India population to surpass China by nearly 3m in mid-2023: U.N.

Report confirms inevitable change atop global leaderboard as challenges loom

A crowd gathers at a beach in Mumbai for New Year's celebrations: The United Nations says that by mid-year, India will have nearly 3 million more people than China. © Reuters

KIRAN SHARMA, Nikkei staff writer

April 19, 2023 18:49 JST

NEW DELHI -- India will have nearly 3 million more people than China by the middle of this year, becoming the world's most populous nation -- if it is not already -- a United Nations report released on Wednesday shows.

The latest State of World Population Report, issued by the United Nations Population Fund, estimates the Indian population for mid-2023 at 1.4286 billion, versus 1.4257 billion for China.