India has the world’s second-largest population, standing at 1.41 billion people in 2022 against China’s population of 1.45 billion. But this is about to change. It is predicted that by 2026 India will overtake China and have the largest population (see Figure 1). For the first time, however, India’s National Health Survey has reported that the number of births per woman has fallen below 2.1, which is the number required to keep the population stable, also known as the replacement level.
Most Indians live in rural areas with only about one third of the population living in cities, although this is changing too due to rural–urban migration, as people leave the countryside hoping to find more opportunities in the cites. Birth rates are lower in urban areas, averaging 1.6 births per woman compared to the countryside, where birth rates average 2.1 births per woman.
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