from the Guardian UK:
The first results from India's latest census – the second biggest in the world – were released on Thursday, revealing that the country has added 181 million new citizens in the last decade, making it home to 17% of the world's population.
China remains the most populous country on the planet, with 1.34 billion, but India is closing the gap with 1.21 billion. The additional Indians found by the census are roughly equivalent to the population of Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world. One Indian state alone – Uttar Pradesh – now has a population of 199,500,000 people, just under that of Britain, France and Germany combined.
However C Chandramouli, the census commissioner, told reporters in Delhi that the new count showed population growth in India had slowed. The 17.6% increase was down from 21.5% recorded in 2001.
Though Indian economists and politicians talk frequently of the "demographic dividend" from the hundreds of millions of young people in their country, there is fear that overpopulation is placing a huge strain on poor social services and infrastructure. ................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/census-17-percent-world-indian