India, now the second most populous nation, is expected to outrank China in 2050, the US commerce department’s census bureau has said.

The census body said India’s population will be around 1.6 billion in 2050. China’s population then is estimated to be around 1.4 billion.

The global population has topped 6.5 billion, the population clock of the census bureau showed on February 25. The clock revises its estimates every five to 10 minutes.

The department says if the population grows at the current pace, it will exceed 7 billion in 2013 and reach 9.2 billion in 2050.

In 2006, the population is estimated to grow by around 74 million, or 1.14 per cent, from 2005, with 4.1 people being born every second and 1.8 people dying.

The global population is estimated to grow for the next 50 years, although the pace of growth has been on the decline.

(www.telegraphindia.com)