Countries in order by population
Source: US Census Bureau World Population Profile 1996
Most of the smallest countries in this list are not fully independent; some are colonies; Saint Pierre and Miquelon seems to function as a remote part of France. Nauru and Tuvalu are the smallest independent countries in the list. San Marino (completely surrounded by Italy!) is the smallest independent country in the list that's not an island.
The Falkland Islands (population in 1991: 2,100) are not included although they're at least as independent as some of the places that are included. The Vatican City (population in 1996: 850) is not included although it seems to be completely independent.
| 1 | China (excluding Taiwan) | 1,210,005,000 |
| 2 | India | 952,108,000 |
| 3 | United States | 266,476,000 |
| 4 | Indonesia | 206,612,000 |
| 5 | Brazil | 162,661,000 |
| 6 | Russia | 148,190,000 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 129,276,000 |
| 8 | Japan | 125,450,000 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 123,063,000 |
| 10 | Nigeria | 103,912,000 |
| 11 | Mexico | 95,772,000 |
| 12 | Germany | 83,536,000 |
| 13 | Philippines | 74,481,000 |
| 14 | Vietnam | 73,977,000 |
| 15 | Iran | 66,094,000 |
| 16 | Egypt | 63,575,000 |
| 17 | Turkey | 62,484,000 |
| 18 | Thailand | 58,851,000 |
| 19 | United Kingdom | 58,490,000 |
| 20 | France | 58,317,000 |
| 21 | Italy | 57,460,000 |
| 22 | Ethiopia | 57,172,000 |
| 23 | Ukraine | 50,864,000 |
| 24 | Zaire | 46,499,000 |
| 25 | Burma | 45,976,000 |
| 26 | South Korea | 45,482,000 |
| 27 | South Africa | 41,743,000 |
| 28 | Spain | 38,853,000 |
| 29 | Poland | 38,643,000 |
| 30 | Colombia | 36,813,000 |
| 31 | Argentina | 34,673,000 |
| 32 | Sudan | 31,065,000 |
| 33 | Morocco | 29,779,000 |
| 34 | Algeria | 29,183,000 |
| 35 | Tanzania | 29,058,000 |
| 36 | Canada | 28,821,000 |
| 37 | Kenya | 28,177,000 |
| 38 | Peru | 24,523,000 |
| 39 | North Korea | 23,904,000 |
| 40 | Uzbekistan | 23,418,000 |
| 41 | Afghanistan | 22,664,000 |
| 42 | Nepal | 22,094,000 |
| 43 | Venezuela | 21,983,000 |
| 44 | Romania | 21,657,000 |
| 45 | Taiwan | 21,466,000 |
| 46 | Iraq | 21,422,000 |
| 47 | Uganda | 20,158,000 |
| 48 | Malaysia | 19,963,000 |
| 49 | Saudi Arabia | 19,409,000 |
| 50 | Sri Lanka | 18,553,000 |
| 51 | Australia | 18,261,000 |
| 52 | Mozambique | 17,878,000 |
| 53 | Ghana | 17,698,000 |
| 54 | Kazakstan | 16,916,000 |
| 55 | Syria | 15,609,000 |
| 56 | Netherlands | 15,532,000 |
| 57 | Cote d'Ivoire | 14,762,000 |
| 58 | Chile | 14,333,000 |
| 59 | Cameroon | 14,262,000 |
| 60 | Madagascar | 13,671,000 |
| 61 | Yemen | 13,483,000 |
| 62 | Ecuador | 11,466,000 |
| 63 | Guatemala | 11,278,000 |
| 64 | Zimbabwe | 11,271,000 |
| 65 | Cuba | 11,007,000 |
| 66 | Cambodia | 10,861,000 |
| 67 | Greece | 10,719,000 |
| 68 | Burkina Faso | 10,623,000 |
| 69 | Belarus | 10,416,000 |
| 70 | Angola | 10,343,000 |
| 71 | Czech Republic | 10,321,000 |
| 72 | Belgium | 10,098,000 |
| 73 | Hungary | 10,003,000 |
| 74 | Serbia | 9,979,000 |
| 75 | Portugal | 9,865,000 |
| 76 | Mali | 9,653,000 |
| 77 | Somalia | 9,639,000 |
| 78 | Malawi | 9,453,000 |
| 79 | Zambia | 9,159,000 |
| 80 | Niger | 9,113,000 |
| 81 | Senegal | 9,093,000 |
| 82 | Tunisia | 9,020,000 |
| 83 | Sweden | 8,861,000 |
| 84 | Bulgaria | 8,613,000 |
| 85 | Dominican Republic | 8,089,000 |
| 86 | Austria | 8,014,000 |
| 87 | Azerbaijan | 7,677,000 |
| 88 | Guinea | 7,412,000 |
| 89 | Bolivia | 7,165,000 |
| 90 | Switzerland | 7,125,000 |
| 91 | Chad | 6,977,000 |
| 92 | Rwanda | 6,853,000 |
| 93 | Haiti | 6,732,000 |
| 94 | Hong Kong | 6,305,000 |
| 95 | Burundi | 5,943,000 |
| 96 | Tajikistan | 5,916,000 |
| 97 | El Salvador | 5,829,000 |
| 98 | Benin | 5,710,000 |
| 99 | Honduras | 5,605,000 |
| 100 | Paraguay | 5,504,000 |
| 101 | Libya | 5,445,000 |
| 102 | Slovakia | 5,374,000 |
| 103 | Georgia | 5,220,000 |
| 104 | Israel | 5,215,000 |
| 105 | Denmark | 5,211,000 |
| 106 | Finland | 5,100,000 |
| 107 | Croatia | 5,004,000 |
