tate of the World Population 2019, the flagship report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has been released.
India- specific findings:
- India accounts for over one-sixth of the world’s population in 2019 (1.37 billion out of 7.71 billion).
- It has grown at a rate (1.2% per year between 2010 and 2019) that is just over the world growth rate (1.2%).
- India’s life expectancy at birth is lower than the world’s (69 years to 72).
- It scores higher than the global average in terms of access to healthcare during childbirth, and also has a much lower adolescent birth rate.
- India’s maternal mortality ratio in 2015 was 174 deaths per lakh live births (down from 448 in 1994) while the global MMR in 2015 was 216.
- India’s fertility rate in 2019 is 2.3 births per woman, compared to 2.5 worldwide.
Top five most populous countries will look like the following in 2027:
- India – 1.5 billion.
- China – 1.1 billion.
- Nigeria – 733 million.
- United States – 434 million.
- Pakistan – 403 million.
Challenges ahead:
- Early marriage continues to present a major cultural obstacle to female empowerment and better reproductive rights.
- The absence of reproductive and sexual rights has a major and negative repercussions on women’s education, income and safety, leaving them “unable to shape their own futures”.
- About 35 million women, girls and young people will need life-saving sexual and reproductive health services this year, as well as services to address gender-based violence, in humanitarian settings.
- Overall population of the world is ageing, with the age group ‘65 and above’ growing at a fast rate. By 2050, one in six people will belong to this group, instead of one in 11 in 2019.
