New Delhi: India has become the most populous country in the world. The ‘State of World Population Report’ of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) claimed this.
According to the organization’s dashboard on Wednesday, the population of India is 142.86 crore and that of China is 142.57 crore.
According to the report, America is far behind these two at number three with 34 crores. A major part of India’s population will be of youth, which is believed to be beneficial in the long run.
The large youth class is being seen not only as a working class but also as a large consumer class. According to an estimate, the working population in the country is close to 97 crores. This is considered a good sign. Enhancing wealth in large populations will increase local consumption, making the economy more resilient to external shocks. New opportunities will also arise due to higher consumption of the affluent population.
Based on UN data till February 2023, various experts had claimed that in April 2023, India would overtake China in population. However, there is no definite date for this in the report. UN officials believe that it is not possible to tell the date due to the uncertainty of the data received from China and India. The next census after 2011 is pending in India.
It has been told in the report that by the year 2050 India, Pakistan, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Philippine and Tanzania will be living in 50 percent of the world’s citizens, interestingly China is not in these 8 countries.
The birth rate of 113 boys per 100 girls in Azerbaijan and 112 boys in China indicates a widening gender disparity in the population here. The global average is 106 boys per 100 girls. India is also included in the 12 countries in which this ratio deteriorated more in the last 3 decades.
It took 75 years for India’s population to double. That is, the country’s population growth rate remained close to the global average.
Indians worried about increasing population –
In the report, quoting a survey conducted on about 7.8 thousand people including 1007 Indians, it was said that 63 percent of Indians are worried about the increasing population. They are seeing many economic issues arising due to this. Along with economic, Indians are also seeing its side effects on environment, human rights, sexual rights and reproductive health. However, the report says not to worry about it.
It was told in the report that in 2021, India had put forward its opposition to forced family planning. It was said in the Parliament that the government does not support such policies because their disadvantages have come to the fore. According to the report, out of total 8045 million population of the world, one-third of the people live in China and India. But now both have slowed down population growth.
For the first time in the last six decades, the population has decreased in China. On the other hand, the annual growth rate of population in India in the year 2011 was 1.2 percent. There was also a decrease in this. This figure was 1.7 percent in the previous decade. About 254 million people fall in the age group of 15 to 24 years. They can be a source of innovation, fresh thinking and sustainable solutions.
Losing the status of the world’s most populous country to India, China said that it still has around 900 million ‘quality’ workers, who will continue to accelerate its development.
Responding to the UN report, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “The benefits derived from population depend not only on quantity, but also on quality. Just as population is important, so is talent.”
Wenbin said, “China’s population is close to 140 crores. Out of these, the number of citizens of working age is around 900 million.”
