Asia population

Asia is home to roughly three in five people alive today, so its turning point is effectively the world's. The continent's population is projected to peak near the middle of the century and then edge down, with its two giants pulling in opposite directions: India still growing while China shrinks. As Africa rises, Asia's share of humanity is set to slide from about 59 percent now toward 45 percent by 2100, even as it stays the most populous region throughout.

Asia is home to about 4.85 billion people in 2026, roughly 59% of the world total, spread across 51 countries and territories. Its most populous are India, China, Indonesia.

Asia keeps growing for now, peaking at about 5.29 billion around 2054, before easing back to roughly 4.62 billion by 2100 as fertility falls. Its share of the world edges down from 59% to about 45% over the same period.

These are the UN's medium-variant figures, the central scenario rather than a forecast. The further out they run the wider the plausible range, but the broad shape of Asia's century is consistent across the main variants.