January 20, 2009

An Open Letter to Evangelicals and Other Interested Parties

The People of God, the Land of Israel, and the Impartiality of the Gospel

Knox Theological Seminary
Originally Published in 2002

Recently a number of leaders in the Protestant community of the United States have urged the endorsement of far-reaching and unilateral political commitments to the people and land of Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, citing Holy Scripture as the basis for those commitments. To strengthen their endorsement, several of these leaders have also insisted that they speak on behalf of the seventy million people who constitute the American evangelical community.

It is good and necessary for evangelical leaders to speak out on the great moral issues of our day in obedience to Christ's call for His disciples to be salt and light in the world. It is quite another thing, however, when leaders call for commitments that are based upon a serious misreading of Holy Scripture. In such instances, it is good and necessary for other evangelical leaders to speak out as well. We do so here in the hope that we may contribute to the cause of the Lord Christ, apart from whom there can never be true and lasting peace in the world.

At the heart of the political commitments in question are two fatally flawed propositions:
  1. First, some are teaching that God's alleged favor toward Israel today is based upon ethnic descent rather than upon the grace of Christ alone, as proclaimed in the Gospel.
  2. Second, others are teaching that the Bible's promises concerning the land are fulfilled in a special political region or "Holy Land" perpetually set apart by God for one ethnic group alone.

As a result of these false claims, large segments of the evangelical community, our fellow citizens, and our government are being misled with regard to the Bible's teachings concerning the people of God, the land of Israel, and the impartiality of the Gospel.

In what follows, we make our convictions public. We do so by acknowledging the genuine evangelical faith of many who will not agree with us. Knowing that we may incur their disfavor, we are nevertheless constrained by Scripture and by conscience to publish the following propositions for the cause of Christ and truth.

The Gospel offers eternal life in heaven to Jews and Gentiles alike as a free gift in Jesus Christ. Eternal life in heaven is not earned or deserved, nor is it based upon ethnic descent or natural birth.

All human beings, Jews and Gentiles alike, are sinners, and, as such, they are under God's judgment of death. Because God's standard is perfect obedience and all are sinners, it is impossible for anyone to gain temporal peace or eternal life by his own efforts. Moreover, apart from Christ, there is no special divine favor upon any member of any ethnic group; nor, apart from Christ, is there any divine promise of an earthly land or a heavenly inheritance to anyone, whether Jew or Gentile. To teach or imply otherwise is nothing less than to compromise the Gospel itself.

God, the Creator of all mankind, is merciful and takes no pleasure in punishing sinners. Yet God is also holy and just and must punish sin. Therefore, to satisfy both His justice and His mercy, God has appointed one way of salvation for all, whether Jew or Gentile, in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, came into the world to save sinners. In His death upon the cross, Jesus was the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, of Jew and of Gentile alike.

The death of Jesus forever fulfilled and eternally ended the sacrifices of the Jewish temple. All who would worship God, whether Jew or Gentile, must now come to Him in spirit and truth through Jesus Christ alone. The worship of God is no longer identified with any specific earthly sanctuary. He receives worship only through Jesus Christ, the eternal and heavenly Temple. To as many as receive and rest upon Christ alone through faith alone, to Jews and Gentiles alike, God gives eternal life in His heavenly inheritance.

The inheritance promises that God gave to Abraham were made effective through Christ, Abraham's True Seed. These promises were not and cannot be made effective through sinful man's keeping of God's law. Rather, the promise of an inheritance is made to those only who have faith in Jesus, the True Heir of Abraham. All spiritual benefits are derived from Jesus, and apart from Him there is no participation in the promises.

Since Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the Abrahamic Covenant, all who bless Him and His people will be blessed of God, and all who curse Him and His people will be cursed of God. These promises do not apply to any particular ethnic group, but to the Church of Jesus Christ, the true Israel.

The people of God, whether the church of Israel in the wilderness in the Old Testament or the Israel of God among the Gentile Galatians in the New Testament, are one body who through Jesus will receive the promise of the heavenly city, the everlasting Zion. This heavenly inheritance has been the expectation of the people of God in all ages.

Jesus taught that His resurrection was the raising of the True Temple of Israel. He has replaced the priesthood, sacrifices, and sanctuary of Israel by fulfilling them in His own glorious priestly ministry and by offering, once and for all, His sacrifice for the world; that is, for both Jew and Gentile. Believers from all nations are now being built up through Him into this Third Temple, the Church that Jesus promised to build.

