World Population Day: India will overtake China in 2023, says the UN

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According to the UN, India is set to become the world's most populous country next year.

The planet will be home to 8 billion by the end of the year.

Population growth is not as fast as in the past.

According to the UN, it is currently at its lowest rate since 1950 and will peak around the 2080s at about 10 billion dollars.

The world's population is growing at a slower pace.

In the next 30 years, more than half of the growth will take place in eight countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

Some of the world's most developed economies are already seeing population decline as fertility rates fall below 2.1 children per woman. Populations will decline by at least 1% in 61 countries.

China has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world at 1.15 children per woman. The country abandoned its one child policy and introduced incentives for couples to have more than one child.

As India's population continues to grow, it will most likely overtake China as the world's largest population.

In countries where the population is growing, the fertility rate is falling. As previous generations expand, there are more people having children, even if they don't have as many as their parents did.

Thanks to developments in medicine and science, more children are surviving into adulthood and more older adults are living longer. By the year 2050, the global average life expectancy is expected to be around 77.2 years.

The share of the global population over the age of 65 is projected to rise from 10% this year to 16% in the year 2050. The distribution will be different with some countries seeing more extremes in aging.