The statistic shows the total population of India from 2019 to 2029. In 2023, the estimated total population in India amounted to approximately 1.43 billion people.

Total population in India

India currently has the second-largest population in the world and is projected to overtake top-ranking China within forty years. Its residents comprise more than one-seventh of the entire world’s population, and despite a slowly decreasing fertility rate (which still exceeds the replacement rate and keeps the median age of the population relatively low), an increasing life expectancy adds to an expanding population. In comparison with other countries whose populations are decreasing, such as Japan, India has a relatively small share of aged population, which indicates the probability of lower death rates and higher retention of the existing population.

With a land mass of less than half that of the United States and a population almost four times greater, India has recognized potential problems of its growing population. Government attempts to implement family planning programs have achieved varying degrees of success. Initiatives such as sterilization programs in the 1970s have been blamed for creating general antipathy to family planning, but the combined efforts of various family planning and contraception programs have helped halve fertility rates since the 1960s. The population growth rate has correspondingly shrunk as well, but has not yet reached less than one percent growth per year.

As home to thousands of ethnic groups, hundreds of languages, and numerous religions, a cohesive and broadly-supported effort to reduce population growth is difficult to create. Despite that, India is one country to watch in coming years. It is also a growing economic power; among other measures, its GDP per capita was expected to triple between 2003 and 2013 and was listed as the third-ranked country for its share of the global gross domestic product.

India population growth rate for 2023 was 0.88%, a 0.09% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India population growth rate for 2022 was <strong>0.79%</strong>, a <strong>0.03% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>India population growth rate for 2021 was <strong>0.82%</strong>, a <strong>0.15% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>India population growth rate for 2020 was <strong>0.97%</strong>, a <strong>0.07% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

According to latest figures, the Chinese population decreased by 1.39 million to around 1.408 billion people in 2024. After decades of rapid growth, China arrived at the turning point of its demographic development in 2022, which was earlier than expected. The annual population decrease is estimated to remain at moderate levels until around 2030 but to accelerate thereafter. Population development in China China had for a long time been the country with the largest population worldwide, but according to UN estimates, it has been overtaken by India in 2023. As the population in India is still growing, the country is very likely to remain being home of the largest population on earth in the near future. Due to several mechanisms put into place by the Chinese government as well as changing circumstances in the working and social environment of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades, displaying an annual population growth rate of -0.1 percent in 2024. Nevertheless, compared to the world population in total, China held a share of about 17 percent of the overall global population in 2024. China's aging population In terms of demographic developments, the birth control efforts of the Chinese government had considerable effects on the demographic pyramid in China. Upon closer examination of the age distribution, a clear trend of an aging population becomes visible. In order to curb the negative effects of an aging population, the Chinese government abolished the one-child policy in 2015, which had been in effect since 1979, and introduced a three-child policy in May 2021. However, many Chinese parents nowadays are reluctant to have a second or third child, as is the case in most of the developed countries in the world. The number of births in China varied in the years following the abolishment of the one-child policy, but did not increase considerably. Among the reasons most prominent for parents not having more children are the rising living costs and costs for child care, growing work pressure, a growing trend towards self-realization and individualism, and changing social behaviors.

India fertility rate for 2025 is 2.11, a 0.8% decline from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India fertility rate for 2024 was <strong>2.12</strong>, a <strong>7.44% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>India fertility rate for 2023 was <strong>1.98</strong>, a <strong>0.95% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>India fertility rate for 2022 was <strong>1.99</strong>, a <strong>0.99% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.

The annual population growth in India increased by 0.1 percentage points (+12.66 percent) in 2023. This was the first time during the observed period that the population growth has increased in India. Population growth refers to the annual change in population, and is based on the balance between birth and death rates, as well as migration.Find more key insights for the annual population growth in countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

India birth rate for 2025 is 16.55, a 1.19% decline from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India birth rate for 2024 was <strong>16.75</strong>, a <strong>3.74% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>India birth rate for 2023 was <strong>16.15</strong>, a <strong>1.16% decline</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>India birth rate for 2022 was <strong>16.34</strong>, a <strong>0.94% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for India (SPPOPGROWIND) from 1961 to 2024 about India, population, and rate.

