Global Population by Gender: Statistics and Facts 2026

The global population by gender at a glance

At first sight the world looks evenly split between men and women, and in broad terms it is. Of roughly 8.30 billion people alive in 2026, the United Nations counts 4.17 billion males and 4.13 billion females. The difference, 42.3 million, is about half of one percent of the total. Yet that small gap is the result of several large and opposing forces: more boys are born than girls everywhere, women survive longer at almost every age, a few very populous countries have a long history of son preference, and labour migration concentrates men in a handful of Gulf states.

This report sets out the official numbers behind each of these forces, using the 2024 revision of World Population Prospects, the UN dataset on which most national and international comparisons are based. It covers the totals since 1950 and the projections to 2100, the sex ratio by age, the life expectancy gap, the role of China and India and the regions and countries at both extremes. For the overall size and growth of humanity, see our report on world population.

How many men and women are there in the world?

The UN medium variant puts the population on 1 July 2026 at 4,171,512,568 males and 4,129,165,828 females. That is 42.35 million more males, equal to a sex ratio of 101.03 males per 100 females. In 2024 the gap was 45.3 million and in 2025 it was 43.8 million, so the male surplus is now falling by roughly 1.5 million people a year.

Almost an even split: males make up 50.26 percent of the world population and females 49.74 percent.

The table below shows the last three years. Each year the world adds about 34 million males and 35 million females, so the female population is now growing slightly faster. This is the first sign of the long reversal the UN expects later in the century.

For the same calculation in a single country, see our breakdown of the US population by gender, where women are the majority, and the US population by sex and age.

From a female majority to a male majority and back again

In 1950 the world had 1.24 billion males and 1.25 billion females. The female lead of about 10 million was partly a legacy of the Second World War, which killed far more men than women in Europe and the Soviet Union. As those cohorts aged and as populations grew fastest in Asia, where more boys survive childhood than in the past, the gap closed. By 1970 the two sexes were within 0.6 million of each other, and in 1972 males became the majority for the first time in the UN series.

Two lines that never drift far apart: the male and female populations have stayed within 1 percent of each other for 150 years of data and projections.

The male surplus widened through the following decades, reaching 21.6 million in 1990, 32.8 million in 2000 and 44.5 million in 2010. It peaked at 53.2 million in 2017. Since then it has been shrinking as birth ratios in China and India move toward normal levels and as a fast-growing elderly population, mostly female, adds to the number of women.

A curve that rises and falls: the male surplus peaked at 53.2 million in 2017 and is projected to turn negative in 2088.

Looking ahead, the UN projects the gap to fall to 36.2 million by 2030 and 12.8 million by 2050. The two sexes are projected to be almost exactly equal in 2087, when males lead by about 100,000, and in 2088 females become the majority again, ahead by about 470,000. By 2100 the world is projected to have 5.08 billion males and 5.10 billion females, so the female majority would be back to about 10 million, the same size as in 1950.

The sex ratio: 101.03 males per 100 females

Demographers usually describe the balance between the sexes with the sex ratio, the number of males for every 100 females. A ratio above 100 means more males. The world ratio was 99.18 in 1950, crossed 100 in 1972, and reached its highest point of 101.42 in 2016. In 2026 it stands at 101.03, and the UN expects it to decline steadily to 100.26 in 2050 and 99.80 in 2100.

Past its peak: the world sex ratio topped out at 101.42 in 2016 and is now falling toward parity.

A ratio of 101 can sound trivial, but at a world population of 8.3 billion each tenth of a point represents about 4 million people. The movement from 99.18 in 1950 to 101.42 in 2016 therefore turned a female surplus of 10.2 million into a male surplus of about 53 million, a swing of more than 60 million people, before the trend reversed.

The ratio for the world as a whole hides very different situations. In 2026 the UN counts 77 of 236 countries and areas with more males than females, while 159 have more females. Most countries with female majorities are in Europe, Latin America and the former Soviet Union. Most of the population with a male majority lives in Asia, because China and India together hold more than a third of humanity.

