UN country group · UN WPP 2024

Least developed countries population

Least developed countries population now

1,250,495,450

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 1,161,055,550

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 1.24358 billion
Median age: 20.7
Aged 65+: 3.9%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 500,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

AGG · 1950–2100 · in brief

Least developed countries in numbers

In mid-2023 there were 1,161,055,550 people in Least developed countries, and 14.3% of the world's people. That is 5.8 times its 1950 population of 199 million.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 3.05 billion.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 19.2 in 1950 and 20.2 in 2023; the projection has 36.5 in 2100. 3.7% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 15.6% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Population, mid-2023: 1,161,055,550
Share of the world, 2023: 14.3%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +2.31% · +26,243,640 people
Births, 2023: 36,423,563
Deaths, 2023: 7,822,879
Net migration, 2023: −1,841,590
Children per woman, 2023: 3.94
Median age, 2023: 20.2 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 66.3 years
Population, mid-1950: 198,760,115
Projected, mid-2050: 1,948,140,101
Projected, mid-2100: 3,050,648,492

AGG · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections01 bn2 bn3 bn4 bn1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection (medium). One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Least developed countries, 1950–2100

Least developed countries: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	196,859,806	9,398,840	5,498,965	6.42	36.5
1951	estimate	200,660,423	9,606,444	5,507,238	6.43	36.9
1952	estimate	204,643,751	9,819,286	5,518,714	6.44	37.4
1953	estimate	208,774,525	10,037,439	5,543,714	6.46	37.9
1954	estimate	212,983,133	10,259,824	5,560,334	6.48	38.4
1955	estimate	217,423,844	10,483,598	5,583,758	6.49	38.8
1956	estimate	222,058,810	10,715,821	5,621,002	6.51	39.2
1957	estimate	226,885,020	10,956,549	5,771,234	6.53	39.1
1958	estimate	231,783,213	11,200,584	5,815,902	6.55	39.5
1959	estimate	236,716,125	11,458,119	5,720,388	6.58	40.5
1960	estimate	242,219,489	11,743,378	5,783,334	6.61	40.9
1961	estimate	248,013,721	12,030,311	5,835,739	6.63	41.3
1962	estimate	254,093,534	12,325,754	5,882,420	6.65	41.7
1963	estimate	260,392,095	12,605,743	5,982,929	6.66	41.9
1964	estimate	266,863,661	12,895,922	5,996,735	6.67	42.5
1965	estimate	273,667,392	13,193,708	6,121,077	6.68	42.6
1966	estimate	280,679,911	13,508,798	6,188,648	6.69	43.0
1967	estimate	287,908,408	13,842,255	6,199,431	6.71	43.6
1968	estimate	295,524,410	14,176,956	6,276,946	6.72	43.9
1969	estimate	303,374,257	14,529,944	6,362,628	6.72	44.2
1970	estimate	311,299,044	14,896,357	6,793,535	6.74	43.1
1971	estimate	319,061,237	15,238,397	8,123,264	6.74	38.5
1972	estimate	326,132,221	15,615,000	6,702,368	6.74	44.6
1973	estimate	334,518,596	15,945,559	6,724,838	6.72	45.2
1974	estimate	343,648,663	16,316,796	6,901,847	6.71	45.3
1975	estimate	352,610,006	16,649,276	7,388,539	6.69	43.8
1976	estimate	361,254,757	16,996,872	7,388,502	6.67	44.5
1977	estimate	370,039,351	17,346,058	7,438,062	6.64	44.9
1978	estimate	378,729,652	17,753,014	7,507,174	6.64	45.3
1979	estimate	388,792,408	18,282,241	7,201,962	6.64	47.3
1980	estimate	398,830,766	18,754,604	7,263,990	6.62	47.8
1981	estimate	407,381,447	19,070,233	7,330,630	6.59	48.0
1982	estimate	416,913,359	19,428,483	7,412,265	6.55	48.3
