In 2023, the annual household consumption expenditure in India amounted to 2.14 trillion U.S. dollars. This was an increase as compared to the previous year, when the annual household consumption expenditure amounted to just over two trillion U.S. dollars. Household consumption expenditure is the market value of goods and services purchased by households, including slow-moving consumer goods (computers, cars, and washing machines).

The changing population age structure has a significant influence on the economy, society, and numerous other aspects of a country. This paper has innovatively applied the method of compositional data forecasting for the prediction of population age changes of the young (aged 0–14), the middle-aged (aged 15–64), and the elderly (aged older than 65) in China, India, and Vietnam by 2030 based on data from 1960 to 2016. To select the best-suited forecasting model, an array of data transformation approaches and forecasting models have been extensively employed, and a large number of comparisons have been made between the aforementioned methods. The best-suited model for each country is identified considering the root mean squared error and mean absolute percent error values from the compositional data. As noted in this study, first and foremost, it is predicted that by the year 2030, China will witness the disappearance of population dividend and get mired in an aging problem far more severe than that of India or Vietnam. Second, Vietnam’s trend of change in population age structure resembles that of China, but the country will sustain its good health as a whole. Finally, the working population of India demonstrates a strong rising trend, indicating that the age structure of the Indian population still remains relatively “young”. Meanwhile, the continuous rise in the proportion of elderly population and the gradual leveling off growth of the young population have nevertheless become serious problems in the world. The present paper attempts to offer crucial insights into the Asian population size, labor market and urbanization, and, moreover, provides suggestions for a sustainable global demographic development.

India's working-age population constituted over ** percent of its total population in 2011 and was expected to grow until 2031. By 2036, a decline is expected in the share of working population from **** percent in 2031 to **** percent in 2036.

The paper highlights the higher education (HE) landscape in India, which has witnessed an expansionary path since 2000 and presently emerges as one of the largest HE systems globally, is a laggard in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) with respect to G20 nations. The policy framework for HE in India since 1968, has been inclusive with provisions for the marginalised segments. Still, there is an urgent need to enhance the capacity at the institutional rather than at the university level, at the districts in India. This will address the regional imbalances and aid in reaping this populous nation's demographic dividend. It is a given that India will not only miss Target 4.3 - for the Sustainable Development Goal to be envisaged by 2030, but also unlikely to achieve the 50% target of GER by 2035, laid out by National Education Policy 2020.

In 2025, India overtook China as the world's most populous country and now has almost 1.46 billion people. China now has the second-largest population in the world, still with just over 1.4 billion inhabitants, however, its population went into decline in 2023. Global population As of 2025, the world's population stands at almost 8.2 billion people and is expected to reach around 10.3 billion people in the 2080s, when it will then go into decline. Due to improved healthcare, sanitation, and general living conditions, the global population continues to increase; mortality rates (particularly among infants and children) are decreasing and the median age of the world population has steadily increased for decades. As for the average life expectancy in industrial and developing countries, the gap has narrowed significantly since the mid-20th century. Asia is the most populous continent on Earth; 11 of the 20 largest countries are located there. It leads the ranking of the global population by continent by far, reporting four times as many inhabitants as Africa. The Demographic Transition The population explosion over the past two centuries is part of a phenomenon known as the demographic transition. Simply put, this transition results from a drastic reduction in mortality, which then leads to a reduction in fertility, and increase in life expectancy; this interim period where death rates are low and birth rates are high is where this population explosion occurs, and population growth can remain high as the population ages. In today's most-developed countries, the transition generally began with industrialization in the 1800s, and growth has now stabilized as birth and mortality rates have re-balanced. Across less-developed countries, the stage of this transition varies; for example, China is at a later stage than India, which accounts for the change in which country is more populous - understanding the demographic transition can help understand the reason why China's population is now going into decline. The least-developed region is Sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility rates remain close to pre-industrial levels in some countries. As these countries transition, they will undergo significant rates of population growth.

