New Delhi, June 11 -- While India continues to be the most populous country, with an estimated 1.46 billion people in 2025, the country's total fertility rate has fallen to 1.9, below the replacement level of 2.1, according to the latest report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released on Tuesday.

The 2025 State of World Population (SOWP) report underscores that the real crisis lies not in population size, but in the widespread challenges to support individuals' right to decide freely and responsibly if, when, and how many children to have.

The UN report estimates "India's population at present at 1,463.9 million".

"India is now the world's most populous nation, with nearly 1.5 billion people - a number expected to grow to...