Population-wise India will likely surpass China by nearly three million people by mid-2023, according to the forecast from the United Nations.
Estimates from the UN indicate that India’s population will have reached 1.4285 billion by the middle of the year. China, on the other hand, will likely have a population of 1.4257 billion. Last year China’s population went down for the first time in more than 60 years, according to official data.
UN also estimates that by mid-2023 the world’s human population will likely reach 8.045 billion.
India does not have the latest population census data to present, because the last time this country performed one was in 2011. India performs population census once every decade. It was planned to perform one in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the government to postpone it. There are plans to hold one in the near future.
Critics of the Indian government believe they are intentionally postponing the population census in order to hide data about remaining problems, such as unemployment, before next year’s elections.
US Pew Research Center’s estimates indicates India’s population has increased by more than five billion people since 1950, when the UN started compiling population data.
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