India is due to overtake China as the world’s most populous country by mid-year, the UN has said, marking a historic shift for the two Asian rivals, reports the Financial Times. According to the UN Population Fund’s World Population Dashboard, released on Wednesday, India’s growing population is to surpass 1.428 billion by mid 2023, just above the more than 1.425 billion people in China, where fertility rates are falling.
Population growth is a politically sensitive topic in China and India and both governments were subdued in their responses to the demographic milestone.
“I want to tell you that population dividends don’t only depend on quantity but also on quality,” Wang Wenbin, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Wednesday. “Our population dividend has not disappeared, our dividend is forming, and the impetus for development is strong.”
You must log in to post a comment.