This is a list of Anseriformes species by global population. Where possible, estimates are given for both the population of mature individuals, and the total global population. This list follows IUCN classifications for species names and taxonomy. Where IUCN classifications differ from other ornithological authorities, alternative names and species classifications are noted.

Anseriformes (Anser being Latin for "goose") is the taxonomic order to which the ducks, geese, swans, and screamers belong. Version 15.1 (2025) of the IOC World Bird List describes 178 species belonging to Anseriformes, six of which are extinct. As of December 2025, BirdLife International has assessed 176 species (excepting Mexican Duck and the split of Taiga/Tundra bean goose); 168 (95% of assessed species) have had total or breeding population estimated. A variety of methods are used for counting waterfowl. For example, in North America, national and sub-national agencies use planes and helicopters to make aerial transects of breeding populations, and extrapolate these counts over the species' known ranges. Methodologies are continuously being refined; thus estimates can be expected to become more accurate over time. Forecasts can be made by studying habitat condition trends and by interviewing local experts. For more information on how these estimates were ascertained, see Wikipedia's articles on population biology and population ecology.

The first two birds in this list, the pink-headed duck and crested shelduck, retain a status of Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List but may be extinct. The last sighting of the former occurred in 1948-1949, but some dispute this date and argue the species was last reliably documented in the 1930s, 1923, or 1910. The last pink-headed ducks in captivity died in the 1940s. Unconfirmed reports from Myanmar provide some hope this species is still extant.

The last confirmed reporting of the crested shelduck was in 1964 near Vladivostok. A disputed record from North Korea was claimed in March 1971. Unconfirmed reports from Northeast China are the best chance this species is still extant. To be assessed as Critically Endangered, a species must have experienced a decline of at least 80% in the past ten years or three generations, or be projected to decline that much in the future ten years or three generations. Some species included in this list are rapidly approaching their minimum viable population (MVP), at which point the species would become functionally extinct.

Extinct species Réunion shelduck or Réunion sheldgoose; Alopochen kervazoi: known only from fossils; extinct by 1710. Mauritius shelduck or Mauritius sheldgoose; Alopochen mauritania: described by Johannes Pretorius (as sheldgoose) in 1669; extinct by 1698. Amsterdam duck or Amsterdam wigeon; Mareca marecula: known from fossils, extinct by 1793 due to hunting and introduced rats. Mauritius duck or Mascarene teal; Anas theodori: early explorers described "a great number of grey teal" on Mauritius in 1681, which may have referred to this bird.Cheke, A. S. (1987). "An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions and introductions of land vertebrates". In Diamond, A. W. (ed.). Studies of Mascarene Island Birds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 19, 34–35. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511735769.003. . Last reported in 1696. Mariana mallard; Anas oustaleti: considered by some taxonomists to be a subspecies of the mallard or American black duck. Last known individual died in captivity in 1981. Finsch's duck; Chenonetta finschi: once very abundant, went extinct between 1250-1860. Labrador duck; Camptorhynchus labradorius: hunted to extinction; last seen in 1875. New Zealand merganser or Auckland Island merganser; Mergus australis: hunted to extinction; last recorded in 1902.

