How is global population growth reshaping the world—and Canada?

Between 1960 and 2024, the human story has been defined by extraordinary demographic expansion: from roughly 3 billion people on Earth in 1960 to over 8.14 billion by 2024, according to World Bank data. During this period, the global population increased by an average of 1.5 percent annually. Growth peaked at 2.2 percent in 1963 and in 2024 the growth rate was less than half of that at 0.9 percent. In 2025, the global population is estimated at approximately 8.19 billion—a figure corroborated by United Nations projections. This remarkable surge, marked by uneven growth across countries and regions, highlights a major shift in the global population landscape. Fertility rates have plummeted in much of East Asia and Europe, while population growth remains robust in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These demographic shifts are already reshaping economic and geopolitical dynamics—and Canada is no exception.

For Canada, which has one of the lowest fertility rates in the G7 and OECD, population growth is increasingly driven by immigration. As global population patterns change, Canada's future demographic stability—and its labor force growth—depend on attracting people from regions that continue to grow. This changing balance not only influences Canada’s immigration policies and urban planning strategies, but also places the country in a unique position: a wealthy nation whose population future is increasingly tied to the demographic trends of the global South.

Tracking population growth from 2005-2024

As global population growth slows in many parts of the world, a handful of countries are experiencing dramatic demographic booms that stand in sharp contrast to the broader trend. Between 2005 and 2024, no country expanded more rapidly—at least demographically—than Qatar. In less than two decades, the small but strategically significant Gulf nation saw its population surge by an astonishing 246 percent. From just 825,000 residents in 2005, Qatar added over two million people, reaching nearly 2.9 million by 2024. This explosive growth was not an isolated case. The world’s fastest-growing populations, in percentage terms, are clustered in the Middle East and Africa—regions where migration, economic opportunity, and high birth rates intersect in complex ways. The United Arab Emirates follows Qatar with a 133 percent increase, while Kuwait and Oman, with growth rates above 100 percent, occupy the next spots. Equatorial Guinea, where oil-fueled development has reshaped its demographic profile, rounds out the top five.

Whereas the Middle East and Africa are experiencing population booms, a cluster of countries located in Central and Eastern Europe —Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Latvia, Moldova, and Ukraine — are facing the steepest population declines. No country experienced a more rapid population decline than Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 4,096,493 people in 2005, Bosnia and Herzegovina lost nearly 900,000 residents, reaching 3,164,253 by 2024. That represents a decline of 22.75 percent. Ukraine follows Bosnia and Herzegovina with a 20.43% decline, while Moldova and Latvia experienced population declines of 17.29% and 16.81%, respectively. Bulgaria rounds out the bottom five with a 15.85% decline during this period.

These shifts reflect domestic dynamics and the broader patterns of labor mobility, regional conflict, and global capital that continue to redraw the world’s population map. Use the interactive map below to explore population shifts at a country level over the past 20 years.

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