India on Wednesday surpassed China to become world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, the United Nations data showed. China has a population of 142.57 crore, according to the UN world population dashboard.
According to a UNFPA's State of the World Population Report (SWOP) 2023, about 25 per cent of India's population is in the age group of 0-14 years, 18 per cent in the 10 to 19 age group, 26 per cent in the age bracket of 10 to 24 years, 68 per cent in 15 to 64 years age group, and 7 per cent above 65 years.
The population demographics of India vary from state to state. Kerala and Punjab have an ageing population while Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have a young population, experts have said.
This is the first time that India has topped the UN list of most populous countries since it started collecting population data in 1950. The report also stated that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under one per cent in 2020.
(With PTI inputs)