From now until 2100, India and China will remain the most populous countries in the world, however China's population decline has already started, and it is on course to fall by around 50 percent in the 2090s; while India's population decline is projected to begin in the 2060s. Of the 10 most populous countries in the world in 2100, five will be located in Asia, four in Africa, as well as the United States. Rapid growth in Africa Rapid population growth across Africa will see the continent's population grow from around 1.5 billion people in 2024 to 3.8 billion in 2100. Additionally, unlike China or India, population growth in many of these countries is not expected to go into decline, and instead is expected to continue well into the 2100s. Previous estimates had projected these countries' populations would be much higher by 2100 (the 2019 report estimated Nigeria's population would exceed 650 million), yet the increased threat of the climate crisis and persistent instability is delaying demographic development and extending population growth. The U.S. as an outlier Compared to the nine other largest populations in 2100, the United States stands out as it is more demographically advanced, politically stable, and economically stronger. However, while most other so-called "advanced countries" are projected to see their population decline drastically in the coming decades, the U.S. population is projected to continue growing into the 2100s. This will largely be driven by high rates of immigration into the U.S., which will drive growth despite fertility rates being around 1.6 births per woman (below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman), and the slowing rate of life expectancy. Current projections estimate the U.S. will have a net migration rate over 1.2 million people per year for the remainder of the century.

The percentage distribution for population projections for the age groups 0 to 4 reflected a decrease in the year 2036 in comparison to 2011. This could be attributed to the projected declining fertility rates in the country. By contrast, the age groups from 40-44 to 80+ reflected an increase in the population projections in 2036 when compared with 2011. This projected increase in geriatric population within the country could be attributed to advancements made in the field of medical sciences, biotechnology and improved health care.

The graph shows the population growth in China from 2000 to 2024. In 2024, the Chinese population decreased by about 0.1 percent or 1.39 million to around 1.408 billion people. Declining population growth in China Due to strict birth control measures by the Chinese government as well as changing family and work situations of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades. Although the gradual abolition of the one-child policy from 2014 on led to temporarily higher birth figures, growth rates further decreased in recent years. As of 2024, leading countries in population growth could almost exclusively be found on the African continent and the Arabian Peninsula. Nevertheless, as of mid 2024, Asia ranked first by a wide margin among the continents in terms of absolute population. Future development of Chinese population The Chinese population reached a maximum of 1,412.6 million people in 2021 but decreased by 850,000 in 2022 and another 2.08 million in 2023. Until 2022, China had still ranked the world’s most populous country, but it was overtaken by India in 2023. Apart from the population decrease, a clear growth trend in Chinese cities is visible. By 2024, around 67 percent of Chinese people lived in urban areas, compared to merely 36 percent in 2000.

The projected crude birth rate in India, at national level, was expected to decrease to about 13 births per thousand people by 2031 to 2035 as opposed to the national crude birth rate from 2011 to 2015 which stood at more than 20 births per thousand people. At state level, Bihar reflected the highest crude birth rate from 2011 to 2015 as well as the highest projected crude birth rate from 2031-2035. By contrast, the states with the lowest projected crude birth rates were Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh during the same time period.

Total Fertility Rate may be defined as average number of children that would be born to a woman if she experiences the current fertility pattern throughout her reproductive span (15-49 years). The total fertility rate is a more direct measure of the level of fertility than the birth rate, since it refers to births per woman. This indicator shows the potential for population change in a country. A TFR of 2.1 i.e., two children per women is considered the replacement rate for a population, resulting in relative stability in terms of total population numbers. Rates above two children per woman indicate population growing in size and whose median age is declining. Rates below two children per woman indicate population decreasing in size and growing older. Office of Registrar General, India estates TFR annually through Sample Registration System, a large scales demographic Survey Conducted by them.

Vital Statistics: Birth Rate: per 1000 Population: Sikkim: Urban data was reported at 18.200 NA in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 19.000 NA for 2019. Vital Statistics: Birth Rate: per 1000 Population: Sikkim: Urban data is updated yearly, averaging 16.700 NA from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2020, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.000 NA in 2019 and a record low of 13.400 NA in 2003. Vital Statistics: Birth Rate: per 1000 Population: Sikkim: Urban data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAH002: Vital Statistics: Birth Rate: by States.

In 2022, 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

Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: per 1000 Population: Tamil Nadu: Urban data was reported at 8.500 NA in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.100 NA for 2019. Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: per 1000 Population: Tamil Nadu: Urban data is updated yearly, averaging 9.300 NA from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2020, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.800 NA in 2001 and a record low of 8.500 NA in 2020. Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: per 1000 Population: Tamil Nadu: Urban data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAH004: Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: by States.

