Vietnamese people, of which: the so-called “Viet” or “Kinh” is nearly 73,6 million, account for 85.8% of the population. Their population is concentrated in the alluvial deltas and coastal plains of the country. A homogeneous social and ethnic group, the Kinh exert political and economic control. There are 54 ethnic minority groups throughout the country,...
Colombia is the third-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. It is also home to the fourth-largest number of Spanish speakers in the world after Mexico, the United States, and Spain. It is slightly ahead of Argentina. The population increased at a rate of 1.9% between 1975 and 2005, predicted to drop...
The 2007 Population and Housing Census results show that the population of Ethiopia grew at an average annual rate of 2.6% between 1994 and 2007, down from 2.8% during the period 1983–1994. The country’s population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak some Afro-Asiatic language, mainly of the
Iran is a diverse country consisting of people of many religions and ethnic backgrounds cemented by the Persian culture. The majority of the population speaks the Persian language, which is also the official language of the country, as well as other Iranian languages or dialects. Turkic languages and dialects, most importantly
Ukraine has been in a demographic crisis since the 1980s because of its high death rate and a low birth rate. The population is shrinking 150,000 a year because of the lowest birth rate in Europe combined with one of the highest death rates in Europe. In 2007, the country’s population was declining at the...
The first official census in the Philippines was carried out in 1877 and recorded a population of 5,567,685. By 2009, the Philippines has become the world’s 12th most populous nation, with a population of over 92 million. It is estimated that half of the population resides on the island of Luzon. There are about 11 million Filipinos...
South Africa is a nation of about 50 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The last census was held in 2001 and the next will be in 2011. Statistics South Africa provided five racial categories by which people could classify themselves, the last of which, “unspecified/other” drew negligible responses, and
With a population estimated in 60.6 million, Italy has the fourth-largest population in the European Union and the 23rd-largest population worldwide. The population density, at over 200 persons per square kilometer (over 500/sq mi), is the fifth highest in the European Union. The highest density is in Northern Italy, as that one-third of the country...
South Korea is noted for its population density, which is 487 per square kilometer, more than 10 times the global average. Most South Koreans live in urban areas, due to rapid migration from the countryside during the country’s quick economic expansion in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The capital city of Seoul is also the...
Native Spaniards make up 88% of the total population of Spain. After the birth rate plunged in the 1980s and Spain’s population growth rate dropped, the population again trended upward, based initially on the return of many Spaniards who had emigrated to other European countries during the 1970s, and more recently
The population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was estimated at 71.7 million in 2013. As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. Christianity is the majority religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by about 95.1% of the population. Denominations include Protestant, 46.5%, Roman Catholic
Burma has a population of about 56 million. Population figures are rough estimates because the last partial census, conducted by the Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs under the control of the military junta, was taken in 1983. No trustworthy nationwide census has been taken in Burma since 1931. There are over
More than 73.7 million people live in Turkey, nearly three-quarters of whom live in towns and cities. The population is increasing by 1.5% each year, according to the 2009 census. In 1927, when the first census was taken in Turkey, the population was 13.6 million. It has an average population density of 92 people per...
Bangladesh’s population growth was among the highest in the world in the 1960s and 1970s, when the country swelled from 50 to 90 million. With the promotion of birth control in the 1980s, the growth rate has slowed. The main religion practiced in Bangladesh is Islam (89.7%), but a significant percentage of the population adheres to
Thailand’s population is relatively homogeneous, however, this is changing due to immigration. More than 85% speak a Tai language and share a common culture. This core population includes the central Thai (33.7% of the population, including Bangkok’s population), Northeastern Thai or Lao (34.2%), northern Thai (18.8%), and
