As we know, July 11th is observed as World Population Day, which is a global observance aimed at raising awareness about the challenges and opportunities presented by the world’s growing population.
India Becomes The World’s Most Populated Country
It is worth noting that the world’s population has grown exponentially in recent centuries on this occasion.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that almost hundreds of thousands of years after the global population reached the 1 billion mark.
Contrary to that, in only 200 years the population grew to 7 billion.
Now, the United Nations is projecting an estimated growth of 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and 10.9 billion by the end of the century in 2100.
When it comes to India, the earlier scenario is changed as now the country is one of the most populated countries in the world as it has overtaken China, as per the UNFPA’s State of the World Population Report.
This is alarming too as this figure indicates that if India’s population continues to grow at the current rate of just under one percent annually, it will double in the next 75 years.
Our country is home to 1.4+ billion people. Let’s explore the top 10 densely populated Indian cities as of 2024 which was estimated by the UN World Urbanisation Prospects 2018, released in April 2024.
India’s Top 10 Most Populated Cities
Below are the details about the top 10 most populated cities in India, as of 2024.
| India Rank | World Rank | City | State/UT | Population (2024) | Population (2023) | Change Percentage: (2023-24) |
| 1 | 2 | Delhi | New Delhi | 33,807,403 | 32,941,309 | 2.34% |
| 2 | 9 | Mumbai | Maharashtra | 21,673,149 | 21,296,570 | 1.50% |
| 3 | 18 | Kolkata | West Bengal | 15,570,786 | 15,332,793 | 1.08% |
| 4 | 23 | Bangalore | Karnataka | 14,008,262 | 13,607,800 | 0.97% |
| 5 | 28 | Chennai | Tamil Nadu | 12,053,697 | 11,776,147 | 0.83% |
| 6 | 34 | Hyderabad | Telangana | 11,068,877 | 10,801,163 | 0.76% |
| 7 | 45 | Ahmedabad | Gujarat | 8,854,444 | 8,650,605 | 0.61% |
| 8 | 50 | Surat | Gujarat | 8,330,528 | 8,064,949 | 0.57% |
| 9 | 58 | Pune | Maharashtra | 7,345,848 | 7,166,374 | 0.51% |
| 10 | 112 | Jaipur | Rajasthan | 4,308,510 | 4,207,084 | 0.23% |
Source: UN World Urbanisation Prospects
Decreasing Fertility Rate
India’s population has touched the 1,428.6 million mark, hence making it the most populous country in the world, surpassing China, as per the latest UN report.
Out of this, around 68% of the population falls between the ages of 15 and 64, and 26% falls within the 10-24 age group.
This makes India one of the youngest countries globally.
But the country’s fertility rate has been decreasing steadily despite the large population.
It appears that India’s total fertility rate has dropped to 2.0, which is below the replacement level of 2.1, a decline from 2.2 reported in NFHS 4 (2015–16), according to the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019–21).
