As of Wednesday, India had overtaken China as the world's most populated nation, according to figures from a UN agency. But what is the current land share between you and me? More intriguingly, given that the entire land area is shared evenly among its residents, what will be each citizen's individual land share in ten years?
A country's population grows—in India's case, it is a demographic dividend—but the geographical area stays the same. As a result, every generation will witness a decline in the amount of land allotted to each person, or what is known as the per capita land share.
India will have 142.86 crore people in 2023, according to the most recent United Nations Population Fund estimates. India has surpassed China, which has 142.57 crore people, to become the world's most populous nation.
According to the UNFPA report, the top five nations by population are India, China, the United States, Indonesia, and Pakistan, listed in decreasing order.
China is the third-largest country in the world by area, and India is the seventh-largest.
DO YOU OWN ANY CRICKET PITCHES?
There are 32.9 lakh square kilometers of land in India. India has a population density of 434.6 persons per square kilometer as of right now. In comparison, China has a population density of 151.3 inhabitants per square kilometer. Pakistan, a neighboring country that ranks sixth in terms of population, has a population density of 312 people per square kilometer.
What is the maximum amount of land that an Indian citizen can claim as their own, given there is an equitable distribution of property?
The current answer is 2,301 square meters or 0.0023 square kilometers. That is an Indian's part of the total land area.
Take a look at this to get a better idea of the per-person land share in India. 61.4 square meters make up a cricket pitch. Thus, one Indian individual owns land that is roughly the size of 37 cricket fields.
Chinese citizens have a per capita land share of 0.0066 square kilometers, while Americans have a per capita land share of 0.0269 square kilometers. Pakistan, a bordering country, has 0.00321 square kilometers of land per person. This is in accordance with the World Bank's figures on land area.
1.4 BILLION CHANCES AND DIFFICULTIES
Additionally, the per capita land share will continue to decline as the population grows, which is a benefit for India.
"1.4 billion opportunities must be seen in India's 1.4 billion people. "As the nation with the largest youth cohort, with 254 million young people (15 to 24 years old), India can be a source of innovation, fresh ideas, and long-lasting solutions," says Andrea Wojnar, the UNFPA representative for India and the director of operations for Bhutan.
However, the declining land ownership per person has its own effects, particularly on agriculture. The land holdings will shrink as the population grows, in part because the land will probably be taken away from cultivation.
Every five years, India's Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers Welfare conduct an agricultural census that includes information on the quantity of agricultural land owned by Indian farmers. According to the most recent data from the agricultural census, the average size of operating holdings has declined from 2.28 hectares in 1970–1971 to 1.08 hectares in 2015–16.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the fragmentation of holdings is likely to continue and the average size of operational holdings is expected to further decline in India given the declining trends in the size of agricultural holdings that have been observed in the past and the anticipated increase in population over time.
