In 2028, just 15 years away, India is expected to become the world’s most populous country, when it will cross China’s population of 1.45 billion.
India’s population will continue to explode, rising to 1.6 billion by the turn of the century, after which it will decline to 1.5 billion.
In contrast, China’s population is expected to start decreasing from 2030, and is then likely to stabilise at 1.1 billion by 2100.
A United Nations report on “World Population Prospects” released in New York on Thursday says there will be 8.1 billion people on the planet by 2025, up from today’s 7.2 billion.
Demographers note most of the population boom will be in developing regions, rising from 5.9 billion this year to 8.2 billion in 2050.
In this period, the population of developed nations is likely to stay constant at 1.3 billion.
India, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, the United States and several African countries, such as Nigeria, are set to double their population, and are largely fuelling this boom.
Nigeria’s population is expected to outstrip that of the United States by 2050.