India on course to surpass China as the world’s most populated nation in 2023 according to a U.N. study released.
KEY POINTS
- “India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country during 2023,” the U.N. says.
- According to the U.N., its latest projections show that the global population could reach roughly 8.5 billion in 2030 and 10.4 billion in 2100.
- In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres talks of a “shared responsibility to care for our planet.”
According to a research from the population division of the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2022 there will be over 1.4 billion people living in China and India, respectively.
According to the U.N., India will overtake China as the world’s most populous nation in 2023. According to the 2011 census conducted by the Indian government, there are more than 1.2 billion people living there.
According to the U.N. study, “the world human population will exceed 8.0 billion in mid-November 2022 from an estimated 2.5 billion people in 1950.”
Looking farther out, the U.N. reported that according to its most recent estimates, the world’s population might total 8.5 billion in 2030 and 10.4 billion by 2100.
The population of the world had a “average fertility” of 2.3 births per woman over the course of a lifetime, according to the U.N. last year.
In 1950, there were around 5 births per woman, according to the study from Monday. By 2050, it was predicted that there will be 2.1 births per woman worldwide.
The report from the U.N. was made public on World Population Day. The day is “an occasion to celebrate our variety, acknowledge our shared humanity, and marvel at advances in health that have extended lifespans and substantially decreased maternal and child death rates,” according to a statement from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
At the same time, Guterres added, “it is an opportunity to reflect on where we still fall short of our pledges to one another and a reminder of our shared obligation to care for our planet.”
India will have a significant need for resources in the years to come due to its large population and robust economy. According to data from Refinitiv and industry sources cited by Reuters on Monday, the nation’s coal imports hit “a record high” in June.
The phase-out of coal, fossil fuel subsidies, and financial support for low-income nations presented challenges for the climate change agreement achieved at the COP26 meeting in November 2021.
India and China, two of the major coal consumers worldwide, asked that the Glasgow Climate Pact’s language about fossil fuels be changed at the last minute from “phase out” to “phase down” of coal. Following early protests, opposing nations eventually gave up.
