India's population is expected to reach its peak of around 1.7 billion people in the early 2060s before declining by 12 percent, according to a new United Nations report. Despite this decline, India will remain the world's most populous country throughout the 21st century.

The World Population Prospects 2024 report, released on Thursday, projects that the global population will continue to grow for the next 50-60 years, peaking at approximately 10.3 billion people in the mid-2080s. Following this peak, the global population is expected to gradually decline, reaching 10.2 billion by the end of the century.

India, which overtook China as the world's most populous nation last year, will continue to hold this position through 2100. The report, published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Population Division, states, "The population of India, expected to remain the world's largest throughout the century, will likely decline by 12 percent after reaching its peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion."

Currently, India's population is projected to be 1.45 billion in 2024 and will grow to 1.69 billion by 2054. After peaking, the population is expected to decline to 1.5 billion by 2100, but India will still be the most populous nation on Earth.

During a press conference, Clare Menozzi, Senior Population Affairs Officer at UN DESA, said, "India is currently the largest country in the world in terms of population, and it is projected to stay so throughout the century. The population is currently estimated at 1.45 billion and is expected to increase to 1.69 billion."

She added, "It's supposed to peak around the 2060s in size and then start to slightly decline. So by the end of the century, India is projected to be around 1.5 billion, but still the largest country in the world by a large margin."

In contrast, China's population, currently at 1.41 billion, is projected to decline to 1.21 billion by 2054 and further decrease to 633 million by 2100. The report highlights that China will likely experience the largest absolute population loss between 2024 and 2054, with a decline of 204 million people, followed by Japan (21 million) and Russia (10 million).

The report also notes that due to China's large size and low fertility rates, it is expected to record the largest population decline of any country through the end of the century, potentially losing more than half of its current population. By 2100, China is projected to have a population size comparable to the late 1950s, with a 50 percent probability.

John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division at UN DESA, explained, "The low population projection for China relates to the current fertility level observed, which is around one birth per woman on average. Given that 2.1 births are needed to maintain the current population without migration, such low fertility levels produce a long-run decline that is quite significant."

He added that this trend is not unique to China but is also observed in other countries with similarly low fertility rates.

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