India to be most populous: UN Report

In a report released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), India is projected to be the most populous country by 2050, overtaking China. The theme of the report is “Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights”.

Indian in Comparison
The “State of World Population Report, 2008”, released in New Delhi by Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed, says the world population will increase from 674.9 crore to 919.1 crore by 2050. Following points could be deduced from the report:
1. Indian population, now 118.6 crore, is projected to be 165.8 crore in 2050 as against 140.8 crore projected for China.
2. India’s population growth rate is projected at 1.5 per cent during 2005-10 compared to 0.6 per cent for China.
3. India’s current fertility rate is 2.78 compared to 1.73 in China.
4. Pakistan’s population of 16.7 crore will become 29.2 crore in 2050.
5. Sri Lanka would witness a negative growth, from 1.94 crore to 1.87 crore.

Demographics of India
India occupies 2.4 % of world’s land area and supports over 17.5 % of the world’s population. Indaa has more arable land area than any country except the United States, and more water area than any country except Canada and the United States. India’s population of approximately 1,147,996 million as estimated in July 2008, (1,028.7 million as per 2001 Census) comprises approximately one-sixth of the world’s population. According to estimates of 2007, Indian population growth rate is 1.38 %, Birth rate is 22.69 births/1,000 population and Death rate is 6.58 deaths/1,000 population.