world’s third most populous country through 2050

Through 2050, the United States is projected to remain in third place behind India and China among the world’s most populous countries, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau made projection is derived from the population estimates and projections for 228 countries and areas released today through the Census Bureau’s International Data Base. This release includes revisions for 19 countries and provides information on population size and growth, mortality, fertility and net migration.

Although the United States will maintain its third place position, the ranking of the countries with the 10 largest populations in the world is expected to change over the next few decades.

The top 10 countries each currently have at least 125 million inhabitants. Russia and Japan are projected to soon fall out of this group because of persistent low fertility rates, which have already caused their populations to decline. Russia’s decline is also due in part to relatively high mortality.