'Demographics is destiny': Elon Musk as India set to surpass China as most populous country

The United Nations (UN) recently noted in one of its reports that India is set to surpass China as the world's most populous country on July 1, with a population of 1.429 billion. 

While this news has raised concerns among some, Elon Musk, tech billionaire and CEO of Twitter, suggested that the demographics are going to shape the growth of the countries going forward.

"Demographics is destiny," Musk said while commenting on a post that shared a list of the top 10 largest countries by population. 

India's median age is of 28.2 years, which means that the country will have a young workforce for the next few decades compared to other countries. 

This demographic factor is considered by many experts as a potential advantage for India's economic growth in the future. However, the experts believe that to maximise the benefits of the demographic dividend, the Indian government must implement strong policies. 

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, in his book "Development as Freedom," emphasised that investments in education, health, and social infrastructure are necessary for young individuals to contribute fully to the modern economy.

Musk has been a vocal advocate for higher birth rates as a means of combating the issue of ageing populations, which he believes poses a greater risk to civilisation than global warming. He tweeted in August, “Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming.”

The tech billionaire also noted that resources would be required to support a huge population. To solve this issue, Musk has proposed time and again to establish a human civilisation on Mars.

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