In this web content, the author, a demographer and fan of Middle Earth, attempts to estimate the population of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional world. The author begins by dividing Middle Earth into regions and assigning population densities based on terrain mixes. They use modern scholarly estimates of Medieval population densities as a reference. The surprising findings indicate that Middle Earth could have approximately 26 million people, in contrast to prior estimates of only 3 million people. The author also speculates on the population of different races, such as hobbits, elves, and dwarves, and examines army sizes in relation to population. Ultimately, the author concludes that there is no definitive answer to the population of Middle Earth, but their geographic approach provides some plausible estimates.
https://medium.com/@lymanstone/how-many-hobbits-a-demographic-analysis-of-middle-earth-cd53b91d141f