diff --git a/controller/placeholder.js b/controller/placeholder.js
index d5f7d169..d488f54c 100644
--- a/controller/placeholder.js
+++ b/controller/placeholder.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ const Document = require('pelias-model').Document;
 // composition of toNumber and isFinite, useful for single call to convert a value
 //  to a number, then checking to see if it's finite
 const isFiniteNumber = _.flow(_.toNumber, _.isFinite);
+const isNonNegativeFiniteNumber = _.flow(_.toNumber, (val) => { return val >= 0; });
 
 // returns true if all 4 ,-delimited (max) substrings are parseable as finite numbers
 // '12.12,21.21,13.13,31.31'       returns true
@@ -63,8 +64,8 @@ function synthesizeDocs(boundaryCountry, result) {
     logger.error(`could not parse bbox for id ${result.id}: ${result.geom.bbox}`);
   }
 
-  if (_.conformsTo(result, { 'population': isFiniteNumber })) {
-    doc.setPopulation(result.population);
+  if (_.conformsTo(result, { 'population': isNonNegativeFiniteNumber })) {
+    doc.setPopulation(_.toNumber(result.population));
   }
 
   _.defaultTo(result.lineage, [])
diff --git a/test/unit/controller/placeholder.js b/test/unit/controller/placeholder.js
index a4ccc272..ea30603d 100644
--- a/test/unit/controller/placeholder.js
+++ b/test/unit/controller/placeholder.js
@@ -357,6 +357,119 @@ module.exports.tests.success = (test, common) => {
 
   });
 
+  test('results with string population should convert to number', (t) => {
+    const logger = require('pelias-mock-logger')();
+
+    const placeholder_service = (req, callback) => {
+      t.deepEqual(req, { param1: 'param1 value' });
+
+      const response = [
+        {
+          id: 123,
+          name: 'name 1',
+          placetype: 'neighbourhood',
+          population: '123.4',
+          geom: {
+            area: 12.34
+          }
+        }
+      ];
+
+      callback(null, response);
+    };
+
+    const controller = proxyquire('../../../controller/placeholder', {
+      'pelias-logger': logger
+    })(placeholder_service, _.constant(true));
+
+    const req = { param1: 'param1 value' };
+    const res = { };
+
+    controller(req, res, () => {
+      const expected_res = {
+        meta: {},
+        data: [
+          {
+            _id: '123',
+            _type: 'neighbourhood',
+            layer: 'neighbourhood',
+            source: 'whosonfirst',
+            source_id: '123',
+            population: 123.4,
+            name: {
+              'default': 'name 1'
+            },
+            phrase: {
+              'default': 'name 1'
+            },
+            parent: { }
+          }
+        ]
+      };
+
+      t.deepEquals(res, expected_res);
+      t.ok(logger.isInfoMessage('[controller:placeholder] [result_count:1]'));
+      t.end();
+    });
+
+  });
+
+  test('results with negative population should not set population', (t) => {
+    const logger = require('pelias-mock-logger')();
+
+    const placeholder_service = (req, callback) => {
+      t.deepEqual(req, { param1: 'param1 value' });
+
+      const response = [
+        {
+          id: 123,
+          name: 'name 1',
+          placetype: 'neighbourhood',
+          population: -1,
+          geom: {
+            area: 12.34
+          }
+        }
+      ];
+
+      callback(null, response);
+    };
+
+    const controller = proxyquire('../../../controller/placeholder', {
+      'pelias-logger': logger
+    })(placeholder_service, _.constant(true));
+
+    const req = { param1: 'param1 value' };
+    const res = { };
+
+    controller(req, res, () => {
+      const expected_res = {
+        meta: {},
+        data: [
+          {
+            _id: '123',
+            _type: 'neighbourhood',
+            layer: 'neighbourhood',
+            source: 'whosonfirst',
+            source_id: '123',
+            name: {
+              'default': 'name 1'
+            },
+            phrase: {
+              'default': 'name 1'
+            },
+            parent: { }
+          }
+        ]
+      };
+
+      t.deepEquals(res, expected_res);
+      t.ok(logger.isInfoMessage('[controller:placeholder] [result_count:1]'));
+      t.end();
+    });
+
+  });
+
   test('results with undefined or empty name should be skipped', (t) => {
     [undefined, '', ' \t '].forEach((invalid_name) => {
       const logger = require('pelias-mock-logger')();