The population of the countries of the world. Population of India and China: official data and projections

The Berlin Institute for Population and Development published a comprehensive report in German on the state of demography in Russia. The title - "The Disappearing World Power" - contains the main conclusion. Experts note that back in 1960, Russia (excluding other republics of the USSR) ranked fourth in the world in terms of population. In 2010, it dropped to ninth, behind Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria. And by the middle of the 21st century, our country, according to German demographers, will lose another 25 million people, and will cease to be among the ten most populated countries in the world.

However, not only Russia is having a hard time, an unenviable fate awaits other countries as well. Experts from the SKOLKOVO Institute for Emerging Market Research (SIEMS), comparing the situation in the BRIC countries, came to the conclusion that in the next 20 years, only India has a chance to rise economically due to a favorable demographic situation.

Thomas Malthus knew that the prosperity of a country is directly related to demography. In 1798, he published Essay on the Principle of Population (An Essay on the Law of Population), where he outlined the apocalyptic theory that uncontrolled population growth should eventually lead to famine on Earth. This idea has been alternately supported and refuted for two hundred years. Finally, in the "noughties" of the 21st century, economists recognized that Malthus was right - in the sense that the population size still matters for the prosperity of the state.

It's about population structure. If young people predominate among citizens, the country has a unique chance to convert “demographic dividends” into economic growth. Unique because fertility is a cyclical thing. In the history of every nation, the moments when the majority of the population is of working age are one or two and counted. And if the moment (it is called the demographic transition) is missed, the large working-age generation becomes old, becomes a huge collective dependent, and pulls the economy to the bottom.

In the 20th century, there were many examples when the demographic transition turned the run-down countries into the engines of the world economy. So, according to SIEMS experts, the Japanese “economic miracle” after 1945 is largely due to a decrease in the relative number of dependents (adults who would have become old people died in the war, and a large pre-war generation took their place).

The same can be said about the impressive economic growth of the four "Asian tigers" - South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. In 1950, women in these countries had six children each. Today, less than two. As a result, from 1965 to 1990, the working-age population of Tigers grew 4 times faster than the number of young and old dependents.

An example from the same series is Ireland. In 1979, contraception was legalized there, which immediately brought down the birth rate - from 22 babies per 1,000 population in 1980 to 13 babies per 1,000 in 1994. The relative number of dependents (we recall that these are not only pensioners, but also children) has sharply decreased because of this. As a result, thanks to reforms aimed at creating a free market, Ireland during this period became the country with the highest economic growth rates in Europe.

While we are talking about countries that did not miss their chance to use the demographic shift (“shift”, note, some of them were artificially created).

Now let's turn to the BRIC countries. In 2008, these economies accounted for a quarter of global GDP and 42% of the world's population. SIEMS experts tried to answer which of the four countries have a chance to break through on the wave of "demographic shift" into a bright economic future.

So, great and mighty China. SIEMS rightly believes that the Chinese have benefited enormously from their favorable demographic situation over the past 30 years. In the late 1970s, when reforms aimed at creating a free market began in the country, dependents (old and young) made up 70% of the total population. By 2009, this figure had fallen to 39%. And unlike Brazil, China was able to take advantage of the “shift” – between 1980 and 2008, per capita income rose from $250 to $6,020.

The main reason for this breakthrough is a sharp drop in the birth rate. In 1979, the Chinese authorities allowed each family to have only one child (usually 3-6 children). According to the results of 2007, such a policy has reduced the birth rate by 400 million people over the past 30 years. Reducing the number of dependents ideally contributed to economic growth.

China is still a relatively young country today (the average age of the population is 34 years). 70% of Chinese people are between the ages of 16 and 64. The workforce is 800 million, double that of the United States. Despite a birth rate of less than two, China's population continues to grow and will peak at 1.46 billion around 2032.

But from now on, according to SIEMS experts, the good times for China will end. Already, China's population is aging faster than any other country in the world. By 2050, 32% of Chinese people are expected to be over 60 years old. In absolute terms, this is 459 million pensioners. Starting around 2017, the working-age population of China will decline, and by 2050 it will decrease by 115 million - this is almost the population of all of today's Russia.

