Rising Population: A Global Challenge with India at the Forefront

Aditi Joshi
Oct 11
4 min read

There are moments in history when the weight of numbers tells its own story. Humanity has grown from just 1.6 billion people at the start of the 20th century to over 8 billion today. The United Nations projects that the global population could peak at 10.4 billion by the 2080s before stabilising. This rapid growth has reshaped economies, ecosystems, and the climate itself. And nowhere is the tension between opportunity and risk felt more acutely than in India.

When Numbers Shape Everyday Life

India surpassed China in 2023 to become the world’s most populous country, with an estimated 1.46 billion people in 2025. This growth is driven not by high fertility - India’s fertility rate has already fallen to 2.0 births per woman, close to the replacement level of 2.1 - but by demographic momentum. Simply put, India has a large base of young people entering childbearing age, ensuring population growth even as families get smaller.

This expansion places enormous pressure on land, water, energy, and public services. India’s population density now exceeds 479 people per square kilometre, compared to a global average of ~60 per square kilometre. The result is a country balancing aspiration with scarcity.

For families, this isn’t just a statistic - it means crowded classrooms, long queues at hospitals, and shrinking access to green spaces. For farmers, it translates to smaller plots of land passed down across generations. For cities, it means traffic jams stretching for miles, where precious hours are lost every day.

Why Too Many People Strain the Planet

Population growth magnifies almost every environmental stress. More people mean higher demand for food, energy, and housing - each tied to emissions and ecological disruption. Globally, the top 10% of emitters are responsible for nearly half of all carbon emissions, but the aggregate effect of billions more people using resources intensifies climate risks.

In India, this has specific consequences. Studies show that population-linked emissions are accelerating glacier melt in the Himalayas, depleting groundwater, and driving rapid urban sprawl that worsens air pollution. Rising population is thus not just a social issue but a scientific driver of climate change.

The science is straightforward: more mouths to feed means more fields to farm, more cattle emitting methane, more vehicles on the road, and more coal burned for electricity. Each of these multiplies the greenhouse gases heating our planet.

How Governments Try to Keep Pace

India’s government has long recognised the challenge. The world’s first national family planning program was launched here in 1952, and today, initiatives like Mission Pariwar Vikas provide access to contraceptives and counselling in high-fertility districts. Fertility has dropped from 5.9 in the 1950s to near replacement today, showing significant policy impact.

At the climate front, India has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 while expanding renewable energy to 50% of power capacity by 2030. Both agendas - population stabilisation and climate action are increasingly seen as intertwined.

Recent efforts also include:

Expanding women’s education and health programs, proven to lower fertility rates.
Investing in green infrastructure in megacities to handle urban crowding.
Supporting rural jobs programs so migration to already stressed cities slows down.

Voices from the Ground: Activists and Communities

Activists and NGOs are bridging gaps where policy alone cannot. Campaigns like Population Foundation of India emphasise the links between reproductive health, women’s empowerment, and sustainable development. Grassroots movements highlight how unchecked growth undermines local resources - from water scarcity in Rajasthan to urban sprawl in Bengaluru. By reframing population as a human rights and climate issue, these voices push for inclusive solutions.

Activists often remind us that behind every number is a person. Their campaigns stress dignity: that family planning is not just about controlling numbers, but about ensuring healthier, more secure lives. In villages, women’s groups teaching about contraception are as vital as urban campaigns promoting public transport to cut emissions.

What We Can Learn from Others

If India seeks models, it need only look at countries that have faced similar challenges. Thailand, for example, reduced its fertility rate from over 6 in the 1960s to under 2 today through community-based family planning and education campaigns. Importantly, this was achieved without coercion - proving that social change and empowerment are more effective than force. Such lessons matter for India, where rights-based approaches are key.

Another lesson comes from Iran, which in the 1990s rolled out one of the fastest fertility declines in history through free contraceptives, mandatory premarital counselling, and media campaigns linking family size with quality of life. By aligning religious leaders, doctors, and teachers, the program changed public attitudes in just a decade.

How Overpopulation Has Changed India

The scale of population growth has left an indelible mark. Urbanisation has exploded: India’s urban population grew from 62 million in 1951 to over 500 million today. Cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru are choking under traffic, pollution, and infrastructure stress. Agricultural land per capita has shrunk, groundwater tables have fallen, and forests are fragmented.

The climate link is equally stark. India is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and though per-capita emissions remain low, population growth magnifies the total footprint. More people mean more vehicles, more power demand, and more pressure on already fragile ecosystems.

On the human level, this means farmers in Bundelkhand facing longer droughts, urban families spending more on bottled water, and children growing up in cities where asthma inhalers are as common as schoolbooks. Overpopulation is not an abstract trend - it is daily life reshaped.

Looking Ahead

The story of population is not just one of burden - it is also one of potential. India’s young population can power innovation, green technology, and new economic growth, provided investments in education, health, and clean energy are prioritised. The challenge is to ensure that numbers become an asset, not a liability.

The lesson is clear: population policies must align with climate strategies, women’s empowerment, and sustainable development. As the saying goes, “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” The future depends on whether rising numbers can live in balance with a planet already under strain.