Not China, India is Now Most Populous Country?

Mar 10, 2022, 13:31 IST

Is it true that India has surpassed China as the world's most populated country?

As per the Chinese news agency I-Media, India surpassed China as the world's most populous country on March 4, 2022, with a population of 1,415,653,821.

There has been no official declaration from either China or India, according to the I-Media report, with netizens sharing the source of the Indian population (Live). Despite this, the report has been making the rounds on social media, with some believing it to be true and others doubting the source.

Professor Huang Yinghong of OP Jindal Global University responded to the viral charges. "It’s internet disinformation that India has overtaken China in population size," he told Global Times.

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According to Huang, comparing the two populations is only useful if they're calculated using the same statistical method, and the number claimed by self-media isn't from an official Indian source.

Every ten years, India conducts an official census. The most recent (the 15th Indian Census) took place in 2011. The 16th Indian Census, scheduled for 2021, has been postponed due to the pandemic.

According to the most recent government data, China's population increased to 1.4126 billion people by the end of 2021. According to Worldometer, a reputable American source for worldwide statistics, India's current population is 1.403 billion people as of March 9, 2022.

According to the United Nations World Population Prospects, India may overtake China as the world's most populous country by 2027.

Congrats to #India for overtaking China and becoming the country with the world largest population at 11:58am March 4, 2022. India's population reached 1.415bn on Fri, while China's was 1.412bn. According to relevant statistics, China's population only rose by 480,000 last year. pic.twitter.com/EgcauHtBed

— FrontSource (@FrontSource) March 5, 2022