Countries with Declining Populations (2026)
Countries where the population is shrinking, usually because deaths outnumber births, emigration is high, or both.
- Criteria
- Only countries whose mid-year population is lower than the year before, steepest decline first.
- Reference year
- 2026
| # | Country | Yearly change | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Saint Martin | -4.17% | 2026 |
| 2 |  Marshall Islands | -3.32% | 2026 |
| 3 |  Cook Islands | -3.23% | 2026 |
| 4 |  American Samoa | -1.54% | 2026 |
| 5 |  Northern Mariana Islands | -1.45% | 2026 |
| 6 |  Tuvalu | -1.37% | 2026 |
| 7 |  Moldova | -1.16% | 2026 |
| 8 |  Lithuania | -1.16% | 2026 |
| 9 |  Montenegro | -1.03% | 2026 |
| 10 |  Saint Pierre and Miquelon | -1.02% | 2026 |
| 11 |  Estonia | -0.98% | 2026 |
| 12 |  Saint Helena | -0.98% | 2026 |
| 13 |  Latvia | -0.95% | 2026 |
| 14 |  U.S. Virgin Islands | -0.88% | 2026 |
| 15 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | -0.82% | 2026 |
| 16 |  Martinique | -0.80% | 2026 |
| 17 |  Poland | -0.78% | 2026 |
| 18 |  Czechia | -0.77% | 2026 |
| 19 |  Wallis and Futuna | -0.75% | 2026 |
| 20 |  Albania | -0.74% | 2026 |
| 21 |  Armenia | -0.73% | 2026 |
| 22 |  Montserrat | -0.71% | 2026 |
| 23 |  Serbia | -0.70% | 2026 |
| 24 |  Bulgaria | -0.70% | 2026 |
| 25 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | -0.68% | 2026 |
| 26 |  Monaco | -0.68% | 2026 |
| 27 |  Belarus | -0.67% | 2026 |
| 28 |  Croatia | -0.67% | 2026 |
| 29 |  Romania | -0.57% | 2026 |
| 30 |  Dominica | -0.55% | 2026 |
| 31 |  Japan | -0.55% | 2026 |
| 32 |  North Macedonia | -0.54% | 2026 |
| 33 |  Germany | -0.51% | 2026 |
| 34 |  Hungary | -0.48% | 2026 |
| 35 |  Taiwan | -0.44% | 2026 |
| 36 |  Tonga | -0.44% | 2026 |
| 37 |  Slovakia | -0.43% | 2026 |
| 38 |  Greece | -0.42% | 2026 |
| 39 |  Russia | -0.42% | 2026 |
| 40 |  Cuba | -0.41% | 2026 |
| 41 |  Puerto Rico | -0.39% | 2026 |
| 42 |  Italy | -0.37% | 2026 |
| 43 |  Guadeloupe | -0.36% | 2026 |
| 44 |  Palau | -0.25% | 2026 |
| 45 |  Mauritius | -0.25% | 2026 |
| 46 |  Hong Kong | -0.24% | 2026 |
| 47 |  China | -0.22% | 2026 |
| 48 |  Greenland | -0.21% | 2026 |
| 49 |  Portugal | -0.16% | 2026 |
| 50 |  Bermuda | -0.15% | 2026 |
| 51 |  Jamaica | -0.13% | 2026 |
| 52 |  South Korea | -0.13% | 2026 |
| 53 |  Slovenia | -0.12% | 2026 |
| 54 |  Falkland Islands | -0.09% | 2026 |
| 55 |  Thailand | -0.08% | 2026 |
| 56 |  Spain | -0.08% | 2026 |
| 57 |  Isle of Man | -0.07% | 2026 |
| 58 |  Austria | -0.07% | 2026 |
| 59 |  Uruguay | -0.06% | 2026 |
| 60 |  Niue | -0.05% | 2026 |
| 61 |  Georgia | -0.05% | 2026 |
| 62 |  Finland | -0.03% | 2026 |
| 63 |  Curacao | -0.02% | 2026 |
Countries without a reported value are left out rather than estimated. Download the full dataset (CSV) or read the methodology.