NEW DELHI: India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in the next eight years.

As per a United Nations report, India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050 and remain the most populated country through the end of the current century.

“India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050, while the population of Nigeria is projected to grow by 200 million. Together, these two countries could account for 23 per cent of the global population increase to 2050,” the report has said.

Previous UN projections had estimated that India will surpass China as the world’s most populous country as early as 2022.

The 2017 world population report, released by the UN two years ago, had estimated that the population of India will surpass that of China’s by around 2024.

China, with 1.43 billion people in 2019, and India, with 1.37 billion, have long been the two most populous countries of the world, comprising 19 and 18 per cent, respectively, of the global total in 2019. They are followed by the United States of America.

In China, the population is projected to decrease by 31.4 million, or around 2.2 per cent, between 2019 and 2050.

(Agencies)