According to Jonathan Anderson of UBS Bank, this means that China has almost exhausted its demographic resources. For years, a growing working-age population provided Chinese manufacturers with a source of cheap labor. Cheap labor played a decisive role in the creation of China's export machine. But a couple more decades - and everything will be different.

Experts argue only about one thing: whether China will be able to get rich before the population ages. China's aging pattern is similar to that of Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The only difference is that in China this happens when the country is still poor. Perhaps that is why the Chinese will not be able to get rich.

But India, the other leading BRIC country, is yet to take advantage of the demographic shift. India now has a population of approximately 1.2 billion, 175 million fewer than China's. But it is growing twice as fast, as a result, India will overtake China in terms of population by about 2031. Moreover, population growth in India will continue until 2050, when it will reach 1.66 billion (in China - 1.42 billion). That is, modern India is like China of the 1970s, at the start of reforms.

So, in the "zero" in India, the birth rate fell from 3.1 to 2.7 children per family, as a result, the number of dependents decreased from 61% to 55% of the total number of Indians. Moreover, the best demographic times for India are ahead. One third of India's population today are children under 14, half of the population is under 24, and only 5% is over 65. This means that by 2025 the number of dependents among Indians will decrease to 48% (37% young people, 11% - the elderly), and the working-age population will increase by 230 million people (now it is a considerable 750 million).

By the way, to reduce the birth rate in India, there is a government program of voluntary male sterilization. For participation in it, a reward is due - a car, a motorcycle, a TV and a blender or a bicycle. Such a difference in incentive gifts is due to the different solvency of the departments. In total, in India in 2010, about 5 million male sterilizations and about 1 million females were performed. In total, from the 1960s to the present day, about 10% of men have been sterilized in this country.

With such a serious approach to reducing the birth rate, India may well soar upwards - unless, of course, its authorities break firewood in the economy, otherwise India will repeat the fate of Brazil.

Another BRIC country, Brazil, is a classic example of lost demographic opportunities. The number of dependents in Brazil has been steadily declining over the past 40 years, from 85% in 1970 to 49% in 2009. However, this did not lead to an acceleration of the economy. After the explosive short growth in the 1960s-1970s, the Brazilian economy began to chronically lag behind. While the country still has a relatively young population (average age 27.5) and a record low of 48% by 2020, Brazil has a low savings and investment rate for a developing country, at just 18% of GDP (by comparison, in China - 40%).

Against this background, Russia looks pale. Although Russian history is generally characterized by periods of significant population decline (World War I and Civil Wars, collectivization and repression, WWII), the current decline, according to SIEMS experts, is especially sharp, prolonged and almost irreversible. According to forecasts, by 2050, only 109 million of the current 140 million people will remain in Russia. In addition, people from the generation of the 1990s, when the birth rate fell catastrophically, will replenish the labor force, while the generation born at the peak of fertility will retire.

As in China, the period of declining dependency numbers is coming to an end in Russia. It reached a minimum level - 39% - in 2010, and now it is increasing, and this process will continue for another 40 years. As a result, by the middle of the century the number of dependents will be critical 70%. Russia's working-age population is projected to fall by 15 million between 2010 and 2025, and then another 20 million by mid-century.

The only comforting news for Russia in the context of the other BRIC countries is that we have the highest starting GDP per capita ($15,600, 50% higher and 2.5 times more than China). But who and how will manage this money in the future is a huge philosophical question.

There is one significant demographic characteristic common to all BRIC countries. And it is not positive. The BRIC countries will face the problem of an aging population before they enter the ranks of rich countries. While the industrial countries had enough time to accumulate wealth and provide a high level of income to the population before the onset of the aging process, in the BRIC countries the process of population aging will begin much earlier, not allowing the population of these countries to provide a high level of income. For example, the characteristics of the aging process in China are similar to those observed today in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The essential difference is that in China this process is taking place at a time when the country as a whole is still relatively poor. According to the World Bank, China's average annual per capita income is about $6,000 (2008, purchasing power parity). In the United States in 1990, when the median age of the population was the same as China's today, that average per capita income was four times China's current figure, at $23,000.

