India is set to become the world’s most populous country. This comes after the United Nations released data on the same on Wednesday. As per the data, the population of India is pegged to reach 142.86 crores by mid-2023.

india population
The World Economic Forum

According to UN estimates, it pegs the population of China at 142.57 crores. This is the first time that India has topped the United Nations’ list of populous countries since it started collecting human population data back in 1950. China has noticed a decline in its birth rate and despite multiple efforts by the government, it hasn’t been able to reverse that. In the UN data, China’s numbers do not include Hong Kong and Macau, the Special Administrative Regions of China, and Taiwan.

The UN World Population Dashboard shows that the global population will have hit approximately 59,636 crores by mid-2023. For India, a higher population will mean a higher demand for jobs. India has no official Census data about its population since 2011. The census was due in 2021 but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the exercise.

Ranked second according to its GDP in the Asia Pacific, India’s population is steadily on a rise. As per an NDTV report, global estimates suggest that India’s population will rise till it peaks at 165 crores and then it would start declining.

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