I want you to take a look
at this number behind me.
1 billion.
428,600,000.
This is India's projected population
by mid 20,
23, almost 3 million
more than what China is expected to be.
And that means that in the coming
months, India will overtake China
as the most populated
populous nation in the world,
according to the United Nations.
But that explosion of people
is driving competition
for the most sought after jobs in India.
And many are struggling to keep up.
Vedika Sud has more from New Delhi
In a village outside New Delhi, a
doting mother attends to her little girl.
Mahi is just two days old.
Her cries mark a symbolic moment.
India is expected to surpass
China as the world's most
populous country. I don't see
my father
Veit-wild seeing and mother Lakshmi,
our school dropouts
Their families had little income
and many children to feed
Seeing a farmer started
working with his father in their fields
at a young age,
he says he'll do whatever it takes
to help me achieve her dreams.
even if I have to sell my field
to educate her, I will.
One of the biggest challenges
she'll have to face is the country's
growing population.
There's stiff
competition, Singh tells me.
India's birth rate has slowed,
but the country is still quickly
adding to its 1.4 billion
strong population.
According to UNICEF,
more than 67,300 babies are born in India
every day.
That's one
sixth of the world's birth counts daily.
Already, more than half of all Indians
are under the age of 30.
That means a huge potential
to grow the national economy.
But education and investment
need to keep up.
If there are going to be jobs
for a new generation,
I really feel it's a ten year
opportunity to do it right.
And this is a dividend, do it wrong.
And this is going
to be extremely worrying
for the Indian economy.
India's youngsters.
28 year old Sunil
Kumar has a
postgraduate degree
but doesn't hold a steady job.
For years now, he's been sweeping
the floors of a school in his village
in Haryana. State.
Just give the water
and doubling up as a tutor
for young students.
Despite his education, Kumar
barely makes enough
to support his ailing father,
and the rest of his family.
Sunil says it angers him
that he doesn't have a steady
job, despite
his educational qualifications
in the air.
Across India, the most highly sought
after jobs
are more competitive than ever before
pursuing their dreams.
Tens of thousands of students
from small towns move to big cities
to be called
for the coveted civil services exam.
Some lecturing, others
all have been trying to crack
the exam for four years now.
El-Gamal
says his younger brother
is sponsoring his education.
They could have bought three to four cars
with the money they've spent on me,
he says.
Over 1 million people
sit for the entrance test each year.
Less than 1% make the cut
The population is growing
and the working age
population is growing.
If that category of people
do not find enough employment,
then what was meant to be an opportunity?
The bulge in that demographic
dividend, so-called,
could become a huge challenge
and problem for India.
India's new global title will mean little
if it doesn't come with fresh opportunity
Vedika Sud
CNN, New Delhi.
All those figures are from the UN States
of the Population Report.
Here are some of the headline numbers.
The world's population is now
8 billion strong.
That's largely a result of global
life expectancy increasing to 72.8 years.
That is nine years higher than 1990.
But in Europe,
a population is expected to decline
7% between now and 2050.
Those numbers raise important questions.
Are they too many of us
or is population decline
an existential threat?
Will all children
contribute to climate change,
and how much will they suffer from it?
Governments have grappled
with these issues
for generations,
even implementing policies
to try to find the answers.
But as the UN Population
Fund director Natalia Canan puts
it, human
reproduction
is neither the problem nor the solution.
When we put gender equality
and the rights at the heart
of our population, policies
we are stronger,
more resilient and better able
to deal with the challenges
resulting from rapidly
changing populations.
And Dr.
Natalia joins me now live from Brussels.
Great to have you on the show.
You know,
these numbers could be quite scary,
but as you say,
we've got to put gender equality
at the heart of this and the numbers.
Perhaps it paints
another picture for me,
sort of a fuller picture
that around 24% of women
and girls
on able to say no to sex while 11%
unable to make decisions
over contraception.
And I'm curious to what extent
are the rising population
numbers in certain geographies
because it's not across the board
correlated to the data around the rights
of women.
Well, you know
it's such a great question Eleanor.
I'm very happy to be here because
we have to radically rethink
the way that we look at population
and population policy today.
Two thirds of us live in places
where population
is already trending
below replacement rate.
And yes,
for one third of the globe,
population continues to increase.
But we're at a time when there's great
geographic diversity.
In some places,
the average age of the population
is 50 years
old, whereas in other countries it's 15.
So when you have this kind of a situation
of changing dynamics,
you have to take things
through the lens of the woman
who is going to bear the child.
Her decision about her fertility
is an individual decision,
and the woman
and the couple have the right
to actually decide the number
and spacing and timing of their children.
So we want to refocus
the question of population into
what are we doing
to make that choice a reality?
Because today it's
not a reality everywhere,
not just in high fertility countries,
but also in those that are facing
population decline.
And really
fascinating
look, we've just spoken about India.
We had a fantastic insight
into what the experiences with regards
to a young demographic,
so much excitement about what that means.
But there needs to be
a convergence, right?
With population growth,
this is what we see on education
resources, job opportunities.
Because if it isn't a convergence,
that is when you're going to be
dealing with,
you know,
perhaps
an unstable future
for the new generation.
Well, you know what?
Again,
I think this is a very important moment
to look at the dynamics
and to put the facts first.
The issue of young people's
education is relevant
in every single country,
not just countries with high fertility.
But, you know, I'm
sitting in Brussels today.
Europe is worried
about the fate of young people
and the fact that relative
to an aging population,
the labor force is changing dramatically.
So equipping every young person
and as the India segment showed,
the girl child in particular,
to be able to succeed,
she's going to need her education.
So this is very fundamental.
I think the other point is that
for places where
there is high fertility,
if this is the woman's choice,
that's fine.
But in much of the world,
women are asking
for contraceptive choice.
And have we been able to fulfill that?
Well, today,
that answer is a resounding no.
So we've got to look at all the factors
and not point fingers at the woman
as either.
The reason for high fertility
or low fertility
But understand her perspective as to
how does she want to organize this.
Fascinating.
Because because it has been
it has been centered around women,
I think
particularly with these
low fertility rates.
As you say
I mean since the 1950s
and this is what really surprised
me, the average number of children
women are having
has halved from five to 2.3.
And we've even reached a point
where wealthier nations
are starting to incentivize families
or women to have more children
because they're worried about population.
But as a consequence of issues
that women are choosing not to have kids.
And then here's the issue.
You know,
are we worried about
too many people on the planet
or we worried about population decline?
Well, you know what?
We in UNFPA are very focused on the point
that you've got to ask a better question
if you're looking for a solution.
So if you're looking for a solution
for climate change,
fertility is not going to be the answer.
Similarly, I think
you raise a very important issue
about the variety
of total fertility rates in countries.
And the question as is, is the woman
who is having one child or two children,
which would be replacement rate?
Is she making a rational decision
and is she going to be incentivized
by a bonus
if she has a second, third
or fourth child?
Well, you know, women are pretty smart
and they are looking
at how to invest in the children
that they already have.
And they're also looking at inequality
because women are bearing the burden
of not only looking after children,
but actually over the elderly generation
as well.
And simultaneously,
older people
who would love to be involved
are not being induced
to be able
to do
the types of work
and the types of childcare
that they might actually enjoy.
So we've got to look at the big picture
by asking the real question
and not by trying to tell women
have this exact amount of children
because we want a supposedly
ideal population size.
It's not going to work.