India’s population to peak at 1.7 billion in 2062: UN report 

India’s population is likely to rise to 1.7 billion in 2062 before it starts declining, a United Nations report said. 

According to the UN World Population Prospects report released on Thursday, India is the most populous country in the world with 1.451 billion people, followed by China at 1.419 billion and the US at 345 million.

India will continue to remain the world’s most populous country until the end of the century, the report said. 

Currently at around 8.16 billion, the world’s population will reach 10.2 billion in 2083 before starting to decline. 

Currently, the global fertility rate stands at 2.25, down from 3.31 in 1990.

In 63 countries and areas, containing 28% of the world’s population in 2024, the size of their population peaked before 2024. This group includes China, Germany, Japan, and Russia. 

China will likely experience the largest absolute population loss of about 204 million between 2024 and 2054, the report noted. China is also likely to record the largest population decline of any country through the end of the century, registering a loss of 786 million people.

China has been clubbed together with countries that are experiencing what is sometimes referred to as “ultra-low” fertility, with fewer than 1.4 live births per woman over a lifetime. 

A level of 2.1 live births per woman is required for a population to maintain a constant size in the long run, without migration, with each generation being followed by another of roughly equal size.

By 2100, China is projected to have lost more than a half of its current population and to have returned to a population size comparable to that recorded in the late 1950s.

The population of India, on the other hand, will start declining by 12% after reaching its peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion. 

India is among 126 countries and areas where the population is likely to continue growing through 2054, potentially reaching a peak later in the century or beyond 2100. 

Besides India, this group includes several of the world’s most populous countries: Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the US. By 2054, Pakistan is likely to surpass the US as the world’s third most populous country, estimates show.