India will have higher population than China by 2027: UN report

It's only a matter of eight years and India will have surpassed China as the world’s most populous country. According to a report released earlier this week, the United Nations projected India to add 273 million people by 2050 and remain the most populous country until the end of the century.

India, which currently has an estimated population of 1.37 billion, is projected to surpass China’s 1.43 billion by 2027, The Indian Express has reported.

Besides, the global population is projected to increase by 2 billion people by 2050 – from 7.7 billion in 2019 to 9.7 billion – in 30 years. The world population is expected to peak at 11 billion by the end of the century.

However, at least 55 countries, including China, are expected to see a shrink in population by at least 1 percent by 2050, as per 'The World Population Prospects 2019' published by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In China, the population is projected to shrink by 2.2 percent or 31.4 million people.

The report suggests that since 2010, 27 countries have recorded a reduction in population by at least 1 percent. The trend of a growing number of countries witnessing a reduction in population is being attributed to sustained low levels of fertility, and in some case, high rates of emigration.

Meanwhile, India is leading the set of nine countries that will contribute to more than half the projected growth of the global population by 2050.

Following the India-China reordering in 2027, the ranking of the top five most populated countries is expected to remain the same.

In short, the chart of the top five most populous countries will look like the following in 2027:

India – 1.5 billion

China – 1.1 billion

Nigeria – 733 million

United States – 434 million

Pakistan – 403 million

The report also mentioned that the overall population of the world is ageing, with the age group ‘65 and above’ growing at a fast rate. By 2050, one in six people will belong to this group, instead of one in 11 in 2019.