United Nations, June 18 (TIWN) The Earth will be home to some 9.7 billion people in 2050 and by 2100 the number will increase to 11 billion. India's population will surpass China's by 2027, and despite being one-third the size of the US will hold a population 10 times higher than America, the UN has announced.

''The World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights'', published by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the world's population is expected to increase by two billion people in the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050.  The world's population could reach its peak around the end of the current century, at a level of nearly 11 billion, according to the study, which presents the main results of the 26th round of the UN's global population estimates, projections and global demographic patterns.  The new report said that more than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just nine countries, led by India and followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the US.  The report highlighted that "disparate population growth rates" among the world's largest countries will re-order their ranking by size.  India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country around 2027, according to current projections made in the report.  "India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050, while the population of Nigeria is projected to grow by 200 million. Together, these two countries could account for 23 per cent of the global population increase to 2050," the report said.