At birth: about 105 boys for every 100 girls

In every human population more boys are born than girls. The natural ratio is usually around 105 boys per 100 girls. The UN estimates the world sex ratio at birth at 1.054 boys per girl in 2024 and 1.053 in 2025 and 2026. The world figure was higher in the past, peaking at 1.075 in 2000, because sex-selective abortion in parts of Asia pushed national ratios far above the natural level.

Conversions between the two Indian measures are BusinessStats calculations: 917 girls per 1,000 boys equals about 109.1 boys per 100 girls. The improvement from 904 to 917 in four years is one of the clearest signs that the gap at birth is narrowing in the most populous country in the world. In China, the 2020 census still recorded 111.3 boys per 100 girls, down from higher levels in the 2000s.

Because about 5 percent more boys are born, males are the majority among children everywhere. What turns the balance the other way later in life is mortality: at every age from infancy onward, men are more likely to die than women of the same age.

The sex ratio by age: boys lead, older women dominate

The age profile of the sex ratio explains most of the global picture. In 2026 there are 105.7 boys for every 100 girls under 15 and 103.2 men for every 100 women aged 15 to 64. Among people aged 65 and over the ratio falls to 80.1, and among those aged 80 and over to 62.8. At 100 and over there are only 24 men for every 100 women.

The older the group, the more female: among centenarians, women outnumber men by about four to one.

In absolute numbers, the world has about 392 million men and 489 million women aged 65 and over in 2026, so women make up 55.5 percent of older people. Among the 174 million people aged 80 and over, about 107 million are women and 67 million are men, a female share of 61.4 percent. Among the roughly 670,000 centenarians, about 540,000 are women.

The imbalance in old age is projected to narrow as male survival improves. The UN projects the sex ratio for people aged 65 and over to rise to 83.5 in 2050 and 89.9 in 2100, and the ratio for those aged 80 and over to rise from 62.8 today to 69.6 in 2050 and 82.3 in 2100. Even so, the number of older women will grow fast in absolute terms, because the population aged 65 and over is rising much faster than any other age group.

Women live 5.3 years longer than men

The main reason women outnumber men in old age is that they live longer. The UN estimates that a girl born in 2026 can expect to live 76.44 years and a boy 71.18 years, a gap of 5.26 years. The gap was 5.34 years in 2023, so it is narrowing slowly.

A durable advantage: women are expected to outlive men by about five and a quarter years at current mortality rates.

Over the long run the female advantage has varied. It was 3.97 years in 1950, when maternal mortality was much higher and many women died in childbirth. As maternal deaths fell, the gap widened. The UN now projects it to narrow to 4.82 years by 2050 and 3.91 years by 2100, as deaths from smoking, heart disease, accidents and violence, which affect men more, continue to decline.

The life expectancy gap is much wider in some countries than in the world average, particularly in Eastern Europe, where it explains why Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states have some of the lowest sex ratios in the world.

China and India: the source of the global male surplus

China and India together account for about 2.89 billion people, roughly 35 percent of the world population. Both have more males than females. According to the UN, China has 718.8 million males and 694.1 million females in 2026, a surplus of 24.7 million, and India has 761.1 million males and 715.5 million females, a surplus of 45.6 million. Combined, that is 70.3 million more males.

Without China and India the world is majority female: the other 5.41 billion people include 28.0 million more females than males.

Subtracting both countries from the world total leaves 2,691.6 million males and 2,719.6 million females, a sex ratio of 98.97. In other words, the male majority of the world exists only because of these two countries. The same calculation for 2024 gives a female surplus of 27.2 million in the rest of the world.

National statistics show the same pattern. The National Bureau of Statistics of China reported 716.85 million males and 688.04 million females at the end of 2025, or 51.0 percent and 49.0 percent of a population of 1,404.89 million. Its 2025 one percent population sample survey, published in May 2026, put the sex ratio at 104.21. The trends behind these numbers are covered in our report on the total population of China.

In India, the 2011 census counted 943 females per 1,000 males. The official population projection published by the Ministry of Statistics gives 732.07 million males and 693.83 million females for 2026, or 948 females per 1,000 males, rising to 952 by 2036. The UN figure for India in 2026 is lower, at 940 females per 1,000 males, because the two sources use different base data and methods.

