GENEVA, April 17. /TASS/. India has topped the world in population with 1.44 bln people living there now, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said in a report.

China came second with 1.425 bln people.

The Foundation attributes India's population growth to the country's improving economic situation and declining maternal mortality rates.

The last census was conducted in 2011 and put India's population at 1.21 bln.

China's population, according to UN estimates, peaked at 1.426 bln in 2022 and has begun to decline. India's population equaled that of the Chinese mainland by the end of April 2023 and is set to surpass it by July 1, 2024. Experts have predicted that China's population could fall below 1 bln by the end of this century. India's population, on the contrary, is expected to continue growing in the next few decades.