1983	estimate	428,413,497	19,829,184	7,847,367	6.50	47.5
1984	estimate	440,079,519	20,225,434	8,025,032	6.44	47.5
1985	estimate	452,028,454	20,597,802	8,085,919	6.36	47.9
1986	estimate	463,922,753	20,893,832	7,990,598	6.27	48.7
1987	estimate	475,986,816	21,209,975	7,884,348	6.18	49.5
1988	estimate	488,392,607	21,517,918	8,086,406	6.09	49.5
1989	estimate	500,641,585	21,881,281	7,938,575	6.02	50.4
1990	estimate	513,581,331	22,244,810	8,067,309	5.94	50.5
1991	estimate	526,052,304	22,522,922	8,392,821	5.85	50.0
1992	estimate	539,390,121	22,862,061	8,363,237	5.77	50.5
1993	estimate	554,676,565	23,343,735	8,286,664	5.69	51.3
1994	estimate	570,564,130	23,807,661	9,097,169	5.63	49.2
1995	estimate	585,759,209	24,283,929	8,287,053	5.56	52.4
1996	estimate	601,729,867	24,689,314	8,359,881	5.49	52.6
1997	estimate	617,359,448	25,108,855	8,364,722	5.43	53.1
1998	estimate	633,454,030	25,495,623	8,564,526	5.36	53.0
1999	estimate	649,629,508	25,969,791	8,387,555	5.30	54.0
2000	estimate	665,889,224	26,395,787	8,255,124	5.23	54.9
2001	estimate	681,659,014	26,755,028	8,198,288	5.16	55.5
2002	estimate	698,391,346	27,108,791	8,155,826	5.10	56.0
2003	estimate	716,442,114	27,492,772	8,084,464	5.03	56.7
2004	estimate	734,089,048	27,883,723	8,043,244	4.96	57.2
2005	estimate	751,662,269	28,243,307	7,977,009	4.90	57.9
2006	estimate	770,144,232	28,632,916	7,876,322	4.84	58.6
2007	estimate	788,647,101	28,988,908	7,806,072	4.77	59.2
2008	estimate	806,724,298	29,297,280	7,874,516	4.70	59.4
2009	estimate	826,159,545	29,654,808	7,936,455	4.64	59.7
2010	estimate	845,570,374	29,964,517	7,752,577	4.56	60.6
2011	estimate	865,489,468	30,266,544	7,813,193	4.49	60.9
2012	estimate	886,251,988	30,673,723	7,597,452	4.43	61.8
2013	estimate	907,496,799	31,117,313	7,565,275	4.38	62.4
2014	estimate	929,428,764	31,593,886	7,694,926	4.33	62.5
2015	estimate	951,533,040	32,097,657	7,742,585	4.29	62.9
2016	estimate	973,884,054	32,630,710	7,767,937	4.25	63.3
2017	estimate	997,353,201	33,160,396	7,850,876	4.21	63.6
2018	estimate	1,021,047,670	33,729,584	7,724,512	4.17	64.3
2019	estimate	1,045,593,329	34,297,043	7,798,759	4.13	64.6
2020	estimate	1,070,860,483	34,843,386	8,031,317	4.08	64.6
2021	estimate	1,096,846,656	35,393,887	8,486,235	4.03	64.0
2022	estimate	1,121,947,809	35,945,711	8,126,588	3.98	65.2
2023	estimate	1,147,676,012	36,423,563	7,822,879	3.94	66.3
2024	estimate	1,174,435,088	36,869,201	7,964,129	3.89	66.5
2025	projection	1,201,591,169	37,198,777	8,090,208	3.83	66.7
2026	projection	1,229,484,313	37,551,535	8,217,540	3.78	66.9
2027	projection	1,257,679,406	37,887,430	8,346,707	3.73	67.1
2028	projection	1,285,963,412	38,205,965	8,480,866	3.67	67.3
2029	projection	1,314,505,857	38,506,083	8,617,059	3.62	67.5
2030	projection	1,343,324,694	38,779,001	8,756,672	3.57	67.7
2031	projection	1,372,316,354	39,043,122	8,902,518	3.52	67.8
2032	projection	1,401,452,879	39,266,971	9,051,043	3.47	68.0
2033	projection	1,430,551,624	39,514,818	9,200,792	3.42	68.2
2034	projection	1,459,760,105	39,758,303	9,357,075	3.38	68.4
2035	projection	1,489,010,899	39,967,682	9,514,488	3.33	68.5
2036	projection	1,518,389,227	40,185,076	9,679,764	3.29	68.7
2037	projection	1,547,798,389	40,366,184	9,845,396	3.24	68.9
2038	projection	1,577,217,998	40,618,474	10,017,083	3.20	69.0
2039	projection	1,606,655,820	40,856,381	10,193,694	3.16	69.2
2040	projection	1,636,224,850	41,124,692	10,377,183	3.13	69.4
2041	projection	1,665,886,044	41,362,538	10,563,466	3.09	69.5
2042	projection	1,695,522,495	41,629,678	10,755,757	3.05	69.7
2043	projection	1,725,138,172	41,888,528	10,953,833	3.02	69.8