And China is growing rapidly every year. At the moment, the number of people inhabiting the Earth is about 7.2 billion. But, as UN experts predict, by 2050 this figure could reach 9.6 billion.

Countries of the world with the largest population according to 2016 estimates

Consider the 10 countries with the highest population in the world, as of 2016:

China - about 1.374 billion
India - approximately 1.283 billion
United States - 322.694 million
Indonesia - 252.164 million
Brazil - 205.521 million
Pakistan - 192 million
Nigeria - 173.615 million
Bangladesh - 159.753 million
Russia - 146.544 million
Japan - 127.130 million

As can be seen from the list, the population of India and China is the largest and accounts for more than 36% of the entire world community. But, according to UN experts, the demographic picture will change significantly by 2028. If now the leading position is occupied by China, then in 11-12 years there will be more than in China.

Within a year, each of these countries is projected to have a population of 1.45 billion. But China's demographic growth will begin to decline, while India's population growth will continue until the 1950s.

What is the population density in China?

The population of China in 2016 is 1,374,440,000 people. Despite the country's large territory, China is not densely populated. Settlement is uneven due to a number of geographical features. The average population density per square kilometer is 138 people. Approximately the same figures for the developed countries of Europe, such as Poland, Portugal, France and Switzerland.

The population of India in 2016 is less than in China, by about 90 million, but its density is 2.5 times higher and is equal to about 363 people per 1 square kilometer.

If the territory of the PRC is not fully populated, why is there talk of overpopulation? Indeed, the average data cannot reflect the whole essence of the problem. In China, there are regions where the population density per square kilometer is in the thousands, for example: in Hong Kong this figure is 6,500 people, and in Macau - 21,000. What is the reason for this phenomenon? Actually there are several:

climatic conditions;
the geographical location of a particular territory;
economic component of individual regions.

If we compare India and China, then the territory of the second state is much larger. But the western and northern parts of the country are actually not populated. These provinces, which occupy about 50% of the entire territory of the republic, are home to only 6% of the population. The mountains of Tibet and the deserts of Takla-Makan and Gobi are considered practically deserted.

The population of China in 2016 is concentrated in large numbers in the fertile regions of the country, which are located in the North China Plain and near large waterways - Zhujiang and Yangtze.

The largest metropolitan areas in China

Huge cities with a population of many millions are commonplace in China. The largest metropolitan areas are:

Shanghai. This city has 24 million inhabitants. It is here that the world's largest port is located.
Beijing is the capital of China. Here is the government of the state and other organizations of administrative management. About 21 million people live in the metropolis.

The million-plus cities include Harbin, Tianjin and Guangzhou.

Peoples of China

The main part of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire is the Han people (91.5% of the total population). There are also 55 national minorities in China. The most numerous of them are:

Zhuang - 16 million
Manchus - 10 million.
Tibetans - 5 million

The small Loba people number no more than 3,000 people.

The problem of food supply

The population of India and China is the largest on the planet, because of which there is an acute problem of food supply for these regions.

In China, the amount of arable land is approximately 8% of the total territory. At the same time, some are polluted with waste and unsuitable for cultivation. Within the country itself, the food problem cannot be solved because of the colossal shortage of food. Therefore, Chinese investors are massively buying up agricultural and food production, as well as renting fertile land in other countries (Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan).

The leadership of the republic is directly involved in solving the problem. In 2013 alone, about $12 billion was invested in the acquisition of food industry enterprises around the world.

The population of India in 2016 exceeded 1.2 billion, and the average density increased to 363 people per 1 square kilometer. Such indicators significantly increase the load on cultivated land. It is extremely difficult to provide food for such a mass of people, and every year the problem is getting worse. A large number of the population of India lives below the poverty line, the state has to pursue a demographic policy in order to somehow influence the current situation. Attempts to stop the rapid growth of the population have been introduced since the middle of the last century.

