LONDON: India is set to overtake China and become the world’s most populous country in 2022 — six years sooner than previously forecast, the United Nations says. Both countries have over 1 billion people each.
Fast-growing Nigeria is to outstrip the US by about 2050 to become the country with the third largest population, the UN predicted.
The current global population of 7.3 billion is forecast to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, slightly above the last set of UN projections.
Most growth will happen in developing regions, particularly Africa, according to the World Population Prospects report.
Demographic forecasts are crucial for designing and implementing global development goals being launched later this year to replace Millennium Development Goals.
John Wilmoth, Head, UN Population Division, said the concentration of growth in the poorest countries would make it harder to eradicate poverty, combat hunger and expand schooling and health systems.
Experts predict Africa will account for more than half the world’s population growth in 35 years.
Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia are projected to increase populations five-fold or more by 2100.
Declining fertility and rising life expectancy mean the world is getting greyer, and most regions will have an ageing population, starting with Europe where one-third of the population is projected to be over 60 by 2050.
Globally, the number of people aged 80 or over — currently 125 million is projected to more than triple by 2050 and more than seven times by 2100.
But populations in many regions are still young. In Africa, children under 15 account for two-fifths of the population.
Reuters