Young India Had Better Get Ready to Grow Old
The country has seized the population crown from China. It shouldn’t wait as long as its rival did to prepare for the graying of its society.
Faces of the future.
Photographer: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images
India is now the world’s largest country by population — or, at least, it will be at some point during 2023. While this shift has been a long time coming, it arrived sooner than anyone expected because China’s population appears to have begun shrinking in advance of projections.
Undivided India and China have vied across history for the population crown. The partition of India in 1947 appeared to put China permanently ahead in the numbers game. But India’s new position will likely last into mid-century and beyond. The Lancet’s projections for population in 2100 suggest India will still have over a billion people, while China will have slipped to third position, with 730 million inhabitants to Nigeria’s 750 million.