And India is aimed at regulating the growth in the population of these countries.

Peculiarities of demographic policy in China

The overpopulation of China and the constant threat of a food and economic crisis are forcing the country's government to take decisive measures to prevent such situations. For this, a plan was developed to limit the birth rate. An incentive system was introduced if only 1 child grew up in the family, and those who wanted to afford 2-3 children had to pay impressive fines. Not all residents of the country could afford such a luxury. Although the innovation did not apply. They were allowed to have two, and sometimes three children.

The number of men in China prevails over the female population, so the birth of girls is welcome.

Despite all the measures taken by the state, the problem of overpopulation remains unresolved.

The introduction of a demographic policy under the slogan "One family - one child" led to negative consequences. To date, the aging of the nation is observed in China, that is, there are about 8% of people over 65 years old, while the norm is 7%. Since there is no pension system in the state, the care of the elderly falls on the shoulders of their children. It is especially difficult for older people who live with children with disabilities or do not have them at all.

Another major problem in China is gender imbalance. For many years, the number of boys has outnumbered the number of girls. There are about 120 men for every 100 females. The reasons for this problem are caused by the ability to determine the sex of the fetus in the first trimester of pregnancy and numerous abortions. According to statistics, it is assumed that in 3-4 years the number of bachelors in the country will reach 25 million.

Population policy in India

Over the past century, the population of China and India has grown significantly, which is why the problem of family planning in these countries has been taken up at the state level. Initially, the demographic policy program included birth control to improve the well-being of families. Among the many developing one of the first took up this issue. The program has been operating since 1951. To control the birth rate, methods of contraception and sterilization were used, which was carried out voluntarily. Men who agreed to such an operation were encouraged by the state, receiving a monetary reward.

The male population predominates over the female population. Since the program was ineffective, in 1976 it was tightened. Men who had two or more children were subjected to forced sterilization.

In the 50s of the last century in India, women were allowed to marry from the age of 15, and men from the age of 22. In 1978, this rate was increased to 18 and 23 years respectively.

In 1986, drawing on the experience of China, India established the norm of no more than 2 children per family.

In 2000 significant changes were made in the demographic policy. The main focus is on promoting the improvement of family living conditions by reducing the number of children.

India. Major cities and nationalities

Almost a third of the total population of India lives in large cities of the country. The largest metropolitan areas are:

Bombay (15 million).
Calcutta (13 million).
Delhi (11 million).
Madras (6 million).

India is a multinational country, more than 2000 different peoples and ethnic groups live here. The most numerous are:

Hindustanis;
Bengalis;
Marathi;
Tamils and many others.

Small nations include:

naga;
manipuri;
garo;
miso;
typer.

About 7% of the country's inhabitants belong to backward tribes, leading an almost primitive way of life.

Why is India's population policy less successful than China's?

The socio-economic features of India and China differ significantly from each other. This is the reason for the failed demographic policy of the Hindus. Consider the main factors due to which it is not possible to significantly affect population growth:

One third of Indians are considered poor.
The level of education in the country is very low.
Compliance with various religious dogmas.
Early marriages according to thousands of years of tradition.

The most interesting thing is that in the state of Kerala, the population growth rate is the lowest in the country. The same region is considered the most educated. The literacy of people is 91%. For every woman in the country, there are 5 children, while for the inhabitants of Kerala - less than two.

According to experts, within 2 years the population of India and China will be approximately the same.

If you look at China, there is a very big bewilderment: where do the 1.5 billion people who supposedly live in China live and what do they eat? The twenty largest urban centers give a population of just over 200 million people ...

Today, patriotic circles often mention the desire of the Anglo-Saxon world to drag us into a war with China. Very similar to that. In this regard, it is often heard from various domestic experts that the Chinese are about to throw hats on us, take all of Siberia and other catastrophic forecasts for themselves. Could this be?

I served for 3 years in the Far East in the border troops, studied patriotism on the example of the heroes of Damansky, however, as it seems to me, the devil is not so terrible ...

