New data released by the UN show that India is on its way to becoming the world’s most populous nation, overtaking China with almost 3 million more people in the middle of this year.
United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) "State of World Population Report" this year showed that India’s population is estimated at 1,428.6 million, or 1.4286 billion, against 1.4257 billion for China.
The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million, the data showed in a report that reflects information available until February.
Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would surpass China this month, but the global body's latest report did not specify a date.
UN population officials have said it was not possible to specify a date because of uncertainty about the data from India and China, as India’s last census was held in 2011, and the next, due in 2021, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although both nations will account for more than a third of the estimated global population of 8.045 billion, population growth in both has been slowing, albeit much faster in China than in India.
Last year, China’s population fell for the first time in six decades, a historic turn expected to usher in a long period of decline in citizen numbers, with profound implications for its economy and the world.
India's annual population growth has averaged 1.2% since 2011, down from 1.7% in the previous decade, government data shows.