Historical chart and dataset showing India rural population by year from 1960 to 2023.

Background

Large carnivores maintain the stability and functioning of ecosystems. Currently, many carnivore species face declining population sizes due to natural and anthropogenic pressures. The leopard, Panthera pardus, is probably the most widely distributed and highly adaptable large felid globally, still persisting in most of its historic range. However, we lack subspecies-level data on country or regional scale on population trends, as ecological monitoring approaches are difficult to apply on such wide-ranging species. We used genetic data from leopards sampled across the Indian subcontinent to investigate population structure and patterns of demographic decline.

Methods

We collected faecal samples from the Terai-Arc landscape of north India and identified 56 unique individuals using a panel of 13 microsatellite markers. We merged this data with already available 143 leopard individuals and assessed genetic structure at country scale. Subsequently, we investigated the demographic history of each identified subpopulations and compared genetic decline analyses with countrywide local extinction probabilities.

Results

Our genetic analyses revealed four distinct subpopulations corresponding to Western Ghats, Deccan Plateau-Semi Arid, Shivalik and Terai region of the north Indian landscape, each with high genetic variation. Coalescent simulations with microsatellite loci revealed a possibly human-induced 75-90% population decline between ∼120-200 years ago across India. Population-specific estimates of genetic decline are in concordance with ecological estimates of local extinction probabilities in these subpopulations obtained from occupancy modeling of the historic and current distribution of leopards in India.

Conclusions

Our results confirm the population decline of a widely distributed, adaptable large carnivore. We re-iterate the relevance of indirect genetic methods for such species in conjunction with occupancy assessment and recommend that detailed, landscape-level ecological studies on leopard populations are critical to future conservation efforts. Our approaches and inference are relevant to other widely distributed, seemingly unaffected carnivores such as the leopard.

Methods Research permissions and ethical considerations

All required permissions for our field surveys and biological sampling were provided by the Forest Departments of Uttarakhand (Permit no: 90/5-6), Uttar Pradesh (Permit no: 1127/23-2-12(G) and 1891/23-2-12) and Bihar (Permit no: Wildlife-589). Due to non-invasive nature of sampling, no ethical clearance was required for this study.

Sampling

To detect population structure and past population demography it is important to obtain genetic samples from different leopard habitats all across the study area. In this study, we used leopard genetic data generated from non-invasive samples collected across the Indian subcontinent. We conducted extensive field surveys across the Indian part of Terai-Arc landscape (TAL) covering the north-Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 2016-2018. This region has already been studied for large carnivore occupancy using traditional camera trapping as well as field surveys (Johnsingh et al., 2004; Harihar et al., 2009; Jhala et al., 2015; Chanchani et al., 2016). We foot surveyed all existing trails covering the entire region to collect faecal samples. Number of trails walked in a particular area was decided based on existing knowledge of leopard presence by the local people and frontline staff members of the sampling team. We collected a total of 778 fresh large carnivore faecal samples. These samples were collected from both inside (n=469) and outside (n=309) protected areas from different parts of this landscape. In the field, the samples were judged as large carnivores based on several physical characteristics such as scrape marks, tracks, faecal diameter etc. All faecal samples were collected in wax paper and stored individually in sterile zip-lock bags and stored inside dry, dark boxes in the field for a maximum of two weeks period (Biswas et al., 2019). All samples were collected with GPS locations and were transferred to the laboratory and stored in -20°C freezers until further processing.

In addition to the north Indian samples collected in this study, we used genetic data previously described in Mondol et al. (2015), representing mostly the Western Ghats and central Indian landscape. The data was earlier used in forensic analyses to assign seized leopard samples to their potential geographic origins in India (Mondol et al., 2015). Out of the 173 individual leopards described in the earlier study, we removed data from related individuals and samples with insufficient data (n=30) and used the remaining 143 samples for analyses in this study. These samples were collected from the states of Kerala (n=5), Tamil Nadu (n=4), Karnataka (n=53), Andhra Pradesh (n=3), Madhya Pradesh (n=12), Maharashtra (n=46), Gujarat (n=2), Rajasthan (n=5), Himachal Pradesh (n=8), Jharkhand (n=1), West Bengal (n=2) and Assam (n=2), respectively. The sample locations are presented in Figure 1.

