News Headlines

India Is Now The World's Most Populous Country, Leaving China Behind

Swarajya StaffApr 19, 2023, 02:50 PM | Updated 02:50 PM IST
Digital rendering of the satellite view of India. (Photo: Przemek Pietrak/Wikimedia Commons)

Digital rendering of the satellite view of India. (Photo: Przemek Pietrak/Wikimedia Commons)


United Nations (UN) data showed India has surpassed China as the most populous country in the world.

India's population is 142.86 crore, while China's is 142.57 crore.

The population of India grew by 1.56 per cent this past year.

India has become the most populous country on the UN list for the first time since 1950, when the data was first collected.


China has been grappling with a decline in birth rates and an ageing workforce, with efforts to boost birth rates in certain regions failing.

India lacks recent official population data as the last census conducted was in 2011.

India's census due for 2021 — a census is held every decade in the country — had to be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Join our WhatsApp channel - no spam, only sharp analysis