This number is expected to be 2.96 million more than the population of China. The numbers are from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)'s State of World Population 2023 report released on Wednesday. Official population figures for India are not available after 2011 - it was 1.21 billion back then - as the government has indefinitely postponed the 2021 census citing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Almost 360 million of India's population is under the age of 15, and 600 million under the age of 40, bestowing the country with a demographic dividend of a kind that no other country, including China, has enjoyed in recent decades. With the right focus on education and health, this young population could power India's economy, experts believe.
India's population could have already exceeded China's anytime since January 1, and if it hasn't, it will definitely do so latest by July 1. The exact date when the crossover has happened is difficult to ascertain, Anna Jefferys, media and crisis communications advisor, UNFPA, said over email.
To be sure, UNFPA's findings are not exactly new as the numbers used in the report are based on World Population Prospects (WPP) data released in July 2022 by the UN. HT had analysed the WPP numbers when they were released.
WPP projections show that India's population will reach a peak of 1.697 billion in 2063. China's population, which started declining in 2022 is expected to fall to 1.168 billion by that time.
While India's population will keep increasing for the next four decades, its population growth rate is already on a declining trajectory.
This story is from the April 20, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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This story is from the April 20, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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