UN: India Overtakes China to Become Most Populous Nation with 142.86 Million People

With 1.428 billion people, India is close to overtaking China as the world’s most populated nation, according to a UN report released on Wednesday. India has 1.428 billion people as of mid-year, in comparison with China’s 1.425 billion, according to the UN Population Fund’s State of the World Population Report. The UN cited population estimates that represented the projected dimensions of national inhabitants at the halfway point of the year.

China had a fertility rate of 1.2, whereas India’s was 2.0. Since the UN started gathering and publishing population data in 1950, India has now surpassed China in terms of population for the first time. India’s total population is substantially more youthful, has a higher fertility rate, and has seen a decline in premature births over the past three decades, in contrast to China’s aging population and sluggish development.

According to the report, 25% of Indians are in the 0–14 age group, followed by 18% in the 10–19 age range, 26% in the 10–24 age range, 68% in the 15–64 age range, and 7% who are 65 or over. The similar percentages for China are 17%, 12%, 18%, 69%, and 14%, meaning that there are around 200 million people in the nation who are over 65.

With a projected 340 million people, the United States comes in third place behind India and China, according to the research. According to estimates from several organizations, India’s population would continue to grow for around three decades before reaching a peak of 165 crores, at which point it will begin to decline. According to analysts, the populations of Kerala, Punjab, and Bihar are getting older while those of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are younger.

China’s Shrinking Population

According to AFP, China’s population decreased this past year for the very first time since 1960, when Mao Zedong’s terrible agricultural policies caused millions of people to starve to death. The slowdown has been attributed by many to the rising cost of living, the rise in the number of women entering the workforce, and the increase in female students pursuing higher education.

In response to concerns about population growth, Beijing abandoned its rigorous “one-child policy” in 2016 and began allowing individuals to have a total of three children starting in 2021.