India has only 38 years before its population starts shrinking: UN Report

By 2100, the top three most populous countries in the world will be India, China and Pakistan

India's peak population is likely to be 1.701 billion, and the country is expected to reach that mark in 2062, according to the United Nations (UN) World Population Prospects report released on Thursday. This means it has 38 years before it hits its population peak.

Currently, India is the most populous country in the world and is likely to remain so until the end of the century, it added.

According to the data shared by the UN, India's population will start declining between January and July 2062. That year, India is likely to add 222,000 people to its population. After that, India's population will start declining. In 2063, the country would lose around 115,000 people. In 2064, this number would increase to 437,000 and 793,000 in 2065.

The report also showed that currently, India is the most populous country in the world. It is home to 1.451 billion people. It is followed by China at 1.419 billion and the United States at 345 million.

Interestingly, by 2054, India and China would retain their positions, but Pakistan would overtake the United States to become the third most populous country with a population of 389 million people. These rankings will then continue until the end of the 21st century.

For the world, the UN said that the total population would start declining in 2083 at around 10.2 billion. Between January and July 2083, the world's population would start declining. Currently, the global population is around 8.16 billion.

Moreover, the countries which will record the highest jump in their populations between 2024 and 2054 are in Africa. In nine countries - Angola, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, and Somalia - very rapid growth is projected, with their total population doubling between 2024 and 2054.

However, in around 100 countries and areas, the share of the population at working ages (between 20 and 64 years) will continue to increase more rapidly than the total population between now and 2054, providing a window of opportunity, known as the demographic dividend. India is one such country.

It added that by 2080, people aged above 65 years will outnumber those under 18 years.

"Countries, especially those with populations that have already peaked or will peak in the next decades, should consider leveraging technology, including automation, to improve productivity at all ages," the UN said.

"They should also design more opportunities for lifelong learning and retraining, support multigenerational workforces and create opportunities to extend working lives for those who can and want to continue working."

The report also highlighted that globally, women are having one child fewer, on average, than they did around 1990. In more than half of all countries and areas, the average number of live births per woman is below 2.1 — the level required for a population to maintain a constant size over the long term without migration.

Nearly one-fifth of all countries and areas, including China, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and Spain, now have "ultra-low" fertility, with fewer than 1.4 live births per woman over a lifetime.