International Database: Countries and Areas
International Database: Countries and Areas
Geographic Standards
The International Database (IDB) includes population estimates and projections and other demographic indicators for over 200 countries and areas of the world with populations of 5,000 or more.
The IDB reflects U.S. government policy. Country names used in the IDB are consistent with federal government standards established by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Country codes shown in the IDB are from the Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) standard. Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) standard (preferred). Land boundaries presented in the IDB are from the Large-Scale International Boundaries dataset released by the U.S. Department of State.
Countries and Areas
Below is a table of all 227 countries and areas presented in the IDB. This table includes the 2-character GENC code (GENC-2), country or area name, and year last revised for each country or area.
All countries and areas were most recently updated in December 2020 (unless a more recent year is shown in the table) when the IDB projection time series was extended forward to the year 2100. The revision dates shown below reflect the most recent year in which the base population, components of population change, or both were researched, reassessed, and adjusted.
Countries are updated based on available funding and discovery of new demographic information.
- * United States data are based on official estimates and projections. All population estimates and projections are for the resident population. Population estimates for the United States are compiled from historical intercensal estimates (1950-1960, 1960-1970, 1970-1980, 1980-1990, 1990-2000, and 2000-2010), Vintage 2020 estimates (2010-2019), and Vintage 2023 (2020-2023) estimates. Population projections (2024-2100) for the United States are from the 2023 National Projections. Revised official population estimates are released each year (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html), and revised official population projections are released from time to time (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj.html). The U.S. population components shown in the IDB may not match the official population components for the United States due to differences in how they are displayed (calendar year versus midyear-to-midyear estimates).
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