The United Nation’s data has revealed that India has surpassed China as the world’s most populous country.
According to mid-2023 estimates by the UN’s World Population dashboard, India’s population stands at 1.4286 billion as against China’s 1.4257 billion people.
Data have it that China’s figures do not include Hong Kong and Macau, Special Administrative Regions of China, and Taiwan.
Remarkably, this is the first time that India has topped the UN list of most populous countries since it started collecting population data in 1950.
Reports have it that China is facing a looming demographic decline as birth rates plunge and its workforce ages.
It was also gathered that several regions have announced plans to boost birth rates — but official efforts have so far failed to reverse the decline.
Reports have it that India has no recent official data on how many people it has because it has not conducted a census since 2011.
According to UN data, nearly one-quarter of India’s population is under the age of 14, as 68 per cent of the population is in the 15 to 64 age group, while 7 per cent is above the age of 65.
