India and China have always been close competitors to claim the Asian superpower image among the global counties. Now, according to a survey by the United Nations Population Studies Body, India will soon claim its supremacy over China but for a wrong reason. The survey says that India will surpass China’s population by 2022, to become the world’s most populous country.

With a population over 1.24 billion, India currently ranks second next to China. At the present rate, India’s population will touch 1.5 billion by 2030. On the other hand, China’s population will maintain the same pace thanks to the country’s one child policy which had been implemented strictly. However, this policy has been relaxed recently.

Due to such a high growth of population, the UN worries that India will experience severe challenges in the country’s development. India has been struggling to clock at least 9% growth in its GDP. “The concentration of growth in the poorest countries would make it harder to eradicate poverty, combat hunger and expand schooling and health systems,” said an official at the UN Population Studies Body.