As you know, China, in addition to being the world's factory, is also famous for its huge population of about 1.347 billion people (some experts do not stand on ceremony and talk about 1.5 billion - Russian 145 million people as a statistical error) , and the average density is about 140 people per 1 sq. km. km) and a fairly decent territory (3rd in the world after Russia and Canada - 9.56 million sq. km).

There is a story that either an orderly, or some other assistant to Suvorov, writing down a report to the capital about the next victory, according to Alexander Vasilyevich, was surprised at the inflated numbers of enemy soldiers killed. To which, Suvorov allegedly said: “Why feel sorry for their adversaries!”

About the population

The Chinese, followed by the Indians, Indonesians, and indeed the whole of Asia, have clearly grasped that the population of their countries is the same strategic weapon as bombs and missiles.

No one can reliably say what the actual demographic situation is in Asia, in this case, in China. All data is estimated, at best, the information of the Chinese themselves (the last census in 2000).

Surprisingly, despite the government's policy of the last 20 years aimed at limiting the birth rate (one family - one child), the population is still growing at 12 million people a year, according to experts, due to the huge base (i.e. initial) digit.

I'm certainly not a demographer, but 2+2=4. If you have 100 people: two died in a year, one was born, a year later 99. If 100 million or 1 billion, and the ratio of births and deaths is negative, then what is the difference in the initial figure, the result will be negative. The Chinese and demographic experts are paradoxically positive!

A very confusing question. For example, in the monograph by Korotaev, Malkov, Khalturin "The Historical Macrodynamics of China" there is an interesting table:

1845 - 430 million;
1870 - 350;
1890 - 380;
1920 - 430;
1940 - 430,
1945 - 490.

I came across an old atlas, which said that in 1939, i.e. before the 2nd World War, there were 350 million people in China. One does not need to be an expert to see the huge discrepancies and the absence of any coherent system in the behavior of the Chinese population.

Either a drop of 80 million in 25 years, then an increase of 50 million in 30 years, then no change in 20 years. The main thing is that the initial figure of 430 million is taken absolutely from the ceiling, who considered their adversaries. But the fact seems to be obvious - for 95 years from 1845 to 1940 the number of Chinese has not changed, as it was, and remains.

But over the next 72 years (taking into account destructive wars, hunger and poverty, more than 20 years of containment policy) growth of almost a billion!

For example, everyone knows that the USSR lost 27 million people in the Great Patriotic War, but few people know that the second country in terms of human losses is China - 20 million people. Some experts (perhaps like our Chubais) speak of 45 million. And despite such monstrous losses and all sorts of hardships from 1940 to 1945, a huge increase of 60 million! Moreover, in addition to the World War, there was also a civil one in China, and 23 million people now live in Taiwan, who were considered Chinese in the 40th year.

However, as a result of the formation of the PRC in 1949, the population of the PRC has already reached 550 million people. For 4 years, we do not count those who fled to Taiwan, and the growth is simply a galloping 60 million people. Then there was the Cultural Revolution with countless repressions and the eating of sparrows in famine years, and the population grew faster and faster.

And yet, we almost believe and count on our knees. 430 in 1940. This is a lot, of course. 430 million. Approximately half of the woman (in Asia, women are even less, but let). About 200. Of these, grandmothers and girls - another 2/3. Women give birth approximately from 15 to 40 = 25 years, and live beyond 70. We get 70 million. We believe that there are no childless and lesbians in China, + allowance for my demographic unprofessionalism = 70 million childbearing women in 1940.

How many children did these young ladies have to give birth to, so that in 9 years there would be 490 million Chinese, a 15% increase? War, devastation, no medicine, the Japanese are atrocious ... According to science, if my memory serves me right, in order not to simply reduce the population, you need to give birth to 3-3.5. And an additional 90 million for 70 million women in labor, another 1.2 people. Physically, for 9 years, 4-5 children is not easy, but possible, but ....

