trivia: 4 largest countries by population

This is a very deceptive question because it sounds so easy. Don't look it up in wikipedia, as it will spoil the answer.

The four largest countries (by population) have been the same since 1975* and are expected to remain the same until until the year 2025. Name the four countries in order by rank.

* The USSR will not be considered a country for the purposes of this quiz. It's status as a country was questionable.

1. China
2. India
3. United States
4. Indonesia

(didn't look it up... scouts honor :-)

China and India, obviously. Russia's population is declining, while the U.S.'s is increasing. So put the U.S. in there. Indonesia is probably in there to. Does Brazil come close? (I know I am hedging my bets here).
Otherwise, I agree with One Angry Dwarf (great name, btw).

I don't understand why this questions is very deceptive. There can be no argument that the four countries with the largest population currently are:

1. China (1.3 billion)
2. India (1.2)
3. USA (0.3)
4. Indonesia (0.2)

(Just as the poster above said. The numbers are coming from memory, but I'm fairly confident they are right.)

Since you said that its been the same top 4 since 1975 and expected to continue through to 2025, then this must be your answer.

I don't get it...its common knowledge! Where is the deception? I think a more interesting question would be which 4 countries have the smallest population...

I'm not sure I get it either....where is the deception here?

I meant that the question seems deceptively easy. I've asked that question dozens of times. Most people get China and India correct (except for the global awareness challenged); the majority get #3 correct, but I often get at least 6 tries to get the fourth one correct.

I think that China has been the largest political unit since the start of human civilization. As a result of OCPC policy, it will finally be passed by India in roughly the year 2025. Roughly 12 years after that the population of China will peak.


In 1950 it was China; India; United States; Russia; Japan; Indonesia

Follow-up question, slightly harder: Name the four most densely populated countries in the world. No cheating. (Do not count minor city-states like Singapore or Monaco).

Quote: teddys

Follow-up question, slightly harder: Name the four most densely populated countries in the world. No cheating. (Do not count minor city-states like Singapore or Monaco).

If you are excluding Singapore, I assume that are also excluding Macau and Hong Kong as well as Vatican City,

I believe that they are all in Asia or the Caribbean
I think they are Taiwan, Barbados, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh is by far the most densely populated of the major countries.

I studied world population growth around 2000 and, at the time, India was on track to pass China by now. Consider this, in 2000, world population was estimated at 6 billion. Today, it is estimated at approximately 7 billion. Some of you math guys should calculate where this exponential curve places us, population-wise, at about the time of the 2030 world series of poker.

Quote: Jumboshrimps

I studied world population growth around 2000 and, at the time, India was on track to pass China by now. Consider this, in 2000, world population was estimated at 6 billion. Today, it is estimated at approximately 7 billion. Some of you math guys should calculate where this exponential curve places us, population-wise, at about the time of the 2030 world series of poker.

Let x be the annual growth rate.

(1+x)^10 = 7/6
10*log(1+x)=log(7/6)
log(1+x)=log(7/6)^-10
1+x=(7/6)^-10
x=(7/6)^-10 - 1
x=0.015534493

So 20 years from now the population, assuming the same rate of growth, should be 7B*(1.015534493)^20 = 9.53 billion.

However, before you all start wringing your hands, I'd like to suggest that if it were not for war, destruction of land suitable for farming, and other factors that are humanities own fault, that the planet could sustain a population of 20 billion or so. In other words, the current population and growth rate don't keep me up at night. However, I admit this is far from my area of expertise.