India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050. (Photo:kumbh.gov.in)

India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country in the next eight years.

As per a United Nations report, released on Monday, India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050 and remain the most populated country through the end of the current century.

"India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050, while the population of Nigeria is projected to grow by 200 million. Together, these two countries could account for 23 per cent of the global population increase to 2050," the report has said.

Previous UN projections had estimated that India will surpass China as the world's most populous country as early as 2022.

The 2017 world population report, released by the UN two years ago, had estimated that the population of India will surpass that of China's by around 2024.

China, with 1.43 billion people in 2019, and India, with 1.37 billion, have long been the two most populous countries of the world, comprising 19 and 18 per cent, respectively, of the global total in 2019. They are followed by the United States of America.

WORLD POPULATION TO INCREASE BY 2 BILLION IN 30 YEARS

The UN report 'The World Population Prospects 2019' added that the world's population is expected to increase by two billion people in the next 30 years -- from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050.

The report said more than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just nine countries, led by India and followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the US.

POPULATION GROWING OLDER

The report also confirmed that the world's population is growing older due to increasing life expectancy and falling fertility levels, and that the number of countries experiencing a reduction in population size is growing.

By 2050, one in six people in the world will be over age 65 (16 per cent), up from one in 11 in 2019 (9 per cent). The number of persons aged 80 years or over is projected to triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin said the report offers a roadmap indicating where to target action and interventions.

"Many of the fastest growing populations are in the poorest countries, where population growth brings additional challenges in the effort to eradicate poverty, achieve greater equality, combat hunger and malnutrition and strengthen the coverage and quality of health and education systems to ensure that no one is left behind."

A growing number of countries are experiencing a reduction in population size. Since 2010, 27 countries or areas have experienced a reduction of one per cent or more in the size of their populations, caused by sustained low levels of fertility.

In China, the population is projected to decrease by 31.4 million, or around 2.2 per cent, between 2019 and 2050.

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