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India may have already overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation
- India’s population stands at an estimated 1.417 billion – a little over 5 million more than the 1.412 billion reported by China on Tuesday
- Although India’s population growth has slowed, demographics experts expect the number of people in the country to continue to rise until at least 2050
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India may have already surpassed China as the world’s most-populous nation in a milestone that adds urgency for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create more jobs and ensure the country sustains its world-beating growth.
The South Asian nation’s population stood at 1.417 billion as of end 2022, according to estimates from the World Population Review, an independent organisation focused on census and demographics.
That’s a little over 5 million more than the 1.412 billion reported by China on Tuesday when authorities there announced the first decline since the 1960s.
India, where half the population is under the age of 30, is set to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy in the coming years. To make the most of the demographic dividend, Modi needs to create jobs for the millions of people entering the workforce every year as the nation moves away from farm jobs.
The United Nations had expected the milestone to be reached later this year. As of January 18, India’s population had already climbed to 1.423 billion, according to WPR.
Another estimate by research platform Macrotrends puts the latest number for India at 1.428 billion. The country didn’t publish its once-in-a-decade census data in 2021, after deferring population surveys due to pandemic disruptions.
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