BY- JAYA CHOUDHARY
Together, India and China have a population of over 2.7 billion people. That's more people than the next 20 most populated countries put together, or the rest of the world's 170 countries. India and China have each added more than a billion people to their populations in the last 300 years, much more than any other nation. They have, however, grown at about the same pace as the rest of the world.
These countries have a large population today since there were many more people a few hundred years ago when the world started its modern and fast population growth era. It's like contrasting a large and tiny bank account. If both accounts expand at about the same pace over time, the big one would gain significantly more money simply because it began with more. So, why did India and China have such a large population when they began their rapid growth?
Since so many factors influence long-term population dynamics, it's impossible to know for sure. The two most likely hypotheses, however, are food and geography. Having a lot of fertile lands and easy access to freshwater allows you to grow a lot of food, which in turn allows you to feed a lot of people. And today, the world's ten most populous countries all have a sizable amount of farmland. Farmland abounds in South and East Asia, as do river valleys and the potential to develop food all year. India and China produce 50 percent of the world's rice and 30 percent of the world's wheat, respectively.
Farmland abounds in South and East Asia, as do river valleys and the potential to develop food all year. Pixabay
Furthermore, plant and animal domestication essentially began in Asia, giving populations a head start. As a result, Asia has long been the most heavily populated area on the planet. Pakistan and Bangladesh may be densely populated and filled with farms, but due to their smaller geographical area than India and China, they simply cannot accommodate as many people.
Both the countries have excellent natural defenses that helped defend them from outside invasions, reduced warfare in the region. The Himalayas shield India from the north, the Thar desert and the Indus River from the west, and the jungles from the east. Any enemy approaching from the south will be forced to do so by sea. Meanwhile, China is bordered on the north by Siberia, the west by the Gobi desert, the south by the Tibetan Plateau, and the east by the Pacific.
These natural barriers may not have prevented all invasions, but they certainly made them more complicated. India and China now have more people than any other continent but the one they are on. China and India, therefore, became the world's most populous countries due to their strategic locations.