A recent report suggests that China, followed by Japan and Russia, will experience significant population declines in the coming decades, with China projected to lose 204 million people between 2024 and 2054.
India recently surpassed China as the most populous country, but accurate data is lacking due to delays in the 2021 census caused by the pandemic.
China’s population has been declining, with only 9.02 million births reported in 2023, the lowest since records began in 1949.
Global fertility rates are also declining, with nearly one fifth of countries experiencing “ultra-low” fertility rates below what is needed for population stability.
Experts predict that the world’s population will peak by the mid-2080s at around 8.2 billion, a significant decrease from previous estimates.