In 2023, it is estimated that the BRICS countries have a combined population of 3.25 billion people, which is over 40 percent of the world population. The majority of these people live in either China or India, which have a population of more than 1.4 billion people each, while the other three countries have a combined population of just under 420 million. Comparisons Although the BRICS countries are considered the five foremost emerging economies, they are all at various stages of the demographic transition and have different levels of population development. For all of modern history, China has had the world's largest population, but rapidly dropping fertility and birth rates in recent decades mean that its population growth has slowed. In contrast, India's population growth remains much higher, and it is expected to overtake China in the next few years to become the world's most populous country. The fastest growing population in the BRICS bloc, however, is that of South Africa, which is at the earliest stage of demographic development. Russia, is the only BRICS country whose population is currently in decline, and it has been experiencing a consistent natural decline for most of the past three decades. Growing populations = growing opportunities Between 2000 and 2026, the populations of the BRICS countries is expected to grow by 625 million people, and the majority of this will be in India and China. As the economies of these two countries grow, so too do living standards and disposable income; this has resulted in the world's two most populous countries emerging as two of the most profitable markets in the world. China, sometimes called the "world's factory" has seen a rapid growth in its middle class, increased potential of its low-tier market, and its manufacturing sector is now transitioning to the production of more technologically advanced and high-end goods to meet its domestic demand.

The region of present-day China has historically been the most populous region in the world; however, its population development has fluctuated throughout history. In 2022, China was overtaken as the most populous country in the world, and current projections suggest its population is heading for a rapid decline in the coming decades. Transitions of power lead to mortality The source suggests that conflict, and the diseases brought with it, were the major obstacles to population growth throughout most of the Common Era, particularly during transitions of power between various dynasties and rulers. It estimates that the total population fell by approximately 30 million people during the 14th century due to the impact of Mongol invasions, which inflicted heavy losses on the northern population through conflict, enslavement, food instability, and the introduction of bubonic plague. Between 1850 and 1870, the total population fell once more, by more than 50 million people, through further conflict, famine and disease; the most notable of these was the Taiping Rebellion, although the Miao an Panthay Rebellions, and the Dungan Revolt, also had large death tolls. The third plague pandemic also originated in Yunnan in 1855, which killed approximately two million people in China. 20th and 21st centuries There were additional conflicts at the turn of the 20th century, which had significant geopolitical consequences for China, but did not result in the same high levels of mortality seen previously. It was not until the overlapping Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) and Second World War (1937-1945) where the death tolls reached approximately 10 and 20 million respectively. Additionally, as China attempted to industrialize during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), economic and agricultural mismanagement resulted in the deaths of tens of millions (possibly as many as 55 million) in less than four years, during the Great Chinese Famine. This mortality is not observable on the given dataset, due to the rapidity of China's demographic transition over the entire period; this saw improvements in healthcare, sanitation, and infrastructure result in sweeping changes across the population. The early 2020s marked some significant milestones in China's demographics, where it was overtaken by India as the world's most populous country, and its population also went into decline. Current projections suggest that China is heading for a "demographic disaster", as its rapidly aging population is placing significant burdens on China's economy, government, and society. In stark contrast to the restrictive "one-child policy" of the past, the government has introduced a series of pro-fertility incentives for couples to have larger families, although the impact of these policies are yet to materialize. If these current projections come true, then China's population may be around half its current size by the end of the century.

India Neonatal and Prenatal Devices Market size was valued at USD 655 Million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 1344 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 9.4% from 2024 to 2031.

High Birth Rate and Large Pediatric Population: India’s significant demographic dividend, driven by its substantial young population, underscores the critical need for advanced neonatal and prenatal healthcare technologies. In 2020, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported 25.9 million live births, with an annual birth rate of 2.6%. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) further emphasizes the importance of addressing the healthcare needs of this growing demographic to ensure better health outcomes.

Improved healthcare infrastructure and government initiatives: Particularly in maternal health, are driving significant advancements in healthcare services. Between 2018 and 2022, the Government of India increased the healthcare budget allocation for maternal and child health services.

Forecasting Results of the population structures for China, India, and Vietnam (Unit: %).

