Study the following table showing the world's most populous countries and their share of the world's population, then answer questions 15 to 17.
Country % of World Population India 17.5 China 17.2 United States of America 4.2 Indonesia 3.5 Pakistan 2.8 Brazil 2.68 Nigeria 2.6 Bangladesh 2.1 Mexico 1.6
How many of the listed countries fall under Asian continent?
Study the following table showing the world's most populous countries and their share of the world's population, then answer questions 15 to 17.
| Country | % of World Population |
|---|---|
| India | 17.5 |
| China | 17.2 |
| United States of America | 4.2 |
| Indonesia | 3.5 |
| Pakistan | 2.8 |
| Brazil | 2.68 |
| Nigeria | 2.6 |
| Bangladesh | 2.1 |
| Mexico | 1.6 |
How many of the listed countries fall under Asian continent?
Options
Official answer
The correct option is C — 5.
Why this is correct:
- The Asian countries in the table are India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh — that is 5 countries.
- The remaining four (USA, Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico) belong to North America, Africa, South America and North America respectively.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: correct count of 5 Asian countries (India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh) from the table.
Hint
List every country's continent one by one before counting — do not rely on memory of population rank alone.
Quick oral answer
Five countries in the table are Asian: India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Common mistakes
- 1.Forgetting to include Bangladesh or Indonesia while counting Asian countries, since they appear lower in the population ranking.
- 2.Mistakenly counting Pakistan or Bangladesh under a different continent due to unfamiliarity with their geographic location.
Analysis and explanation
The table lists 9 of the world's most populous countries. Sorting each by continent:
Asian countries:
- India
- China
- Indonesia
- Pakistan
- Bangladesh
This gives a count of 5 Asian countries.
Non-Asian countries (for verification):
- United States of America — North America
- Nigeria — Africa
- Brazil — South America
- Mexico — North America
Why the distractors fail:
- Option A (3) and Option B (4) undercount by missing one or two of the five genuine Asian entries (a common error is forgetting Bangladesh or miscounting Indonesia as not Asian).
- Option D (6) overcounts, likely by mistakenly including a non-Asian country such as the USA or Mexico.
Only a careful continent-by-continent classification of all 9 countries confirms the correct count of 5.
Interesting facts
India overtook China in 2023 to become the world's most populous country, a shift reflected in the table's ranking with India ahead of China.
Five of the world's ten most populous countries are located in Asia, underlining the continent's disproportionate share of global population.
Question details
Q15 of 36 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 12
- Subject
- Geography
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section A
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- MCQ
- Chapter
- The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth (Fundamentals of Human Geography)
- Topic
- World Population Distribution
- Bloom's level
- apply
- Syllabus topic
- Unit 1: The World Population — Distribution: Most Populous Countries and their Continents
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
Which countries in the given table belong to Asia?
India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the five Asian countries in the table of most populous countries.
Which country recently became the world's most populous, overtaking China?
India overtook China around 2023 to become the world's most populous country, a fact reflected by India's rank above China in the given table.