| 108 | Laos | 4,976,000 |
| 109 | Sierra Leone | 4,793,000 |
| 110 | Togo | 4,571,000 |
| 111 | Kyrgyzstan | 4,530,000 |
| 112 | Moldova | 4,464,000 |
| 113 | Papua New Guinea | 4,395,000 |
| 114 | Norway | 4,346,000 |
| 115 | Nicaragua | 4,272,000 |
| 116 | Jordan | 4,212,000 |
| 117 | Turkmenistan | 4,149,000 |
| 118 | Eritrea | 3,910,000 |
| 119 | Puerto Rico | 3,819,000 |
| 120 | Lebanon | 3,776,000 |
| 121 | Lithuania | 3,646,000 |
| 122 | Ireland | 3,563,000 |
| 123 | New Zealand | 3,548,000 |
| 124 | Armenia | 3,464,000 |
| 125 | Costa Rica | 3,463,000 |
| 126 | Singapore | 3,397,000 |
| 127 | Central African Republic | 3,274,000 |
| 128 | Albania | 3,249,000 |
| 129 | Uruguay | 3,239,000 |
| 130 | United Arab Emirates | 3,057,000 |
| 131 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2,656,000 |
| 132 | Panama | 2,655,000 |
| 133 | Jamaica | 2,594,000 |
| 134 | Congo | 2,528,000 |
| 135 | Mongolia | 2,497,000 |
| 136 | Latvia | 2,469,000 |
| 137 | Mauritania | 2,336,000 |
| 138 | Oman | 2,187,000 |
| 139 | Liberia | 2,110,000 |
| 140 | Macedonia, Former Yugo. Rep. of | 2,104,000 |
| 141 | Lesotho | 1,971,000 |
| 142 | Slovenia | 1,951,000 |
| 143 | Kuwait | 1,950,000 |
| 144 | Bhutan | 1,823,000 |
| 145 | West Bank | 1,717,000 |
| 146 | Namibia | 1,677,000 |
| 147 | Botswana | 1,478,000 |
| 148 | Estonia | 1,459,000 |
| 149 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1,272,000 |
| 150 | Gabon | 1,173,000 |
| 151 | Guinea-Bissau | 1,151,000 |
| 152 | Mauritius | 1,139,000 |
| 153 | Gambia, The | 1,020,000 |
| 154 | Swaziland | 999,000 |
| 155 | Gaza Strip | 929,000 |
| 156 | Fiji | 782,000 |
| 157 | Cyprus | 745,000 |
| 158 | Guyana | 712,000 |
| 159 | Reunion | 679,000 |
| 160 | Montenegro | 635,000 |
| 161 | Bahrain | 590,000 |
| 162 | Comoros | 569,000 |
| 163 | Qatar | 548,000 |
| 164 | Macau | 497,000 |
| 165 | Cape Verde | 449,000 |
| 166 | Suriname | 436,000 |
| 167 | Equatorial Guinea | 431,000 |
| 168 | Djibouti | 428,000 |
| 169 | Solomon Islands | 413,000 |
| 170 | Guadeloupe | 408,000 |
| 171 | Luxembourg | 407,000 |
| 172 | Martinique | 399,000 |
| 173 | Malta | 372,000 |
| 174 | Brunei | 300,000 |
| 175 | Maldives | 271,000 |
| 176 | Iceland | 268,000 |
| 177 | Bahamas, The | 259,000 |
| 178 | Barbados | 257,000 |
| 179 | French Polynesia | 225,000 |
| 180 | Western Sahara | 223,000 |
| 181 | Belize | 219,000 |
| 182 | Western Samoa | 214,000 |
| 183 | Netherlands Antilles | 209,000 |
| 184 | New Caledonia | 188,000 |
| 185 | Vanuatu | 178,000 |
| 186 | Saint Lucia | 158,000 |
| 187 | Guam | 157,000 |
| 188 | French Guiana | 151,000 |
| 189 | Sao Tome and Principe | 144,000 |
| 190 | Federated States of Micronesia | 125,000 |
| 191 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 118,000 |
| 192 | Tonga | 106,000 |
| 193 | Mayotte | 101,000 |
| 194 | Virgin Islands | 97,000 |
| 195 | Grenada | 95,000 |
| 196 | Jersey | 87,000 |
| 197 | Dominica | 83,000 |
| 198 | Kiribati | 81,000 |
| 199 | Seychelles | 78,000 |
| 200 | Isle of Man | 73,000 |
| 201 | Andorra | 68,000 |
| 202 | Antigua and Barbuda | 66,000 |
| 203 | Aruba | 66,000 |
| 204 | Guernsey | 65,000 |
| 205 | Bermuda | 62,000 |
| 206 | American Samoa | 60,000 |
| 207 | Greenland | 58,000 |
| 208 | Marshall Islands | 58,000 |
| 209 | Northern Mariana Islands | 52,000 |
| 210 | Faroe Islands | 49,000 |
| 211 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 41,000 |
| 212 | Cayman Islands | 35,000 |
| 213 | Gibraltar | 32,000 |
| 214 | Monaco | 32,000 |
| 215 | Liechtenstein | 31,000 |
| 216 | San Marino | 25,000 |
| 217 | Cook Islands | 20,000 |
| 218 | Palau | 17,000 |
| 219 | Wallis and Futuna | 15,000 |
| 220 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 14,000 |
| 221 | British Virgin Islands | 13,000 |
| 222 | Montserrat | 13,000 |
| 223 | Nauru | 10,000 |
| 224 | Tuvalu | 10,000 |
| 225 | Anguilla | 7,000 |
| 226 | Saint Helena | 7,000 |
| 227 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 7,000 |