THE GUARDIAN: Milestone marks the first time since 1950 that China has dropped to second place in global population ranks
India has overtaken China as the world’s most populous country, according to UN population estimates, the most significant shift in global demographics since records began.
According to the UN’s projections, which are calculated through a variety of factors including census data and birth and death rates, India now has a population of 1,425,775,850, surpassing China for the first time.
It is also the first time since 1950, when the UN first began keeping global population records, that China has been knocked off the top spot.
China’s population decline follows decades of strict laws to bring the country’s booming birthrate under control, including the introduction of a one-child policy in the 1980s. This included fines for having extra children, forced abortions and sterilisations. While initially highly effective in controlling the population, these policies became a victim of their own success, and the country is now grappling with an ageing population in steep decline, which could have severe economic implications.
Part of the problem is that because of a traditional preference for boys, the one-child policy led to a massive gender imbalance. Men now outnumber women by about 32 million. “How can the country now shore up birth rates, with millions of missing women?” asks Mei Fong, the author of One Child, a book about the impact of the policy. » | Hannah Ellis-Petersen | South Asia correspondent | Monday, April 24, 2023