The Internet writes that according to the 1953 census, 594 million, and in 1949, not 490, but 549 million. Forty-five million in 4 years. In 13 years, the population has grown from 430 to 594, by 164 million, more than a third. Thus, 70 million women in 13 years gave birth to 3.5 each for reproduction + about 2.5 (163:70) = 6.

Someone will object that in Russia there was also a boom at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But in Russia at that time, the Japanese did not massacre 20 million people + 20 million did not flee to Taiwan. And, returning to the table, what prevented the Chinese from increasing by at least 10 million in the previous 100 years? Immediately, in 13 years, 164 million, as if from a bush, into hunger and war. Yes, I almost forgot, such trifles as the Korean War, where about 150 thousand more childbearing Chinese men were killed, are completely ridiculous to consider. In the following decades, the Chinese bred and multiplied simply beyond measure.

I think they just draw their Chinese out of thin air, like the Fed dollars. Nobody argues, there are a lot of Chinese, as well as Indians and Indonesians, there are still plenty of Nigerians, Iranians, Pakistanis. But many many strife. And the Indians - well done, picked up the initiative in time.

Now a little about the territory

China is big, but... Take a look at the administrative map of China. There are so-called autonomous regions (Ary) in China. There are 5 of them, but now we are talking about 3: Xinjiang Uighur, Inner Mongolia and Tibetan.

These three ARs occupy respectively 1.66 million sq. km, 1.19 million sq. km. km and 1.22 million sq. km, only about 4 million sq. km, almost half of the territory of China! Live in these territories, respectively, 19.6 million people, 23.8 million and 2.74 million, a total of about 46 million people, about 3% of the population of China. Of course, these areas are not the most wonderful for living (mountains, deserts, steppes), but no worse than Outer Mongolia or our Tuva or, for example, Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan.

Most Chinese live between the Yellow River and the Yangtze and on the warm coast (South and Southeast). Speaking of Mongolia. If Inner Mongolia is larger in territory than France and Germany combined, then Mongolia-Outer Mongolia is almost 1.5 times larger in territory than Inner = 1.56 million square meters. km. There is practically no population of 2.7 million people (density is 1.7 people per sq. km, in the PRC, let me remind you, 140, including the above-named Ares, where the density is respectively: 12, 20 and 2 people / sq. km; in Mesopotamia lives under 300 people per square kilometer, cockroaches and only, according to statistics).

The resources, for which the Chinese will allegedly go to Siberia, at the risk of running into Russian atomic bombs, in Mongolia, and in Kazakhstan the same, are full, but there are no bombs. Not only that, why not move the idea of reunification-unification of the Mongolian people under the wing of the Celestial Empire?

There are 150-200 thousand Chinese in Russia. Total! The total population of the Khabarovsk, Primorsky Territories, the Amur Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region (about 5 million) cannot be compared, of course, with the border province of Heilongjiang (38 million), but still.

However, the Mongols are sleeping peacefully (the Chinese and Russians in Mongolia combined 0.1% of the population - about 2 thousand somewhere), the Kazakhs are also not very tense.

Deceptively big China

It seems to me that Burma, with its 50 million population and a fairly large territory of 678 thousand square meters, needs to be afraid. km. The same South China billion hangs over it, it is in Myanmar that the dictatorial regime is, they are the villains of the Chinese minority (1.5 million !! people) oppress. And, most importantly, the equator is near, the sea coast is huge and warm, warm.

But even the Burmese comrades, as they say, do not worry, and we are in a panic.

Well, okay, the Chinese communists are afraid of the Americans to put things in order in Taiwanese affairs, but Vietnam frankly runs up, shouting that it is not afraid, constantly reminds of the last scuffle, Laos and Cambodia undertook to supervise, the newly minted Big Brother. China and Vietnam are arguing about the oil islands, and so is the world.

Weird Chinese. The people are already sitting on each other's heads, and they are not even developing their vast territories, not to mention weak neighbors such as Burma and Mongolia. But they will definitely attack Buryatia, the 150,000th expeditionary force has already been sent out, half of them got stuck in Moscow for some reason, someone in warm Vladivostok, but this is nonsense, at the first call - to Siberia.