The ratio for China from the NBS end-2025 figures and the ratio for India from the MoSPI projection are BusinessStats calculations. How large economies compare in output is set out in our ranking of the largest economies and the China GDP report.

By region: Asia has 78 million more males, Europe 25 million more females

The six world regions fall into two clear groups. Asia, Northern America and Oceania have more males, and Africa, Europe and Latin America have more females. Asia stands out, with 2.47 billion males and 2.39 billion females in 2026, a surplus of 78.2 million, almost twice the world total. Europe is the opposite case, with 359.1 million males and 384.4 million females, a deficit of 25.2 million men.

Asia and Europe at opposite ends: Asia has 78.2 million more males, while Europe has 25.2 million more females.

Europe has fewer men mainly because of its age structure and its mortality gap. It has the oldest population of any region, and older age groups are mostly female. Northern America has a slight male majority, helped by a younger age structure than Europe. Africa is almost perfectly balanced, at 99.82, because its very young population offsets higher male mortality.

National detail for the United Kingdom is in our UK population report, and for the United States in our US males per 100 females by state ranking.

Countries with the most and fewest men per woman

The highest sex ratios in the world are found in the Gulf states, where large numbers of male workers come from abroad to work in construction, services and industry. Qatar tops the list with 243.7 males per 100 females in 2026, meaning only 29.1 percent of its residents are female. The United Arab Emirates (175.0), Oman (166.5), Bahrain (163.2) and Kuwait (156.5) follow, with Saudi Arabia at 152.0.

Migration, not births: the seven highest ratios are all in Gulf and Indian Ocean states that rely on male migrant labour.

These ratios are driven by migration, not by births: it is the large foreign workforce that tilts the totals. The ratios are also sensitive to the economic cycle and to construction activity. In Qatar the ratio was 248.2 in 2024 and is projected at 243.7 in 2026. Beyond the Gulf, Bhutan (114.5) and Brunei (112.9) also rank high.

At the other end of the scale, the places with the fewest males per female are mostly in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, plus some island territories. Among countries and areas with more than one million people, Hong Kong has the lowest ratio at 81.7, followed by Moldova (85.1), Russia (86.4), Armenia (86.5) and Latvia (86.8).

Where men are missing: in Russia there are about 86 men for every 100 women, a gap of several million people.

The reasons differ. In Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states, men die much younger than women, because of high rates of alcohol-related illness, cardiovascular disease, accidents and, in recent years, war. In Hong Kong, the low ratio reflects large numbers of female foreign domestic workers and an ageing population. In Moldova, Armenia and Georgia, the emigration of working-age men adds to the effect.

Migration flows that shape the population of the United States are covered in our report on immigration in the United States.

UN and World Bank figures compared

The World Bank publishes its own world totals by sex in the World Development Indicators, based largely on UN estimates. Its July 2026 update shows 4,129.7 million males and 4,085.7 million females in 2025, with females at 49.73 percent of the total. That implies a sex ratio of 101.08 and a male surplus of 43.9 million, very close to the UN figure of 43.8 million for the same year.

The World Bank totals are about 20 million lower because its world aggregate adds up 217 economies and leaves out some small territories that the UN includes. The split between the sexes is almost identical, which is why either source can be used for the shares, but the UN series is better for history and projections.

Outlook: back to a female majority by 2088

Three trends will shape the balance between the sexes over the rest of the century. First, birth ratios in China and India are falling toward the natural level, which reduces the number of surplus boys entering the population each year. Second, the world is ageing quickly, and older age groups are mostly female. Third, falling fertility means fewer births overall, so the extra boys at birth matter less relative to the large and growing older population.

Together these trends are projected to bring the world sex ratio below 100 in 2088. A counterweight is the improvement in male life expectancy, which the UN expects to narrow the survival gap. That is why the projected female majority in 2100, about 10 million, is modest compared with the current male majority of 42 million. Long-term projections are uncertain, especially for fertility, but the direction of travel is clear in every UN variant.

The gender balance also shapes economic outcomes. Gender gaps in wealth at the very top are tracked in our billionaires by gender data and the list of the richest women in the world, while income levels across countries are compared in our GDP per capita by country ranking.

The global population by gender in eight numbers

Questions about men, women and the world population