New Delhi: India has become the world's most populous country, overtaking China, shows data released by the United Nations today. According to UN estimates, India's population is 142.86 crore against China's 142.57 crore.
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.
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.
Estimates by different agencies have suggested that India's population is expected to keep rising for nearly three decades before it peaks at 165 crore and then would start declining.
The new UN report also estimated that the global population will have hit 8.045 billion by mid-2023.
Other countries, mostly in Europe and Asia, can expect a demographic slump over the coming decades, according to other UN figures published last July which forecast how the world's population will develop between now and 2100.