Well, perhaps that's all, as a first approximation.

Additional thoughts on this...

The world's population is rapidly declining. This reduction can be estimated at least by the real population of China. Victor Mekhov wrote a very interesting article in which he argues that the population of China is 3-4 times smaller than we were taught to think (there is a very interesting video there). Surely the same can be said about India, and about other obviously poor countries, with an unaffordable "large" population ...

Checking this is easy enough: you need to go to Wikipedia and sum up the population of the 20 largest cities in China. And it will turn out to be an impressive number of about 230 million people (taking into account the population of the districts). Where do the rest of the people live? Where does the rest of the billion live? In the countryside? Do you live in cottages? Where do they grow food then? In the mountains of Tibet, which occupy almost half of the country? But they need a lot of food, if you believe that 1 billion 340 million people live in China!

Let's look further. Duropedia reports that in 2010, China produced 546 million tons of grain, despite the fact that the sown area in China is 155.7 million hectares. And to ensure the normal nutrition of the population, the country needs to grow an average of about 1 ton of grain per year per person. Part of this grain is used to feed livestock, and part is used to make bread and other needs. So China is clearly not self-sufficient in grain, if you believe that it has such a large population. Or it provides if the population there is 3 times less than it is considered.

By the way, this can be easily verified by the US indicators. And immediately everything will be clear and understandable! Look: the US harvests an average of about 60 million tons of wheat per year from an area of about 20 million hectares. In addition, 334 million tons of corn are harvested there from 37.8 million hectares, and 91.47 million tons of soybeans from an area of 30.9 million hectares. Thus, the total grain harvest is about 485 million tons from an area of about 89 million hectares. And the US population is only about 300 million people! Surplus cereals are exported.

This immediately shows that the shortage of grain production in China is about 800 million tons per year, which is practically nowhere to buy, if you believe that the population is 1.4 billion people. And if you do not believe in this fairy tale, then everything falls into place, and the population of China should be no more than 500 million people!

And one more clue: Wikipedia reports that the proportion of the urban population in 2011 was 51.27% for the first time, which also confirms the hypothesis that the real population of China does not exceed 500 million people.

The same is happening with India! Let's count the population of the 20 largest cities in India. The answer will surprise you very much: it is only about 75 million people. 75 million people! And where do the other billion two hundred million live? The territory of the country is a little more than 3 million square meters. km. Apparently, they live in nature with a density of about 400 people per 1 sq. km. km.

The population density in India is twice that of Germany. But in Germany - continuous cities throughout the territory. And in India, about 5% of the population lives in cities. For comparison: in Russia, the share of the urban population is 73%, with a population density of 8.56 people / sq. km. But in the United States, the share of the urban population is 81.4%, with a population density of 34 people / sq. km. km.

Can the official information about India be true? Of course not! The population density in rural areas is always only a few people per sq. km. km, i.e. 100 times lower than in India. And this is a clear confirmation that the population in India is 5-10 times less than what is written in official sources.

In addition, according to Wikipedia, almost 70% of Indians live in rural areas, so our estimated 75 million urban residents make up about 30% of India's population. Consequently, the total population of this proportion will be about 250 million people, which is much more true than the fairy tale about a billion.

I served for 3 years in the Far East in the border troops, studied patriotism on the example of the heroes of Damansky, however, as it seems to me, the devil is not so terrible ...

About the population

The Chinese, followed by the Indians, Indonesians, and indeed the whole of Asia, have clearly grasped that the population of their countries is the same strategic weapon as bombs and missiles.

No one can reliably say what the actual demographic situation is in Asia, in this case, in China. All data is estimated, at best, the information of the Chinese themselves (the last census in 2000).

Surprisingly, despite the government's policy of the last 20 years aimed at limiting the birth rate (one family - one child), the population is still growing at 12 million people a year, according to experts, due to the huge base (i.e. initial) digit.

