Guwahati: Assam’s population is expected to touch almost 4 crores in 2036 as it is growing at a rate of over 1% annually and is expected to rise by next 14 years.
Reportedly, a technical group constituted by the National Commissaion on Population (NCP) to prepare the population projections for the period 2011 to 2036, the population increase will push the density in the state from 392 to 502 persons per sqare km.
The report said the country’s population is expected to increase from 121.1 crore to 152.2 crore during this period at rate of 1% anually.
On Monday, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on World Population Day took to Twitter to “reaffirm our commitment for population stabilization by reducing infant mortality, ensuring maternal health, strengthening family planning methods etc”. With the rise in population, the state’s sex ratio is also expected to rise from the current ratio of 958 to 976. The report said the population of male is expected to reach 1,94,64,000 in 2036.
Because of increase in life expectancy by 6.2 years for females and 6 years for males, the state is expected to see an increase in population of older people (60=) from over 19lakh to over 53lakh by 2036, as per the report. In the next 14 years, the share of population of people who are 60+ in the state will be over 13%. And similarly, a drop in infant mortality and under-five mortality rates will also contribute to the population growth.
According to the report, the states which are expected to have least growth during 2011-2036 are Himachal Pradesh (6%), Tamil Nadu (8%) and Delhi will have the highest projected growth of 98% during the period.
In Northeast, Manipur’s population is projected to grow in the range of 10-20% while that in Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal is projected to increase by more than 30% during the period.