India To Become World’s No. 1 In Population By 2023

Till now, China had the world’s most population. But sometime next year, the birth of a baby will tilt the balance towards India. India will stand as the most populous country in the world. Well, it is an achievement of sorts, but is it what the country really needs?

Currently, India has a population of more than 1.39 billion people – 4 times that of the USA and more than 20 times the United Kingdom – while 1.41 billion live in China. But with more than 85,000 babies born in India every day, and 49,400 in China, India is on course to become number 1 in 2023 and hit 1.65 billion people by 2060.

A huge population brings with it various problems that are quite visible right now. For starters, the north-south divide in terms of population will widen.

Another major issue is climate change and how it will impact the resources available to a large number of people. From housing to water to sanitation, food security, and life security, there are many challenges that a country so large would be forced to face. We all know, Chennai went without water in 2019.

To top it all, while India is looking at a ‘one child policy’ like in China, it could result in around 70 percent aging population also like in China. Also, there are Muslim minorities who think the family planning measures being talked about are a veiled way to curtail their population.

In all, with the world all set to breach the 8 billion population mark, it is said that the global population will continue to rise in these eight countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Republic of Tanzania and of course India.