'With 177 mn, India largest contributor to global population milestone of 8 bn'

As the world population touched 8 billion on Tuesday India was the largest contributor to the milestone having added 177 million people while China whose contribution to the next billion in the global population is projected to be in the negative the UN saidIndia is expected to surpass China as the worlds most populous nation by next yearThe UN Population Fund UNFPA in a special graphic to mark the global population reaching eight billion said Asia and Africa has driven much of this growth is expected to drive the next billion by 2037 while Europes contribution will be negative due to declining populationThe world added a billion people in the last 12 years UNFPA said that as the world adds the next billion to its tally of inhabitants Chinas contribution will be negativeIndia the largest contributor to the 8 billion 177 million will surpass China which was the second largest contributor 73 million and whose contribution to the next billion will be negative as the worlds most populous nation by 2023 UNFPA said The UN said that it took about 12 years for the world population to grow from 7 to 8 billion but the next billion is expected to take about 145 years 2037 reflecting the slowdown in global growthWorld population is projected to reach a peak of around 104 billion people during the 2080s and is expected to remain at that level until 2100Also Read China tightens restrictions as Covid19 cases riseFor the increase from 7 to 8 billion around 70 per cent of the added population was in lowincome and lowermiddleincome countriesFor the increase from 8 to 9 billion these two groups of countries are expected to account for more than 90 per cent of global growth the UN saidBetween now and 2050 the global increase in the population under the age 65 will occur entirely in low income and lowermiddleincome countries since population growth in highincome and uppermiddle income countries will occur only among those aged 65 or more it saidThe World Population Prospects 2022 released in July this year said that Indias population stands at 1412 billion in 2022 compared with Chinas 1426 billionIndia is projected to have a population of 1668 billion in 2050 ahead of Chinas 1317 billion people by the middle of the centuryAccording to UNFPA estimates 68 per cent of Indias population is between 1564 years old in 2022 while people aged 65 and older were seven per cent of the populationThe report had said that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950 having fallen under 1 per cent in 2020The worlds population could grow to around 85 billion in 2030 and 97 billion in 2050China is expected to experience an absolute decline in its population as early as 2023 the report had saidAt the launch of the report in July UnderSecretaryGeneral for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin had said that countries where population growth has slowed must prepare for an increasing proportion of older persons and in more extreme cases a decreasing population sizeiquestChina provides a clear example With the rapid ageing of its population due to the combined effects of very low fertility and increasing life expectancy growth of Chinas total population is slowing down a trend that is likely to continue in the coming decades Liu saidThe WHO pointed out that China has one of the fastest growing ageing populations in the worldThe population of people over 60 years in China is projected to reach 28 per cent by 2040 due to longer life expectancy and declining fertility rates the WHO saidIn China by 2019 there were 254 million older people aged 60 and over and 176 million older people aged 65 and overIn 2022 the two most populous regions were both in Asia Eastern and SouthEastern Asia with 23 billion people 29 per cent of the global population and Central and Southern Asia with 21 billion 26 per centChina and India with more than 14 billion each accounted for most of the population in these two regionsMore than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries the Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Ethiopia India Nigeria Pakistan the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania Countries of subSaharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050 the report added