India’s population is projected to peak at approximately 1.7 billion in the early 2060s, followed by a decline of 12%, but the country will remain the world’s most populous nation through 2100, according to a recent United Nations report. The World Population Prospects 2024 report highlights that the global population, currently at 8.2 billion, is expected to reach around 10.3 billion by the mid-2080s before gradually declining to 10.2 billion by the end of the century. Despite surpassing China as the world’s most populous country last year, India’s population is forecasted to decline to 1.5 billion by 2100, maintaining its status as the largest population throughout the century.
The report also notes significant demographic shifts for other nations, particularly China, which is expected to see its population fall from the current 1.41 billion to 633 million by 2100. This would be the largest absolute population decline among all countries, driven by sustained low fertility rates. Additionally, Pakistan is projected to overtake the United States as the third-largest country by 2054. Globally, the fertility rate has decreased from 3.31 births per woman in 1990 to 2.25 in 2024. The report indicates that over half of the world’s countries now have fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman, leading to smaller population sizes in the long run.
