India surpasses China to become world’s most populous nation: UN

India surpasses China to become world’s most populous nation

India has surpassed China to become the world’s most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, according to the latest United Nations data. With the latest statistics, China now has a population of 142.57 crores, becoming the second most populous country.

Buy Prime Test Series for all Banking, SSC, Insurance & other exams

According to a new UNFPA report, 25 per cent of India’s population is in the age group of 0-14 years, 18 per cent in the 10 to 19 age group, 26 per cent in the age bracket of 10 to 24 years, 68 per cent in 15 to 64 years age group, and 7 per cent above 65 years. As per experts, Kerala and Punjab have an ageing population, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have a young population. Several studies, carried out by different agencies, have shown that India’s population is expected to increase for nearly three decades before it peaks at 165 crores. It will then start to decline, as per reports.

Other important detail in the report:

• According to the UN data, the global population will have hit 8.045 billion by mid-2023.
• Estimates by different agencies have suggested that India’s population is expected to keep rising for nearly three decades before it peaks at 165 crore and then would start declining.
• In Africa also, the trend of the rising population can be seen. It is estimated that the world’s second-largest continent will witness a spike in its population from 1.4 to 3.9 billion inhabitants by 2100.
• Eight nations with more than 10 million inhabitants, most of them in Europe, saw their populations shrink over the past decade.
• Japan is also seeing a decline due to its ageing population, losing more than three million inhabitants between 2011 and 2021.
• The population of the entire planet, meanwhile, is only expected to decline in the 2090s, after peaking at 10.4 billion, the UN has projected.
• The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million, the data showed in a report that reflects information available until February. Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would surpass China this month, but the global body’s latest report did not specify a date.
• Asia’s third-largest economy is now home to nearly a fifth of humanity — greater than the entire population of Europe or Africa or the Americas. While this is also true for China for now, that’s expected to change as India’s population is forecast to keep ticking up and touch 1.668 billion by 2050 when China’s population contracts to about 1.317 billion.