A very confusing question. For example, in the monograph by Korotaev, Malkov, Khalturin "The Historical Macrodynamics of China" there is an interesting table:

1845 - 430 million;
1870 - 350;
1890 - 380;
1920 - 430;
1940 - 430,
1945 - 490.

But over the next 72 years (taking into account destructive wars, hunger and poverty, more than 20 years of containment policy) growth of almost a billion!

And, despite such monstrous losses and all sorts of hardships in general, from 1940 to 1945 a huge increase of 60 million! Moreover, in addition to the World War, there was also a civil one in China, and 23 million people now live in Taiwan, who were considered Chinese in the 40th year.

I think they just draw their Chinese out of thin air, like the Fed dollars. Nobody argues, there are a lot of Chinese, as well as Indians and Indonesians, there are still plenty of Nigerians, Iranians, Pakistanis. But many many strife. And the Indians - well done, picked up the initiative in time.

Now a little about the territory. China is big, but... Take a look at the administrative map of China. There are so-called autonomous regions (Ary) in China. There are 5 of them, but now we are talking about 3: Xinjiang Uighur, Inner Mongolia and Tibetan.

These three ARs occupy respectively 1.66 million sq. km, 1.19 million sq. km. km and 1.22 million sq. km, only about 4 million sq. km, almost half of the territory of China! There are 19.6 million people, 23.8 million and 2.74 million, respectively, living in these territories, in total about 46 million people, about 3% of the population of the PRC. Of course, these areas are not the most wonderful for living (mountains, deserts, steppes), but no worse than Outer Mongolia or our Tuva or, for example, Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan.

The resources, for which the Chinese will allegedly go to Siberia, at the risk of running into Russian atomic bombs, in Mongolia, and in Kazakhstan the same, are full, but there are no bombs. Not only that, why not move the idea of reunification-unification of the Mongolian people under the wing of the Celestial Empire?

However, the Mongols are sleeping peacefully (the Chinese and Russians in Mongolia combined 0.1% of the population - about 2 thousand somewhere), the Kazakhs are also not very tense.

But even the Burmese comrades, as they say, do not worry, and we are in a panic.

Well, perhaps that's all, as a first approximation.

China - World Factory

About the population

The Chinese, followed by the Indians, Indonesians, and indeed the whole of Asia, have clearly grasped that the population of their countries is the same strategic weapon as bombs and missiles.

No one can reliably say what the actual demographic situation is in Asia, in this case, in China. All data is estimated, at best, the information of the Chinese themselves (the last census in 2000).

Very confusing question

For example, in the monograph by Korotaev, Malkov, Khalturin "The Historical Macrodynamics of China" there is an interesting table:

1845 - 430 million;
1870 - 350;
1890 - 380;
1920 - 430;
1940 - 430,
1945 - 490.

But over the next 72 years (taking into account destructive wars, hunger and poverty, more than 20 years of containment policy) growth of almost a billion!

For example, everyone knows that the USSR lost 27 million people in the Great Patriotic War, but few people know that the second country in terms of human losses is China - 20 million people. Some experts (perhaps like Chubais) speak of 45 million. And despite such monstrous losses and all sorts of hardships from 1940 to 1945, a huge increase of 60 million! Moreover, in addition to the World War, there was also a civil one in China, and 23 million people now live in Taiwan, who were considered Chinese in the 40th year.

Deceptively big China

Now a little about the territory

However, the Mongols are sleeping peacefully (the Chinese and Russians in Mongolia combined 0.1% of the population - about 2 thousand somewhere), the Kazakhs are also not very tense.

But even the Burmese comrades, as they say, do not worry, and we are in a panic.

Additional Considerations

Let's look further. Wikipedia reports that in 2010, China produced 546 million tons of grain, despite the fact that the sown area in China is 155.7 million hectares. And to ensure the normal nutrition of the population, the country needs to grow an average of about 1 ton of grain per year per person. Part of this grain is used to feed livestock, and part is used to make bread and other needs. So China is clearly not self-sufficient in grain, if you believe that it has such a large population. Or it provides if the population there is 3 times less than it is considered.

To what extent all of the above can be true is up to you to judge.