DNA extraction, species and individual identification

For all field-collected faecal samples, DNA extraction was performed using protocols described in Biswas et al. (2019). In brief, each frozen faeces was thawed to room temperature and the upper layer was swabbed twice with Phosphate buffer saline (PBS) saturated sterile cotton applicators (HiMedia). The swabs were lysed with 30 µl of Proteinase K (20mg/ml) and 300 µl of ATL buffer (Qiagen Inc., Hilden, Germany) overnight at 56°C, followed by Qiagen DNeasy tissue DNA kit extraction protocol. DNA was eluted twice in 100 µl preheated 1X TE buffer. For every set of samples, extraction negatives were included to monitor possible contaminations.

Species identification was performed using leopard-specific multiplex PCR assay with NADH4 and NADH2 region primers described in Mondol et al., (2014) and cytochrome b primers used in Maroju et al., (2016). PCR reactions were done in 10 µl volumes containing 3.5 µl multiplex buffer mix (Qiagen Inc., Hilden, Germany), 4 µM BSA, 0.2 µM primer mix and 3 µl of scat DNA with conditions including initial denaturation (95°C for 15 min); 40 cycles of denaturation (94°C for 30 s), annealing (Ta for 30 s) and extension (72°C for 35 s); followed by a final extension (72°C for 10 min). Negative controls were included to monitor possible contamination. Leopard faeces were identified by viewing species-specific bands of 130 bp (NADH4) and 190 bp (NADH2) (Mondol et al., 2014) and 277 bp (cytochrome b) (Maroju et al., 2016) in 2% agarose gel.

For individual identification, we used the same panel of 13 microsatellite loci previously used in Mondol et al. (2014) (Table 1). To generate comparable data with the samples used from earlier study by Mondol et al. (2014) we employed stringent laboratory protocols. All PCR amplifications were performed in 10 µl volumes containing 5 µl Qiagen multiplex PCR buffer mix (QIAGEN Inc., Hilden, Germany), 0.2 µM labelled forward primer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA), 0.2 µM unlabelled reverse primer, 4 µM BSA and 3 µl of the faecal DNA extract. The reactions were performed in an ABI thermocycler with conditions including initial denaturation (94°C for 15 min); 45 cycles of denaturation (94°C for 30 sec), annealing (Ta for 30 sec) and extension (72°C for 30 sec); followed by final extension (72°C for 30 min). Multiple primers were multiplexed to reduce cost and save DNA (Table 1). PCR negatives were incorporated in all reaction setups to monitor possible contamination. The PCR products were analyzed using an automated ABI 3500XL Bioanalyzer with LIZ 500 size standard (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) and alleles were scored with GENEMAPPER version 4.0 (Softgenetics Inc., State Collage, PA, USA). During data generation from field-collected samples we used one reference sample (genotyped for all loci) from the earlier study for genotyping. As the entire new data is generated along with the reference sample and the alleles were scored along with the reference genotypes, the new data (allele scores) were comparable with earlier data for analyses.

To ensure high quality multi-locus genotypes from faecal samples, we followed a modified multiple-tube approach in combination with quality index analyses (Miquel et al., 2006) as described previously for leopards by Mondol et al. (2009a, 2014). All faecal samples were amplified and genotyped four independent times for all the loci. Samples producing identical genotypes for at least three independent amplifications (or a quality index of 0.75 or more) for each loci were considered reliable and used for all further analysis, while the rest were discarded.

India death rate for 2025 is 7.53, a 0.76% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India death rate for 2024 was <strong>7.47</strong>, a <strong>0.77% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>India death rate for 2023 was <strong>7.42</strong>, a <strong>0.49% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>India death rate for 2022 was <strong>7.38</strong>, a <strong>0.49% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Crude death rate indicates the number of deaths occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.

Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: per 1000 Population: Odisha data was reported at 10.400 NA in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.800 NA for 2019. Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: per 1000 Population: Odisha data is updated yearly, averaging 12.200 NA from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2020, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.600 NA in 1998 and a record low of 10.400 NA in 2020. Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: per 1000 Population: Odisha data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAH004: Vital Statistics: Natural Growth Rate: by States.

India Population: Census: Age: 5 to 9 Year data was reported at 126,928.126 Person th in 03-01-2011. This records a decrease from the previous number of 128,317.000 Person th for 03-01-2001. India Population: Census: Age: 5 to 9 Year data is updated decadal, averaging 126,928.126 Person th from Mar 1991 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 128,317.000 Person th in 03-01-2001 and a record low of 111,295.000 Person th in 03-01-1991. India Population: Census: Age: 5 to 9 Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAD001: Census: Population: by Age Group.