Guwahati: India has overtaken China to become World’s Most Populated Country by 1,428.6 million population. India Ranked 1st in Most Populated Country. A UNITED NATIONS survey on Wednesday revealed that India has overtaken China to become the world’s most populous country in the current year.
According to the latest data, India now has 2.9 million more people than China. UNFPA’s ‘The State of World Population Report, 2023’, titled ‘8 Billion Lives, Infinities: The Case for Rights and Choice’, released on Wednesday notes that India’s current population is 1,428.6 million and China has a population of 1,425.7 million.
According to government data, China’s population contracted for the first time last year (2022) after more than six decades.
According to the United Nations data, China reached the peak of its population last year. And since then the population started declining. On the contrary, the population of India increased.
India’s population has overtaken China for the first time since the 1950s when the United Nations started collecting and releasing population data.
The UNFPA report notes that 25 per cent of India’s population is in the age group of 0-14 years, 18 per cent in 10-19 years, 26 per cent in 10-24, 68 per cent in 15-64, and 7 per cent above 65.
UnfPA’s India representative Andrea Wojnar said, “Its youth population in a consumer-driven economy will be a major factor for the development of the country and will provide a huge opportunity for the country’s economic growth.”
Chinese demography expert Huang Wenzheng said “India’s advantage is that it is still growing. But the bottom line is not whether India’s total population has surpassed that of China but India now has more than twice as many new babies as China whose total fertility rate is almost twice which means that India’s population will be much larger than China in the long run.”
Overall, the UNFPA report calls for a “radical rethink” of how the population is prepared. It has urged politicians and the media to give up over-narratives about population growth and bustling statues.
“Women’s bodies should not be held captive to population targets,” said Natalia Kanem, executive director of UNFPA. ”