According to a UN report, India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country by 2023.
As of March 2022, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) projected India's population to be around 1.37 billion people.
Here are the top 5 states with the largest population, based on the 2011 census.
#1 Uttar Pradesh
The census of 2011 concluded with Uttar Pradesh being the most populous state of India with a population of 19,98,12,341 crore people. This accounts for 16.50 per cent of India's total population.
#2 Maharashtra
The west Indian state ranked number two with a population of 11,23,74,333 crore people which accounts for 9.28 per cent of the total population of India.
#3 Bihar
According to Census 2011, Bihar ranked number three with a population of 10,40,99,452 crore people that accounts for 8.60 per cent of India's total population.
#4 West Bengal
West Bengal ranked number four according to the 2011 census with a population of 9,12,76,115 crore people. The eastern state accounts for 7.54 per cent of India's total population,
#5 Andhra Pradesh
Back in the 2011 census, erstwhile Andhra Pradesh also consisted of modern-day Telangana as well. The two states combined to house a population of 84,580,777 crore people or 6.99 per cent of India's total population.
The last nation-wide population count was done by the Census of India in 2011. Tentatively, the next census was scheduled in 2021 but was later postponed to 2023-24 due to Covid-19 lockdown.