Assam's population to reach 40 million by 2036: Population commission

The population of Assam, which is growing at a rate of over 1% annually, is expected to touch almost 4 crore in 2036-an increase of over 81 lakh since the last counting that was done in 2011.

According to a report of a technical group constituted by the National Commission on Population (NCP) to prepare the population projections for the period 2011 to 2036.

The population increase will push the density of population in the state from 398 to 502 persons per square km.

The report said the country's population is expected to increase from 121.1 crore to 152.2 crore during this period at rate of 1% annually.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on World Population Day on Monday took to Twitter to reaffirm our commitment for population stabilisation by reducing infant mortality ensuring maternal health, strengthening family planning methods etc". With the rise in population, the state's sex ratio is also expected to rise from the current ratio of 958 to 976. The report said the population of male is expected to reach 1,99,35,000 while that of female will be 1,94,64,000 in 2036.

'Manipur's population is projected to grow in the range of 10-20%

Because of increase in life expectancy by 6.2 years for females and 6 years for males the state is expected to see an increase in population of older people (60+) from over 19 lakh to over 53 lakh by 2036 in the next le years, the share of population of people who are 60-in the state will be over 13 14. Similarly a drop in infant mortality and under-five mortality rates will also contribute to the population growth.

According to the report, the states which are expected to have least growth during 2011-2036 are Himachal Pradesh (6%), followed by Tamil Nadu (8%). In contrast, Delhi will have the highest projected growth of 98% during the period.

In the northeast, Manipur's population is projected to grow in the range of 10-20% while that in Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal is projected to increase by more than 30% during the period.