From Empire to Island Again
How many states in India have larger populations than the whole UK?
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1. India has seven states – out of 29 altogether – that each have a population larger than the UK (65 million according to 2015 data).
2. The population of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, is more than three times as large as the United Kingdom.
3. In addition to Uttar Pradesh, the other six states are Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
4. With a combined population of more than 720 million, these seven states account for 55% of India’s entire population.
5. Another state, Andhra Pradesh, also previously fit the category of more populous than the United Kingdom until 2014.
6. That year Andhra Pradesh’s 85 million people were split in two with the creation of an additional state called Telangana.
7. China, for comparison, also has seven provinces that each has a population greater than that of the United Kingdom.
8. Meanwhile, only one EU country – Germany – has a population larger than the United Kingdom.
9. No single U.S. state is more populous than the United Kingdom. California, with 39 million people, comes closest.
Sources: The Globalist Research Center, UN Population Division, US Census Bureau
