International Desk: In 2023, Muslim population in India may be 19.7 crore. The country's government announced this information in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Muslims in India

Responding to a question by Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy, Minister for Minority Affairs Smriti Irani said that according to the 2011 census, Muslims constitute 14.2 percent of the total population. Their population rates are projected to be the same in 2023. He said that in the 2011 census, the Muslim population in India was 17.2 crore. Moreover, in 2023, the total population of the country may stand at around 139 crores.

According to the United Nations, India is expected to overtake China as the country with the largest population in the world by the middle of this year. But some analysts believe, that event has already happened. At the beginning of this year, China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the country's population decreased by about eight million to 141.2 million by the end of 2022. This is the first time since 1961 that China's population has declined.

India is poised to be the world's fastest growing major economy in the next few years. Half of the country's population is under 30 years old. As a result, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to create additional employment opportunities for the millions of people who enter the labor force every year to maximize population gains. Besides, the country is gradually moving away from agriculture dependence. Source: TOI.