Taking a dig at India's population which surpassed China on Wednesday to become the most populous country in the world, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that while assessing a country's demographic dividend, it is also important to look at not just its size but also quality. India on Wednesday surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, according to the latest UN data. China now has a population of 142. 57 crore, thus being the second most populous country, the UN world population dashboard showed.
Chinese spokesperson Wang Wenbin said it is the talent resources that matter the most. "When assessing a country's demographic dividend, we need to look at not just its size but also its quality. Size matters, but what matters more is talent resources. Nearly 900 million of the 1.4 billion Chinese are of working age and on average have received 10.9 years of education," Wang Wenbin said.
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"China has implemented a national strategy to respond to population ageing, including a third-child policy and supporting measures to address demographic changes. As Premier Li Qiang pointed out, China's demographic dividend has not disappeared, and our talent dividend is in the making," the Chinese spokesperson added.
According to the United Nations' World Population Prospects-2022, India's population by 2050 is expected to rise to 166.8 crore while China's population would dip to 131.7 crore.
