now it's predicted next year india will surpass china as having the world's largest population according to figures from the united nations both countries currently have more than 1. 4 billion people but china's slowing birth rate is expected to lead to a decline in its population according to the u. n report india is projected to have a population of 1.
668 billion in 2050. now that's way ahead of china's population which is expected to reach 1. 317 billion people by 2050.
our population correspondent stephanie hegerty told me more about this report we had very rapid acceleration of fertility rates in india and all over the world in the past 50 years or so but what we're seeing now is fertility rates have declined in india they're just above replacement levels so replacement is 2. 1 if every woman in the country has 2. 1 children which is impossible of course the population will keep replacing itself so india is just above that that that's quite a relatively low fertility rate and it means that india will keep increasing but much more slowly than it did in the past that means that india is close to this sweet spot where it could have a very healthy working age population a lower uh child and youth population and lower older population and that that that's potentially very good for the economy that's what we've seen in china over the last 20 30 years and it's really helped china accelerate its economy so fast so that's the sweet spot that india will be trying to take advantage of but tell us where china is as well and is that in some ways a predictor of what india's future could be because it sounds like india is where china was some years ago well china this year for the first time announced that its population was about to decline and that is something that the government there is very worried about they're worried about the word that there won't be enough workers to pay for pensions and to pay for the needs of of children and china's trying to do a lot to boost its population but it's really too little too late they just abandoned their one child policy in 2016.