Species by global population Common nameBinomial namePopulationStatusTrendNotesImage Pink-headed duck Rhodonessa caryophyllacea 0-49 ? May be extinct. No documented sightings have occurred since the early 20th century. Crested shelduck Tadorna cristata 1-49 ? May be extinct. Last reliable sighting occurred in 1964. Madagascar pochard Aythya innotata 30-50 Rediscovered in 2006. Best estimate of current mature individuals is 45. Brazilian merganser Mergus octosetaceus 50-249 This is a precautionary estimate. Actual population may exceed this estimate. White-winged duckAsarcornis scutulata150-450 Baer's pochard Aythya baeri 150-700 Laysan duckAnas laysanensis 500-680 The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimated in 2022 that total population contains 1413 individuals between populations on Laysan, Midway, and Kure. Campbell tealAnas nesiotis > c. 500 No formal count has been conducted. This is an opportunistic estimate. Madagascar teal (Bernier's teal)Anas bernieri 630-1,900 Total population is not given. This estimate for mature individuals is based on multiple counts. Hawaiian duck Anas wyvilliana 700-999 Total population estimated at 751-1,185 individuals. Auckland teal Anas aucklandica 330-1,700 1,000-1,700 First given estimate is obtained from considering multiple counts over the years. The second is purely the 2021 estimate. Andaman tealAnas albogularis1,000-2,500 Estimate is for mature individuals only; numbers may be higher. Meller's duck Anas melleri 1,300-3,300 Total population estimated at 2,000-5,000 individuals. Blue duckHymenolaimus malacorhynchos 1,500-2,499 Brown tealAnas chlorotis 1,600-2,200 Total population estimated at 2,400-3,400 individuals. Hawaiian goose (Nēnē)Branta sandvicensis 1,700-2,200 Scaly-sided merganser Mergus squamatus 2,000-3,500 Spectacled duck (Bronze-winged teal)Speculanas specularis 2,500-9,999 Population size has not been directly estimated. Number of mature individuals likely toward lower end of estimate. Blue-winged goose Cyanochen cyanoptera 3,000-7,000 White-headed steamerduck (Chubut steamer duck)Tachyeres leucocephalus 3,400-3,700 Total population estimated at 5,300-5,600 individuals from a count in 2011. Maccoa duck Oxyura maccoa 4,800-5,700 Estimate from observations in East and South Africa. White-headed duck Oxyura leucocephala 5,300-8,700 Total population estimated at 7,900-20,000 individuals based on separate metrics. A large portion of the population (central Asia) is likely not recorded. West Indian whistling-duck Dendrocygna arborea 6,000-15,000 Total population conservatively estimated at 10,000-19,999 individuals. Spotted whistling-duckDendrocygna guttata 6,700-17,000 Total population estimated at 10,000-25,000 individuals. Magellanic steamerduck (Flightless steamer duck; Fuegian steamer duck)Tachyeres pteneres6,700-67,000There is little to no evidence of any declines in population, so assumed to be stable. There is no total population estimate. Coscoroba swan Coscoroba coscoroba 7,000-19,999 Total population estimated at 10,000-25,000 individuals. Freckled duckStictonetta naevosa 7,300-17,000 Total population estimated at 11,000-26,000 individuals. Flying steamerduckTachyeres patachonicus7,300-18,000Global population is estimated at 11,000-26,000 individuals. Falkland Islands population is estimated at 600–1,200 total birds. White-backed duck Thalassornis leuconotus 8,500-20,000 Total population estimated at 13,000-30,000 individuals. Salvadori's teal Salvadorina waigiuensis >10,000 ? Population size has not been quantified. Estimate given is based on extremely rough estimates for LC classification. Black-headed duckHeteronetta atricapilla10,000-25,000*?*This population estimate is an outdated best guess, and likely a large underestimate. It has not been censused over most of its range. Marbled duck Marmaronetta angustirostris 10,000-42,000 Total population is estimated at 15,000-61,250 individuals. Species counts come from four discrete flyways, some of which are outdated. Sunda tealAnas gibberifrons10,000-100,000 ?Total population is unknown. Cape Barren goose Cereopsis novaehollandiae 11,000-12,000 Total population estimated at 16,000-18,000 individuals. Blue-billed duckOxyura australis 11,000-19,000 Best estimate for number of mature individuals is 15,000. Torrent duckMerganetta armata13,300-23,500Total population estimated to be 20,000-35,200 individuals.Cape shovelerSpatula smithii13,300-33,300 Total population estimated to be 20,000-50,000 individuals.Radjah shelduckRadjah radjah13,300-133,000Total population is estimated to be 20,000-200,000 individuals. Philippine duck Anas luzonica 15,000-30,000 Total population is estimated to fall between 20,000 and 40,000 from post-2020 censuses. Orinoco gooseNeochen jubata 15,000-40,000 Lesser white-fronted gooseAnser erythropus 16,000-27,000 Global population estimated to be 24,000-40,000 individuals. Current European breeding population estimated ~420 birds. Masked duck Nomonyx dominicus 16,000-200,000 These are extreme estimates due to uncertainty on population. Comb duckSarkidiornis sylvicola16,700-66,700 Total population estimated to be 25,000-100,000 individuals. Horned screamerAnhima cornuta16,700-66,700Total population estimated to be 25,000-100,000 individuals.Ashy-headed gooseChloephaga poliocephala16,700-66,700Total population estimated to be 25,000-100,000 individuals.Andean gooseChloephaga melanoptera16,700-66,700Total population estimated to be 25,000-100,000 individuals. Hartlaub's duck Pteronetta hartlaubii 16,700-73,300 Total population estimated to be 25,001-110,000 individuals. Red shovelerSpatula platalea16,700-667,000Total population is estimated to be 25,000-1,000,000 individuals.Cape tealAnas capensis17,200-55,000Total population is estimated to be 25,751-82,500 individuals.Black-necked swanCygnus melancoryphus17,300-67,900Total population is estimated to be 25,900-101,800 individuals. Red-breasted goose Branta ruficollis 19,000-48,000 Best estimate for breeding population is 33,000. Total population estimated to be 28,100-72,600.Cuthbert, R., and Aarvak, T. 2016. Population Estimates and Survey Methods for Migratory Goose Species in Northern Kazakhstan. AEWA Lesser White-fronted Goose International Working Group Report Series No. 5. Bonn, Germany. African black duckAnas sparsa19,400-46,700Total population is estimated to be 29,100-70,100 individuals.South African shelduckTadorna cana20,000Total population is estimated to be 30,000 individuals. Andean teal Anas andium 20,000-30,000 Total population estimated to be <40,000 individuals.Musk duckBiziura lobata20,000-49,999Total population estimated to be 10,000-60,000 individuals.Southern pochardNetta erythrophthalma20,000-65,000Total population estimated to be 30,002-97,500 individuals. New Zealand scaup Aythya novaeseelandiae 20,000-100,000 Andean duckOxyura ferruginea23,300-73,300 Total population is estimated to be 35,000-110,000 individuals. Lake duckOxyura vittata25,000-100,000 Values given are total estimated population size.Ringed tealCallonetta leucophrys25,000-100,000 Values given are total estimated population size. Falkland steamerduckTachyeres brachypterus27,000-48,000IUCN does not provide a population estimate. Values are likely outdated, with the last survey of this species concluding in 1993.Crested duckLophonetta specularioides27,300-107,000Total population is estimated to be 41,000-161,000 individuals. Ruddy-headed goose Chloephaga rubidiceps 28,500-54,700 Total population is estimated to be 42,744-82,000 individuals. Southern pintail (Eaton's pintail)Anas eatoni 30,000-40,000 Total population is estimated at 45,000-60,000 in Kergeulen Islands; additional 1,800-2,100 in Crozet Islands. Bar-headed gooseAnser indicus32,300-36,400IUCN does not report a population estimate.