2044	projection	1,754,888,031	42,142,994	11,157,168	2.99	70.0
2045	projection	1,784,608,247	42,368,473	11,363,151	2.95	70.2
2046	projection	1,814,320,346	42,624,608	11,577,636	2.92	70.3
2047	projection	1,844,124,816	42,836,377	11,792,653	2.89	70.5
2048	projection	1,873,897,804	43,058,298	12,018,163	2.87	70.6
2049	projection	1,903,645,329	43,240,697	12,248,554	2.84	70.8
2050	projection	1,933,392,750	43,419,019	12,481,715	2.81	70.9
2051	projection	1,962,887,452	43,592,111	12,719,877	2.78	71.0
2052	projection	1,992,371,253	43,743,839	12,962,855	2.75	71.2
2053	projection	2,021,813,541	43,876,693	13,211,339	2.73	71.3
2054	projection	2,051,106,011	43,998,136	13,468,410	2.70	71.5
2055	projection	2,080,306,142	44,101,570	13,731,190	2.68	71.6
2056	projection	2,109,423,425	44,193,168	14,000,786	2.65	71.8
2057	projection	2,138,393,378	44,283,098	14,276,586	2.63	71.9
2058	projection	2,167,074,033	44,366,041	14,557,278	2.61	72.0
2059	projection	2,195,493,997	44,428,272	14,843,736	2.59	72.2
2060	projection	2,223,787,699	44,470,341	15,134,663	2.57	72.3
2061	projection	2,251,785,303	44,508,094	15,435,100	2.55	72.4
2062	projection	2,279,535,076	44,535,343	15,741,547	2.52	72.6
2063	projection	2,306,954,239	44,542,375	16,055,380	2.50	72.7
2064	projection	2,334,048,197	44,542,780	16,369,942	2.48	72.8
2065	projection	2,360,918,184	44,553,988	16,688,961	2.47	73.0
2066	projection	2,387,512,185	44,575,595	17,019,464	2.45	73.1
2067	projection	2,413,612,836	44,571,780	17,354,016	2.43	73.2
2068	projection	2,439,448,050	44,564,491	17,690,567	2.41	73.3
2069	projection	2,464,933,452	44,555,276	18,033,031	2.40	73.5
2070	projection	2,490,072,342	44,539,478	18,378,848	2.38	73.6
2071	projection	2,514,940,464	44,528,867	18,726,942	2.37	73.7
2072	projection	2,539,325,548	44,503,575	19,084,895	2.35	73.8
2073	projection	2,563,412,439	44,481,359	19,444,917	2.33	74.0
2074	projection	2,587,151,263	44,445,135	19,808,092	2.32	74.1
2075	projection	2,610,475,477	44,406,076	20,173,950	2.30	74.2
2076	projection	2,633,234,561	44,368,033	20,540,478	2.29	74.3
2077	projection	2,655,604,420	44,320,318	20,914,091	2.27	74.4
2078	projection	2,677,717,229	44,259,832	21,285,827	2.26	74.5
2079	projection	2,699,309,898	44,195,919	21,659,117	2.25	74.7
2080	projection	2,720,506,104	44,137,074	22,033,154	2.23	74.8
2081	projection	2,741,169,333	44,071,166	22,408,323	2.22	74.9
2082	projection	2,761,230,991	44,019,458	22,781,045	2.21	75.0
2083	projection	2,780,998,086	43,942,145	23,156,775	2.20	75.1
2084	projection	2,800,308,835	43,867,711	23,531,855	2.19	75.2
2085	projection	2,819,284,587	43,778,648	23,904,594	2.18	75.3
2086	projection	2,837,849,662	43,671,136	24,280,541	2.17	75.4
2087	projection	2,855,841,852	43,562,270	24,651,240	2.15	75.5
2088	projection	2,873,328,080	43,463,139	25,022,906	2.14	75.7
2089	projection	2,890,214,068	43,331,817	25,390,954	2.13	75.8
2090	projection	2,906,741,297	43,202,106	25,754,770	2.12	75.9
2091	projection	2,922,848,686	43,083,331	26,117,282	2.11	76.0
2092	projection	2,938,260,885	42,945,057	26,477,961	2.10	76.1
2093	projection	2,953,221,220	42,811,764	26,834,283	2.09	76.2
2094	projection	2,967,736,095	42,678,376	27,180,411	2.08	76.3
2095	projection	2,981,726,783	42,531,795	27,521,827	2.08	76.4
2096	projection	2,995,222,623	42,384,774	27,862,349	2.07	76.5
2097	projection	3,008,394,773	42,244,996	28,198,728	2.06	76.6
2098	projection	3,021,065,804	42,105,329	28,533,761	2.05	76.8
2099	projection	3,033,268,799	41,956,564	28,859,253	2.04	76.9
2100	projection	3,044,999,974	41,809,032	29,177,125	2.04	77.0

