China says its talent dividend in the making as India becoming world’s most populous country

India is overtaking China as the world’s most populous country, according to the UN’s World Population Dashboard.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that the demographic dividend of a country depends on the quantity of population, but the quality of population is more important; it depends on the size of the population, but the scale of high-caliber workforce is more important.

China has a population of more than 1.4 billion, of which nearly 900 million are of working age, and the average number of years of education for the working-age population is 10.9 years, with the new entrants into the workforce having 14 years of education, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin noted.At the same time, China has implemented a national strategy to actively respond to the aging population, promoting a three-child policy with supporting measures to actively respond to demographic changes, he said.

“China’s demographic dividend has not disappeared, and our talent dividend is in the making. The driving force for China’s development remains strong,” said Wang, quoting Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s remarks during a press meeting on March 13.

Sources: CGTN