Simon Peter spoke of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus in conjunction with the final judgment and the punishment of sinners. Instructively, this same Simon Peter, the Apostle to the Circumcision, says nothing about the restoration of the kingdom to Israel in the land of Palestine. Instead, as his readers contemplate the promise of Jesus' Second Coming, he fixes their hope upon the new heavens and the new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

The entitlement of any one ethnic or religious group to territory in the Middle East called the "Holy Land" cannot be supported by Scripture. In fact, the land promises specific to Israel in the Old Testament were fulfilled under Joshua. The New Testament speaks clearly and prophetically about the destruction of the second temple in A.D. 70. No New Testament writer foresees a regathering of ethnic Israel in the land, as did the prophets of the Old Testament after the destruction of the first temple in 586 B.C.

Moreover, the land promises of the Old Covenant are consistently and deliberately expanded in the New Testament to show the universal dominion of Jesus, who reigns from heaven upon the throne of David, inviting all the nations through the Gospel of Grace to partake of His universal and everlasting dominion.

Bad Christian theology regarding the "Holy Land" contributed to the tragic cruelty of the Crusades in the Middle Ages. Lamentably, bad Christian theology is today attributing to secular Israel a divine mandate to conquer and hold Palestine, with the consequence that the Palestinian people are marginalized and regarded as virtual "Canaanites." This doctrine is both contrary to the teaching of the New Testament and a violation of the Gospel mandate. In addition, this theology puts those Christians who are urging the violent seizure and occupation of Palestinian land in moral jeopardy of their own bloodguiltiness.

Are we as Christians not called to pray for and work for peace, warning both parties to this conflict that those who live by the sword will die by the sword? Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring both temporal reconciliation and the hope of an eternal and heavenly inheritance to the Israeli and the Palestinian. Only through Jesus Christ can anyone know peace on earth.

The promised Messianic kingdom of Jesus Christ has been inaugurated. Its advent marks the focal point of human history. This kingdom of the Messiah is continuing to realize its fullness as believing Jews and Gentiles are added to the community of the redeemed in every generation. The same kingdom will be manifested in its final and eternal form with the return of Christ the King in all His glory.

Of all the nations, the Jewish people played the primary role in the coming of the Messianic kingdom. New Testament Scripture declares that to them were given the oracles of God, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises. Theirs are the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and from them, according to the flesh, came Christ. Salvation is, indeed, of the Jews.

While affirming the Scriptural teaching that there is no salvation outside of Christ, Christians should acknowledge with heartfelt sorrow and grief the frequent oppression of the Jews in history, sometimes tragically done in the name of the cross.

But what are we to make of the unbelief of Israel? Has their unbelief made the faithfulness of God without effect for them? No, God has not completely rejected the people of Israel, and we join the apostle Paul in his earnest prayer for the salvation of his Jewish kinsmen according to the flesh.

There always has been and always will be a remnant that is saved. While not all Israel will experience the blessing of participation in the Messianic kingdom, yet Jews who do come to faith in Christ will share in His reign throughout the present age and into eternity.

In addition, it is not as though the rejection of some in Israel for unbelief serves no purpose. On the contrary, because they were broken off in unbelief, the Gospel has gone to the Gentiles, who now, through faith, partake of the blessings to the fathers and join with believing Jews to constitute the true Israel of God, the Church of Jesus Christ.

The present secular state of Israel, however, is not an authentic or prophetic realization of the Messianic kingdom of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, a day should not be anticipated in which Christ's kingdom will manifest Jewish distinctives, whether by its location in "the land," by its constituency, or by its ceremonial institutions and practices.

Instead, this present age will come to a climactic conclusion with the arrival of the final, eternal phase of the kingdom of the Messiah. At that time, all eyes, even of those who pierced Him, will see the King in His glory. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.

In light of the grand prophetic expectation of the New Testament, we urge our evangelical brothers and sisters to return to the proclamation of the free offer of Christ's grace in the Gospel to all the children of Abraham, to pray for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and to promise all humanitarian sympathy and practical support for those on both sides who are suffering in this current vicious cycle of atrocity and displacement.

January 1, 2009

List of Countries by Population

List of Countries by Population from Wikipedia

Figures indicated by "UN estimate" are based on the July 1, 2009 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.[3]

Rank↓ Country / Territory↓ Population↓ Date of estimate↓ % of World Population↓ Source
1 People's Republic of Chinan2 1,338,630,000 July 14, 2010 19.53% Chinese Official Population Clock
2 India 1,183,373,000 July 14, 2010 17.26% Indian Official Population Clock
3 United States 309,730,000 July 14, 2010 4.52% United States Official Population Clock
4 Indonesia 234,181,400 July 2010 3.42% Statistics Indonesia
5 Brazil 193,219,000 July 14, 2010 2.82% Brazilian Official Population Clock
6 Pakistan 170,005,000 July 14, 2010 2.48% Official Pakistani Population clock
7 Bangladesh 162,221,000
2.37% UN estimate
8 Nigeria 154,729,000
2.26% UN estimate
9 Russia 141,927,297 January 1, 2010 2.07% Federal State Statistics Service of Russia
10 Japan 127,380,000 June 1, 2010 1.86% Official Japan Statistics Bureau
11 Mexico 108,396,211 July 1, 2010 1.58% INEGI estimate

National Population Statistics of Mexico[4]

12 Philippines 94,013,200 Mid-2010 1.37%

National Statistics Office medium projection

13 Vietnam 85,789,573 April 1, 2009 1.25% Preliminary 2009 census result
14 Germany 81,757,600 January 1, 2010 1.19% Eurostat estimate
15 Ethiopia 79,221,000 July 2008 1.16%

Ethiopia Central Statistics Agency

16 Egypt 78,716,000 July 14, 2010 1.15% Official Egyptian Population clock
17 Iran 74,196,000
1.08% UN estimate
18 Turkey 72,561,312 December 31, 2009 1.06% Turkish Statistical Institute estimate
19 Dem. Rep. of Congo 66,020,000
0.96% UN estimate
20 Francen3 65,447,374 January 1, 2010 0.95% Official INSEE estimate
The figure for France without the overseas collectivities is 64,667,374.
21 Thailand 63,525,062 December 31, 2009 0.92%

Official Thai Statistics estimate

22 United Kingdom 62,041,708 January 1, 2010 0.9% Eurostat estimate
23 Italy 60,340,328 December 1, 2009 0.88% Official ISTAT estimate
24 Myanmar (Burma) 50,020,000
0.73%

UN estimate

25 South Korea 49,773,145 December 31, 2009 0.73% Statistics Korea
26 South Africa 49,320,500 July 1, 2009 0.72% Statistics South Africa
27 Spain 46,951,532 January 1, 2010 0.68% Official INE estimate
28 Ukraine 45,962,900 January 1, 2010 0.67% Official UKRSTAT estimate
29 Colombia 45,526,000 July 14, 2010 0.66% Official Colombian Population clock
30 Tanzania 43,739,000
0.64% UN estimate
31 Argentina 40,518,951 June 30, 2010 0.59% Official INDEC estimate
32 Kenya 39,802,000
0.58% UN estimate
33 Sudan 39,154,490 April 22, 2008 0.57% 2008 Sudanese census
34 Poland 38,167,329 January 1, 2010 0.56% Eurostat estimate
35 Algeria 34,895,000
0.51% UN estimate
36 Canada 34,172,000 July 14, 2010 0.5% Official Canadian Population clock
37 Uganda 32,710,000
0.48% UN estimate
38 Morocco 31,864,000 July 14, 2010 0.46% Official Moroccan Population clock
39 Iraq 30,747,000
0.45% UN estimate
40 Nepal 29,331,000
0.43% UN estimate
41 Peru 29,132,013 June 30, 2009 0.43% Official INEI estimate (in Spanish)
42 Venezuela 28,851,000 July 14, 2010 0.42% Official Venezuelan Population clock
43 Malaysia 28,306,700 July 2009 0.41% Statistic Department of Malaysia
44 Afghanistan 28,150,000
0.4% UN estimate
45 Uzbekistan 27,488,000
0.4% UN estimate
46 Saudi Arabia 25,721,000
0.38% UN estimate
47 North Korea 24,051,706 October 2008 0.35% UNFPA
48 Ghana 23,837,000
0.35% UN estimate
49 Yemen 23,580,000
0.34% UN estimate
50 Republic of China (Taiwan) n4 23,131,093 March 31, 2010 0.34% Official National Statistics Taiwan estimate
51 Australian5 22,419,969 July 14, 2010 0.33% Australian Official Population Clock
52 Syria 21,906,000
0.32% UN estimate
53 Romania 21,466,174 January 1, 2010 0.31% Eurostat estimate
54 Mozambique 21,350,080 Mid 2009 0.3% Mozambique Ministry of Health
55 Côte d'Ivoire 21,075,000
0.31% UN estimate
56 Sri Lanka 20,238,000
0.3% UN estimate
57 Madagascar 19,625,000
0.29% UN estimate
58 Cameroon 19,522,000
0.28% UN estimate
59 Angola 18,498,000
0.27% UN estimate
60 Chile 17,101,000 July 14, 2010 0.25% Official INE projection (p.36)
61 Netherlands 16,623,825 July 14, 2010 0.24% Official Netherlands population clock
62 Kazakhstan 16,197,000 January, 1 2010 0.24% National Statistics Agency estimate
63 Burkina Faso 15,757,000
0.23% UN estimate
64 Niger 15,290,000
0.22% UN estimate
65 Malawi 15,263,000
0.22% UN estimate
66 Cambodia 14,805,000
0.22% UN estimate
67 Mali 14,517,176 April 1, 2009 0.21% Preliminary 2009 census result
68 Ecuador 14,212,000 July 14, 2010 0.21% Official Ecuadorian population clock
69 Guatemala 14,027,000
0.2% UN estimate
70 Zambia 12,935,000
0.19% UN estimate
71 Senegal 12,534,000
0.18% UN estimate
72 Zimbabwe 12,523,000
0.18% UN estimate
73 Greece 11,306,183 January 1, 2010 0.16% Eurostat estimate
74 Chad 11,274,106 June 2009 0.16% Chadian 2009 census
75 Cuba 11,204,000
0.16% UN estimate
76 Belgium 10,827,519 January 1, 2010 0.16% Eurostat estimate
77 Portugal 10,636,888 January 1, 2010 0.16% Eurostat estimate
78 Czech Republic 10,512,397 January 1, 2010 0.15% Eurostat estimate
79 Tunisia 10,432,500 July 1, 2009 0.15% National Statistics Institute of Tunisia
80 Dominican Republic 10,090,000
0.15% UN estimate
81 Guinea 10,069,000
0.15% UN estimate
82 Haiti 10,033,000
0.15% UN estimate
83 Hungary 10,013,628 January 1, 2010 0.15% Eurostat estimate
84 Rwanda 9,998,000
0.15% UN estimate
85 Bolivia 9,879,000
0.14% UN estimate
86 Serbian6 9,850,000
0.14% UN estimate
87 Belarus 9,471,900 May 1, 2010 0.14% National Statistical Committee
88 Sweden 9,366,092 May 31, 2010 0.14% Statistics Sweden
89 Somalian7 9,133,000
0.13% UN estimate
90 Benin 8,935,000
0.13% UN estimate
91 Azerbaijan 8,997,400 January 1, 2010 0.13% State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan
92 Austria 8,372,930 January 1, 2010 0.12% Eurostat estimate
93 Burundi 8,303,000
0.12% UN estimate
94 Switzerland 7,782,900 December 31, 2009 0.11% Official Switzerland Statistics estimate
95 Israel n8 7,602,400 May 31, 2010 0.11% Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics
96 Bulgaria 7,576,751 January 1, 2010 0.11% Eurostat estimate
97 Honduras 7,466,000
0.11% UN estimate
98 Hong Kong 7,026,400 December 31, 2009 0.102% Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department
99 Tajikistan 6,952,000
0.101% UN estimate
100 Papua New Guinea 6,732,000
0.098% UN estimate
101 Togo 6,619,000
0.097% UN estimate
102 Libya 6,420,000
0.094% UN estimate
103 Paraguay 6,349,000
0.093% UN estimate
104 Laos 6,320,000
0.092% UN estimate
105 Jordan 6,316,000
0.092% UN estimate
106 El Salvador 6,163,000
0.09% UN estimate
107 Nicaragua 5,743,000
0.084% UN estimate
108 Sierra Leone 5,696,000
0.083% UN estimate
109 Denmark 5,540,241 March 31, 2010 0.081% Statistics Denmark
110 Kyrgyzstan 5,482,000
0.08% UN estimate
111 Slovakia 5,424,925 December 31, 2009 0.079% Statistics Slovakia
112 Finland n9 5,364,000 July 14, 2010 0.078% Official Finnish Population clock
113 Turkmenistan 5,110,000
0.075% UN estimate
114 Eritrea 5,073,000
0.074% UN estimate
115 Singapore 4,987,600 Mid-2009 0.073% Statistics Singapore
116 Norway n10 4,891,600 July 14, 2010 0.071% Official Norwegian Population clock
117 United Arab Emirates 4,599,000
0.067% UN estimate
118 Costa Rica 4,579,000
0.067% UN estimate
119 Republic of Ireland 4,459,300 April 1, 2009 0.065% Irish Central Statistics Office estimate
120 Georgia n11 4,436,000 January 1, 2010 0.065% National Statistics Office of Georgia
121 Croatia 4,435,056 January 1, 2009 0.065% Eurostat estimate
122 Central African Republic 4,422,000
0.065% UN estimate
123 New Zealand 4,378,700 July 14, 2010 0.064% Official New Zealand Population clock
124 Lebanon 4,224,000
0.062% UN estimate
125 Puerto Rico 3,982,000
0.058% UN estimate
126 Palestine 3,935,249
0.055% Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
127 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,767,000
0.055% UN estimate
128 Republic of the Congo 3,683,000
0.054% UN estimate
129 Moldova n12 3,563,800 January 1, 2010 0.052% National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova
130 Liberia 3,476,608 March 21, 2008 0.051% 2008 Population and Housing Census
131 Uruguay 3,361,000
0.049% UN estimate
132 Lithuania 3,329,227 January 1, 2010 0.049% Eurostat estimate
133 Panama 3,322,576 May 16, 2010 0.048% Official INEC preliminary 2010 census result
134 Mauritania 3,291,000
0.048% UN estimate
135 Armenia 3,238,000 January 1, 2009 0.047% National Statistical Service of Armenia
136 Albania 3,195,000 January 1, 2010 0.047% Institute of Statistics INSTAT Albania
137 Kuwait 2,985,000
0.044% UN estimate
138 Oman 2,845,000
0.041% UN estimate
139 Mongolia 2,764,700 July 14, 2010 0.04% Official Mongolian population clock
140 Jamaica 2,719,000
0.04% UN estimate
141 Latvia 2,239,800 June 1, 2010 0.033% Official Statistics of Latvia
142 Namibia 2,171,000
0.032% UN estimate
143 Lesotho 2,067,000
0.03% UN estimate
144 Slovenia 2,061,110 July 14, 2010 0.03% Official Slovenian population clock
145 Republic of Macedonia 2,048,620 January 1, 2009 0.03% Eurostat estimate
146 Botswana 1,950,000
0.028% UN estimate
147 Gambia 1,705,000
0.025% UN estimate
148 Qatar 1,696,563 April 20, 2010 0.025% Preliminary 2010 Census Results
149 Guinea-Bissau 1,611,000
0.023% UN estimate
150 Gabon 1,475,000
0.022% UN estimate
151 Estonia 1,340,021 January 1, 2010 0.02% [2]
152 Trinidad and Tobago 1,339,000
0.02% UN estimate
153 Mauritius n13 1,288,000
0.019% UN estimate
154 Swaziland 1,185,000
0.017% UN estimate
155 East Timor 1,134,000
0.017% UN estimate
156 Djibouti 864,000
0.013% UN estimate
157 Fiji 849,000
0.012% UN estimate
158 Cyprus n14 801,851 January 1, 2010 0.012% Eurostat estimate
159 Bahrain 791,000
0.012% UN estimate
160 Guyana 762,000
0.011% UN estimate
161 Bhutan 697,000
0.01% UN estimate
162 Comoros n15 676,000
0.01% UN estimate
163 Equatorial Guinea [5] 676,000
0.007% UN estimate
164 Montenegro 624,000
0.009% UN estimate
165 Macau 542,200 December 31, 2009 0.008% Macau Statistics and Census Service
166 Solomon Islands 523,000
0.007% UN estimate
167 Suriname 520,000
0.008% UN estimate
168 Western Sahara 513,000
0.007% UN estimate
169 Cape Verde 506,000
0.007% UN estimate
170 Luxembourg 502,207 January 1, 2010 0.007% Eurostat estimate
171 Malta 416,333 January 1, 2010 0.006% Eurostat estimate
172 Brunei 400,000
0.006% UN estimate
173 Bahamas 342,000
0.005% UN estimate
174 Belize 322,100 June 30, 2008 0.005% Statistical Institute of Belize
175 Iceland 317,900 April 1, 2010 0.005% Statistics Iceland
176 Maldives 309,000
0.005% UN estimate
177 Barbados 256,000
0.004% UN estimate
178 Vanuatu 240,000
0.004% UN estimate
179 Netherlands Antilles 198,000
0.003% UN estimate
180 Samoa 179,000
0.003% UN estimate
181 Guam 178,000
0.003% UN estimate
182 Saint Lucia 172,000
0.003% UN estimate
183 São Tomé and Príncipe 163,000
0.002% UN estimate
184 Federated States of Micronesia 111,000
0.002% UN estimate
185 U.S. Virgin Islands 110,000
0.002% UN estimate
186 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 109,000
0.002% UN estimate
187 Aruba 107,000
0.002% UN estimate
188 Grenada 104,000
0.002% UN estimate
189 Tonga 104,000
0.002% UN estimate
190 Kiribati 98,000
0.001% UN estimate
191 Jersey 90,050 Mid 2007 0.001% UN estimate: Series A, Table 2
192 Antigua and Barbuda 88,000
0.001% UN estimate
193 Northern Mariana Islands 87,000
0.001% UN estimate
194 Andorra 84,082 December 31, 2009 0.001% [3]
195 Seychelles 84,000
0.001% UN estimate
196 Isle of Man 80,000
0.001% UN estimate
197 Dominica 67,000
0.001% UN estimate
198 American Samoa 67,000
0.001% UN estimate
199 Bermuda 65,000
0.001% UN estimate
200 Marshall Islands 62,000
0.001% UN estimate
201 Guernsey 61,811 March 1, 2007 0.001% UN estimate: Series A, Table 2
202 Greenland 57,000
0.001% UN estimate
203 Cayman Islands 56,000
0.001% UN estimate
204 Saint Kitts and Nevis 52,000
0.001% UN estimate
205 Faroe Islands 48,760 May 1, 2010 0.001% Official statistics of the Faroe Islands
206 Liechtenstein 35,904 December 31, 2009 0.0005% [4]
207 Monaco 33,000
0.0005%

UN estimate

208 Turks and Caicos Islands 33,000
0.0005% UN estimate
209 San Marino 32,386 Mid 2008 0.0005% UN estimate: Series A, Table 2
210 Gibraltar 31,000
0.0005% UN estimate
211 British Virgin Islands 23,000
0.0003% UN estimate
212 Cook Islands 20,000
0.0003% UN estimate
213 Palau 20,000
0.0003% UN estimate
214 Anguilla 15,000
0.0002% UN estimate
215 Tuvalu 10,000
0.0001% UN estimate
216 Nauru 10,000
0.0001% UN estimate
217 Montserrat 5,900
0.0001% UN estimate
218 Saint Helena n16 4,500
0.0001% UN estimate
219 Falkland Islands 3,000
0.00005% UN estimate
220 Niue 1,500
0.00003% UN estimate
221 Tokelau 1,200
0.00003% UN estimate
222 Vatican City 800
0.00002% UN estimate
223 Pitcairn Islands 50
0.000001% UN estimate
  1. ^ Antarctica has no permanent residents, but a number of governments maintain permanent research stations throughout the continent. The number of people varies from about 1,000 in winter to about 5,000 in the summer.
  2. ^ Figure refers to Mainland China only. It excludes the special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau) and areas controlled by the Republic of China (commonly known as "Taiwan").
  3. ^ Includes 7 French overseas collectivities: French Polynesia (259,596 inh. in Aug. 2007), New Caledonia (245,580 inh. on July 27, 2009), Mayotte (186,452 inh. in July 2007), Saint Martin (35,925 inh. in Jan. 2007), Wallis and Futuna (13,484 inh. in Jul. 2008), Saint Barthélemy (8,450 inh. in Jan. 2007), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (6,125 inh. in Jan. 2006).
  4. ^ Consists of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Kinmen, Matsu, etc.
  5. ^ Includes Christmas Island (1,508), Cocos (Keeling) Islands (628), and Norfolk Island (1,828).
  6. ^ Includes Kosovo.
  7. ^ Includes Somaliland.
  8. ^ UN figure for mid-2009 is 7,170,000, which excludes Israeli population living in the West Bank.
  9. ^ Includes Åland Islands.
  10. ^ Includes Svalbard (2,701) and Jan Mayen Island.
  11. ^ Figure includes the Republic of Abkhazia (216,000) and South Ossetia (70,000).
  12. ^ Includes Transnistria (555,347).
  13. ^ Includes Agalega, Rodrigues and St. Brandon.
  14. ^ Includes North Cyprus; UN estimate for mid-2009 is 871,000.
  15. ^ Excludes the island of Mayotte.
  16. ^ Includes Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
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