Yet the story of India’s population boom is really two stories. In the north, led by just two states, the population is still rising. In the richer south, numbers are stabilising and in some areas declining. The deepening divisions between these regions mean the government must eventually grapple with the consequences of a baby boom and an ageing population, all inside one nation.
India is currently home to more than 1.39 billion people – four times that of the US and more than 20 times the UK – while 1.41 billion live in China. But with 86,000 babies born in India every day, and 49,400 in China, India is on course to take the lead in 2023 and hit 1.65 billion people by 2060.
On 15 November the world’s population will reach 8 billion . Between now and 2050, more than half of the projected increase in the global population will happen in just eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Republic of Tanzania – and India.
The growth will place huge pressure on India’s resources, economic stability and society, and the repercussions will reach far beyond its borders. As a country on the forefront of the climate crisis, already grappling with extreme weather events 80% of the year, diminishing resources such as water could become decisive factors in what India’s future population looks like.
Fears of “population explosion” in India – where development caves in beneath the weight of an uncontrollably expanding population and the country’s resources are overrun, leaving millions to starve – have abounded for more than a century.
This story is from the November 14, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 14, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
India Modi's weakened rule may herald shift in tycoons' fortunes
Weeks before the election that weakened Narendra Modi's grip on India, the rich, powerful, and beautiful descended on his home state of Gujarat for what one Indian writer described as \"likely the most ostentatious pre-wedding ceremony the modern world has ever seen\".
Dutch progressive alliance just ahead of far right in EU elections, exit polls suggest
Leftwing and Green parties in the Netherlands have said the far right can be beaten, after exit polls showed a progressive alliance narrowly ahead of their nationalist rivals on the first day of European elections.
Billionaire brother sells stake in Asda to private equity
The billionaire brothers who partown Asda have gone their separate ways, with Zuber Issa selling his shares in the supermarket to the private equity firm TDR Capital.
'When will it be enough?' Children killed in airstrike on UN school, say survivors
Survivors of an Israeli airstrike on a UN school in central Gaza have described finding children's bodies that had been torn apart by the blast, as Israeli attacks on the area continued for a second night.
Water firm seizes stake in protester's home over withheld bill payments
South West Water has taken a legal stake in a customer's home after the owner withheld her bill payments in a protest over sewage dumping in rivers and the sea.
Look who is back Eminem storms to top of UK charts
Just over a week ago, Eminem released his 62nd single, Houdini.
From tracksuit to black suit The Piano makes a star of a fostered child prodigy
Not many acclaimed pianists get stopped by the police minutes before a televised performance.
Clause V Labour signs off manifesto - but Unite holds back
Labour has signed off its election manifesto ahead of its launch next week, despite a decision by Unite not to endorse it.
Disillusionment down on the farm Tories face defeat in their traditional rural heartlands
Since I first voted for Thatcher in 1979, I've always gone Conservative,\" says the Hertfordshire farmer Andrew Watts - a longer period than the three decades he has managed his cereal farm near the village of Puckeridge.
"The final straw' Tory campaign descends into infighting
Conservative candidates and aides have looked on aghast at the missteps of Rishi Sunak's Tory campaign over the past fortnight.