We all know China as the overpopulated country with the streets full of masses and barely any breathing room. But that’s about to change. While China had claimed the title and relation to overpopulation and crowded streets, it is now about to be dethroned from its crammed and overcrowded rank. Because by the end of this week India is expected to reach numbers never before seen, by becoming the most populous country in the world.
According to the United Nations, a total of 1,425,775,850 people are anticipated in India by the end of this month. To put this into perspectives, the US is still in the millions, and it is larger than India.
The speed with which it is happening is astonishing, because while China is expected to be surpassed by the end of this week, by the middle of the year India is expected to already have 2.9 million more people than China.
However, something that also factors into this is the fact that China is not only waiting to be dethroned, but its population is also expected to decline as India’s continues to grow. With its population shrinking last year for the first time since 1961, it could drop below 1 billion before the end of the century.
The million-dollar question is, what does this mean for China? Let’s just say this, population tends to be the key to economic productivity and growth. In the words of BBC News: “In short, China is getting old before it gets rich”
In fact, Robert Blohm, an economist and managing director of Keen Resources Asia, expresses that “China’s demographic decline is the single biggest factor driving down China’s economic growth”
The overpopulation of India, combined with the detrimental side effects of the decrease in population of China, may mean that the country’s notorious title of the “world’s factory” may be heartlessly ripped away. Since a scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reveals that a lot of “production capacity will be moved to India”
In other words, India is the new China, so expect to no longer see Made in China on your favorite product, because it will soon be changed to Made in India.