AGG · membership

What Least developed countries is

Least developed countries is one of the UN's analytical groupings. This dataset carries the group's totals, not its membership, so its countries are not listed here.

Show the numbers: Least developed countries, mid-2026, by single year of age

Least developed countries: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	18,369,500	17,812,000
1	17,977,100	17,467,400
2	17,660,400	17,164,700
3	17,326,500	16,838,600
4	16,984,200	16,507,500
5	16,645,500	16,181,000
6	16,319,600	15,862,200
7	15,990,600	15,542,800
8	15,654,300	15,217,500
9	15,321,800	14,895,300
10	15,010,100	14,591,900
11	14,727,000	14,313,800
12	14,464,600	14,051,100
13	14,223,200	13,806,200
14	13,986,200	13,567,200
15	13,752,000	13,340,100
16	13,509,700	13,122,700
17	13,236,500	12,894,500
18	12,943,800	12,664,500
19	12,632,400	12,429,500
20	12,295,600	12,175,700
21	11,931,500	11,897,500
22	11,554,000	11,607,800
23	11,183,700	11,323,500
24	10,824,300	11,043,600
25	10,478,600	10,762,400
26	10,153,700	10,482,900
27	9,840,390	10,199,000
28	9,565,200	9,939,140
29	9,335,790	9,713,350
30	9,102,360	9,477,320
31	8,817,740	9,186,160
32	8,515,470	8,874,370
33	8,209,740	8,555,960
34	7,886,870	8,218,820
35	7,590,080	7,912,110
36	7,331,840	7,652,420
37	7,102,470	7,429,150
38	6,900,820	7,239,730
39	6,721,350	7,074,000
40	6,538,960	6,897,220
41	6,336,330	6,685,180
42	6,115,540	6,438,160
43	5,889,110	6,170,430
44	5,663,580	5,898,320
45	5,437,340	5,633,410
46	5,205,060	5,377,820
47	4,963,280	5,132,660
48	4,727,010	4,910,670
49	4,512,180	4,718,900
50	4,313,640	4,544,940
51	4,127,700	4,378,630
52	3,957,310	4,219,940
53	3,806,270	4,074,950
54	3,662,280	3,933,730
55	3,509,790	3,782,920
56	3,352,160	3,627,810
57	3,195,590	3,473,290
58	3,044,130	3,320,490
59	2,895,780	3,168,920
60	2,749,600	3,020,740
61	2,608,900	2,880,020
62	2,472,700	2,745,430
63	2,340,970	2,615,550
64	2,212,830	2,488,540
65	2,087,220	2,362,820
66	1,963,290	2,236,960
67	1,839,350	2,108,640
68	1,716,090	1,978,480
69	1,597,660	1,851,810
70	1,484,690	1,737,970
71	1,371,480	1,630,250
72	1,256,370	1,517,680
73	1,140,990	1,401,910
74	1,025,990	1,284,640
75	915,956	1,164,820
76	815,208	1,045,670
77	723,089	935,984
78	648,306	847,116
79	577,434	762,012
80	501,740	670,402
81	430,292	583,273
82	364,430	502,226
83	304,863	428,070
84	251,545	361,550
85	204,363	302,255
86	163,464	249,999
87	128,844	204,671
88	99,677	165,072
89	75,162	130,295
90	55,236	100,704
91	39,742	76,588
92	28,007	57,310
93	19,219	42,018
94	12,770	30,071
95	8,204	20,949
96	5,088	14,194
97	3,035	9,334
98	1,732	5,949
99	941	3,675
100+	988	5,268

