India is now the world’s “most populous” nation, data released by the United Nations has revealed.
The country with a population of 1.4286 billion has slightly overtaken China, which has 1.4257 billion people, although China’s numbers did not include Hong Kong and Macau, special administrative regions of China, and Taiwan.
According to the mid-2023 estimates by the UN’s World Population dashboard, India’s population is under 30.
The country will also be the world’s fastest-growing major economy in the coming years.
The burgeoning population would add urgency for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to create employment for the millions of people entering the workforce as the nation moves away from farm jobs.