White noise tests for error series of three age periods for China, India and Vietnam.

There are approximately 8.16 billion people living in the world today, a figure that shows a dramatic increase since the beginning of the Common Era. Since the 1970s, the global population has also more than doubled in size. It is estimated that the world's population will reach and surpass 10 billion people by 2060 and plateau at around 10.3 billion in the 2080s, before it then begins to fall. Asia When it comes to number of inhabitants per continent, Asia is the most populous continent in the world by a significant margin, with roughly 60 percent of the world's population living there. Similar to other global regions, a quarter of inhabitants in Asia are under 15 years of age. The most populous nations in the world are India and China respectively; each inhabit more than three times the amount of people than the third-ranked United States. 10 of the 20 most populous countries in the world are found in Asia. Africa Interestingly, the top 20 countries with highest population growth rate are mainly countries in Africa. This is due to the present stage of Sub-Saharan Africa's demographic transition, where mortality rates are falling significantly, although fertility rates are yet to drop and match this. As much of Asia is nearing the end of its demographic transition, population growth is predicted to be much slower in this century than in the previous; in contrast, Africa's population is expected to reach almost four billion by the year 2100. Unlike demographic transitions in other continents, Africa's population development is being influenced by climate change on a scale unseen by most other global regions. Rising temperatures are exacerbating challenges such as poor sanitation, lack of infrastructure, and political instability, which have historically hindered societal progress. It remains to be seen how Africa and the world at large adapts to this crisis as it continues to cause drought, desertification, natural disasters, and climate migration across the region.

While the BRICS countries are grouped together in terms of economic development, demographic progress varies across these five countries. In 2019, India and South Africa were the only BRICS countries with a fertility rate above replacement level (2.1 births per woman). Fertility rates since 2000 show that fertility in China and Russia has either fluctuated or remained fairly steady, as these two countries are at a later stage of the demographic transition than the other three, while Brazil has reached this stage more recently. Fertility rates in India are following a similar trend to Brazil, while South Africa's rate is progressing at a much slower pace. Demographic development is inextricably linked with economic growth; for example, as fertility rates drop, female participation in the workforce increases, as does the average age, which then leads to higher productivity and a more profitable domestic market.

IntroductionThe surgical volume indicator measures surgical activity within a population, but it does not fully untangle the details behind the statistical indicator. As health systems evolve and countries develop economically, the types of surgeries performed, providers, and levels of healthcare facilities may provide a richer understanding of changes in surgical activity. This research studied surgical activity in four diverse settings by analyzing initial data to assess trends in patient characteristics, surgical staff, case distribution, level of care, and anesthesia practices, forming the basis for a “surgical transition” framework.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of surgical volume data from four studies in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, and India, to assess trends in surgical distribution. Descriptive statistics were used to compare surgical volumes by population subgroups, surgical providers, case distribution, level of care, and anesthesia.ResultsFindings show that countries with higher GDP per capita had greater surgical volumes, more specialist providers, and a broader, more advanced case mix. Increases in surgical volume were most notable among older age groups, gender disparities in access diminished as systems developed. In lower-income settings, a large share of surgeries were cesarean sections or other procedures for women of reproductive age, while there were more surgeries in the older population in more advanced economies. The proportion of essential surgeries, including for example surgeries for obstetric complications, abdominal emergencies and injuries, remained stable between low- and lower-middle-income countries, decreasing only with further economic development. Specialist-performed procedures increased with economic growth, resulting in greater surgical variety and complexity.DiscussionChanges in surgical volume must be understood within the broader context of societal and economic development as well as the health system. The concept of “surgical transition” highlights how demographic and socioeconomic progress is reflected in the quantity, diversity, and complexity of surgical services. As countries advance, internal priorities, such as healthcare policies, financing, infrastructure, and service delivery mechanisms, also evolve. These factors influence surgical care delivery. Each phase of the surgical transition presents different challenges and needs. Recognizing the phase of surgical transition can help guide strategies and establish realistic interim targets for the global surgical indicators, making them more actionable tools for measuring progress and comparing systems.