UNITED NATIONS: India’s population could surpass that of China’s around 2024, two years later than previously estimated, and is projected to touch 1.5 billion in 2030, according to a UN forecast.
The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said that currently China with 1.41 billion inhabitants and India with 1.34
billion remain the two most populous countries, comprising 19 and 18 per cent of the total global population. “In roughly seven years, or around 2024, the population of India is expected to
surpass that of China,” the report said.
The 2017 Revision of World Population Prospects is the 25th round of official UN population estimates and projections. In its 24th round of estimates released in 2015, it was projected that the population of India will surpass that of China’s by 2022.
The new estimates released here today said that in 2024, India and China are expected
to have roughly a population of 1.44 billion each. After that, India’s population is
projected to continue growing for several decades to around 1.5 billion in 2030 and
approaching 1.66 billion in 2050, while the population of China is projected to remain
stable until the 2030s, after which it may begin a slow decline.
India’s population may eventually see a decline in the half century after 2050 to 1.51
billion by 2100 but it will still be the most populous country in the world.
