India's Population to Reach 161 Crore by 2085, Double that of China: UN Projection

India's population is set to reach 161 crore by 2085 which is expected to be double of China's population. The projection was released as part of United Nation's report titled, '28th edition of the World Population Prospects 2024'.

As per estimates, global population will increase from 8.2 billion in 2024 to 10.3 billion in mid-2080s. It captures the demographic landscape of 237 countries from the 1950s to 2100. Reportedly, world population will continue growing for another 50 or 60 years till mid-2080s and will decline thereafter to 10.2 billion by the end of the century.

The report states that fertility rate has gone down from 3.3 live births in 1990 to 2.3 births per woman, currently. Nearly 4.7 million children, which is nearly 3.5 per cent of the global population, born in 2024 were born to girls under 18 years of age. Women population between the age of 15-49 will reach 2.2 billion in the late-2050s from 2 billion in 2024. The report also pointed out that even if per woman birth falls to the replacement level, the newborn population will still witness growth.

Post covid-19 pandemic across the globe, life expectancy is on the rise. "Globally, life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years in 2024, an increase of 8.4 years since 1995. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in an average longevity of around 77.4 years globally in 2054," the report further added.

UN report also revealed that the population size of those between the age group of 65 and above will peak to 2.2 billion. There number will surpass those below 18 by 2080. Countries with high aging population should consider the use of technology so that they can help in creating multigenerational opportunities. These steps can help countries with aging population to contribute to economic growth.