India set to overtake China as world's most populous nation
India is expected to overtake China as the world's most populous country this year even though its population growth has been slowing down, the United Nations says.
China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy and the world.
India estimates its population at 1.38 billion, compared to China's 1.4 billion.
At a children's hospital in the Indian capital New Delhi, newborn babies were being kept under observation at its neonatal intensive care unit.
Doctor Rinku Sengupta Dhar, a senior consultant at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, said that although a high population has its advantages such as a young workforce, it also presented a challenge to economic growth and resources.
For Nikita Bhola, mother to a one-day-old son, however, giving her three-year-old daughter a sibling was important. Bhola said she was elated at the birth of her baby boy.
“I always wanted to have one of each,” she said.
On the streets of the Indian capital, people felt that the government needed to take steps to tame its population growth, which is actually slowing down.
The South Asian nation's annual population growth has averaged 1.2% since 2011, down from 1.7% in the previous 10 years.
"They should bring out some rules and regulations that help in controlling our country’s population,” New Delhi resident Azhar Khan said.
“When the country’s population is in control, then only we can develop further.”
The use of family planning methods in India increased to 66.67% in 2019-21, up from 53.5% in 2015-16.
India's total fertility rate - the number of children per woman - fell to 2 in 2019-2021, down from 3.4 in 1992-93.
With 27.3% of its population aged between 15 and 29 years, India is among the youngest countries in the world.
Reuters
