New Delhi (TIP): India would retain its “demographic dividend” for the next 85 years and a steady rise in the population will make India surpass China by 2022 to become the world’s most populated nation, says a United Nations report.

Currently, China’s population is approximately 1.38 billion compared to India’s 1.31 billion. By 2022, both are likely to have approximately 1.4 billion people, after which India’s headcount will grow while China is likely to experience a drop.

The bulk of India’s population would be young and productive, providing the nation with what is known as demographic dividend.

At the moment, more than 60 per cent Indians are in the economically productive age group of 15-59. It would continue till around 2050 and reduce to just above 50 per cent by 2100, says the report titled World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision.