India has overtaken China to become the world’s most populous country, according to mid-year estimates released in a report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Wednesday 19 April. The UNFPA report ‘The State of World Population Report, 2023’ showed that India now has 2.9 million more people than China. This follows projections made in the UN’s World Population Prospects 2022, which forecasted India to surpass China as the world’s most populous country by mid-2023. According to the report, India’s population is now 1.4286 billion, while China’s stood at 1.4257 billion.
The UNFPA report defined ‘Total Population’ as the estimated size of the national population at mid-year. The report also highlighted that in India, 25% of the population are children aged 0-14, while 18% are aged 10-19. The report further mentioned that 26% belong to the 10-24 age group and about 68% are in the 15-64 age category, while those above 65 are just 7%.
The report drew attention to the issues of women’s decreased right to bodily autonomy, stating that 44% of partnered women and girls in 68 reporting countries do not have the right to make informed decisions about their bodies on matters of sex, contraception and seeking health care. The report revealed that close to 257 million women worldwide have an unmet need for safe, reliable contraception. Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director at Population Foundation of India, said in a statement that many women lack control over their bodies, including the right to decide when and how many children to have.
The UNFPA has recommended that governments create policies that promote gender equality and rights, including parental leave programmes, child tax credits, policies that promote gender equality in the workplace, and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Regarding the increase in India’s population, Andrea Wojnar, the representative for UNFPA India, stated that the findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public, but population numbers should not trigger anxiety or create alarm. Instead, they should be seen as a symbol of progress, development, and aspirations if individual rights and choices are being upheld.
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