India is poised to overtake China to become the most populous country in the world, according to estimates by the United Nations.
The shift marks a major milestone for the South Asian nation and will have far-reaching implications for its economy, society and global influence.
The animation below shows how the Indian population has more than quadrupled from 350 million inhabitants in 1950 to an estimated 1.43 billion people today.
Meanwhile, China’s population, which peaked at 1.42 billion in 2021, is gradually declining.
In the following infographic series, Al Jazeera breaks down all the numbers on how this happened and what it means for the rest of the world.