Latest data released by the United Nations has shown that India has become the world’s most populous country thereby overtaking China.
According to UN India’s population is estimated to be 1.4286 billion, compared to China’s 1.4257 billion.
This is the first time that India has topped the UN list of most populous countries since it started collecting population data in 1950.
China is facing a looming demographic decline as birth rates plunge and its workforce ages. Several regions have also announced plans to boost birth rates — but official efforts have so far failed to reverse the decline.
According to reports, India has no recent official data on how many people it has because it has not conducted a census since 2011.
India’s once-in-a-decade census was due to be held in 2021 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly 1/4th of India’s population is under the age of 14, according to the UN data. 68 per cent of the population is in the 15 to 64 age group, while 7 per cent is above the age of 65.
