India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country by around 2027, according to a new United Nations report released on Monday. The global population is also expected to see an increase of 2 billion in the next 30 years, making the overall population go up to 9.7 billion by 2050.
India is also expected to add 273 million people by 2050 and will remain the most populated until the end of the century. Whereas, the global population could reach its peak around the end of the current century, at a level of nearly 11 billion, according to the study, titled ''The World Population Prospects 2019".
The study, published by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, presents the main results of the 26th round of the UN's global population estimates, projections and global demographic patterns.
This study highlights that India, along with eight other countries, will make up over half of the estimated population growth between now and 2050. The nine countries expected to show the biggest increase are India, Nigeria and Pakistan, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the United States of America.
India is expected to remain the world's most populous country with nearly 1.5 billion inhabitants, followed by China at 1.1 billion, Nigeria with 733 million, the United States with 434 million, and Pakistan with an estimated population of 403 million.
These numbers regarding the population in India come in the backdrop of a recent notice issued by the Delhi High Court to the Centre regarding a PIL for legalising two-child norm as a part of the Population Control program.
According to the petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) proposed the formulation of Population Control Law under the Constitution's Article 47 (A) which is one of the directive principles of state policy that hold improvement in the level of nutrition, standard of living and public health as its primary duty.
Upadhyay in his plea also claimed that the population of India has marched ahead of China, as about 20 per cent of the population does not have Aadhaar and therefore not accounted for, as well as crores of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in the country.
The recent UN report also says that "migration flows have become a major reason for population change in certain regions."
Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines are seeing the largest migratory outflows resulting from the demand for migrant workers; and Myanmar, Syria and Venezuela are the countries where the largest numbers are leaving because of violence, insecurity or armed conflict, according to the report.