AGG · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Least developed countries, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

AGG · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Least developed countries

In Least developed countries the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 665,786,000 of them.

100 aged 15–64

68 children

7 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: one orange square for each of 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023. Beneath them, teal for the children living alongside those 100 and violet for the people aged 65 or older.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

AGG · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Least developed countries, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Least developed countries loses 1,701,773 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 339,805 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 50,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: each column is one age, youngest on the left. Above the line, in blue, are the ages gaining people; below it, in orange, the ages losing them. This is the UN's projection for 2020–2025 — the record of migration by age does not go back beyond 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 830,402 (1993); its biggest loss, 3,105,726 (2007).

This is a group of countries, so its figure counts only moves across its own outer edge: someone moving from one country inside it to another does not appear.

How migration works everywhere

AGG · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Least developed countries

Of every 100 babies born in least developed countries in 2023, 16 had a mother under 20, 69 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 15 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 17 under 20 and 17 aged 35 or older.

1950
17 · 66 · 17

2023
16 · 69 · 15

2050 · projected
12 · 71 · 17

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: shrink a year's babies to 100 and colour each one by the age of its mother — that is a block. Under it, the same three groups as numbers, starting with the youngest mothers.

Babies born, 2023: 36,423,563
Average age when women have a baby: 28.7 years; 29.2 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 91; 141 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in least developed countries by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	167,085	317,897	419,871	200,405	127,831	30,268
15–19	1,402,100	2,878,311	4,718,109	5,567,908	5,209,152	2,415,467
20–24	2,377,735	4,203,193	7,048,103	10,113,896	11,077,972	7,593,882
25–29	2,162,147	3,622,011	5,878,789	8,926,235	11,270,096	11,695,278
30–34	1,661,245	2,748,473	4,292,289	6,264,128	8,615,778	11,246,895
35–39	1,044,691	1,803,691	2,602,201	3,628,875	4,904,925	6,441,581
40–44	468,622	866,431	1,155,992	1,419,635	1,860,684	2,091,824
45–49	109,643	199,494	267,470	289,476	338,264	285,392
50–54	5,572	9,775	12,963	13,005	14,317	8,445
All babies	9,398,840	16,649,276	26,395,787	36,423,563	43,419,019	41,809,032

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual tables for regions and groups (estimates to 2023, then the medium projection), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UN WUP 2025 · Maddison Project 2020 · flag-icons. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.