VOA时事新闻2023 联合国预测印度人口将在2023年年中超过中国（在线收听）

The United Nations estimates India will pass China to have the world's largest population sometime later this year.

联合国估计，印度将在今年晚些时候超过中国，成为世界上人口最多的国家。

This comes from the U.N. Population Fund's State of the World Population report.

这条信息来自联合国人口基金发表的《世界人口状况报告》。

Both countries have over 1.4 billion people.

两国人口数量都超过14亿。

But India will have about 3 million more people than China sometime around the middle of 2023.

但到2023年年中的某个时候，印度的人口数量将会比中国多出约300万。

The last time India counted its population through a census was 2011.

印度上一次进行人口普查统计是在2011年。

It is not possible to say exactly when India will overtake China.

目前还不能确切地说印度人口数量将在何时超过中国。

Together, the countries combine for about one third of the world's population.

这两个国家的人口加起来约占世界总人口的三分之一。

China has been the world's largest country since at least 1950.

至少自1950年以来，中国一直是世界上人口最多的国家。

That is the first year the U.N. issued population numbers.

联合国第一次发布人口数据是在1950年。

India's population is four times larger than it was when the country gained independence 76 years ago.

印度的人口数量是76年前该国独立时的四倍。

Recent guesses said India would not surpass China in population until later this decade, but China's birth rate has gone down.

最近有人猜测说，印度人口要到本世纪末才会超过中国，但中国的出生率已经下降。

While India's birth rate is also going down, China's population is getting older.

虽然印度的出生率也在下降，但中国的人口正在老龄化。

China's population decreased last year for the first time in about 60 years.

去年，中国人口出现了约60年来的首次下降。

India has 254 million people between the ages of 15 and 24.

印度有2.54亿人年龄在15岁到24岁之间。

That is the most in the world.

这是世界上最多的。

India's fertility rate – the average number of children each woman gives birth to – has been decreasing since 1960.

自1960年以来，印度的生育率——每个妇女平均生育的孩子数量——一直在下降。

But the country's medical system is improving.

但该国的医疗体系正在改善。

More babies are surviving their first year of life.

越来越多的婴儿活过了一岁。

The infant mortality rate has gone down over the past 30 years.

在过去的30年里，婴儿死亡率有所下降。

The country could become an economic power.

这个国家可能会成为一个经济强国。

But experts are concerned that there are not enough jobs for young Indians.

但专家们担心，印度年轻人没有足够的工作机会。

If the population grows and jobs do not, many people could fall into poverty.

如果人口增长而就业岗位不增长，许多人可能会陷入贫困。

Right now, the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) says only 40 percent of working-age Indians have jobs.

目前，印度经济监测中心表示，只有40%的处于工作年龄的印度人有工作。

Mahesh Vyas is the center's director.

马赫什·维亚斯是该中心的主任。

He called the growing population a "demographic dividend."

他将不断增长的人口称为“人口红利”。

But he said the country has failed to create enough jobs to see gains from its young workers.

但他表示，该国未能创造足够的就业机会，因此无法从年轻劳动力中获益。

He noted that the number of jobs available in India over the last six years has remained at about 405 million.

他指出，在过去六年里，印度的就业岗位数量一直保持在4.05亿个左右。

India has changed from an impoverished nation in 1947 to Asia's third largest economy, valued at $3 trillion.

印度已经从1947年的一个贫穷国家变成了亚洲第三大经济体，价值3万亿美元。

The country exports computer software and vaccines.

该国出口计算机软件和疫苗。

Millions of people have moved from poverty to the middle class as the number of educated people has grown.

随着受过教育的人数量增加，数以百万计的人从贫困走向中产阶级。

Poonam Muttreja is head of the Population Foundation of India.

普纳姆·穆特雷贾是印度人口基金的负责人。

She said the country must plan now for its young people.

她说，印度现在必须为年轻人制定计划。

The country needs to invest in jobs and education.

印度需要投资于就业和教育。

"This large population will need a huge investment in skills for them to take advantage of the opportunities that will come up in the economy," she said.

她说：“这么大的人口规模将需要在技能方面进行巨额投资，以便他们能够利用经济中将会出现的机会。”

She added that India needs to pay attention to women and girls as the population grows so they are not "pushed into early marriages and pregnancies, which limit their aspirations."

她补充说，随着人口增长，印度需要关注妇女和女孩，这样她们就不会“被迫早婚和早孕，这限制了她们的抱负”。

The U.N. asked over 1,000 Indians questions about their concerns related to population growth.

联合国向1000多名印度人询问了他们对人口增长的担忧。

Sixty-three percent said they were worried about economic issues, followed by the environment and health and human rights.

63%的受访者表示，他们担心经济问题，其次是环境、健康和人权问题。

In China, a foreign ministry spokesperson responded to the U.N.'s report and noted that the most important thing is not a country's population, but its ability to get the most out of the people it has.

中国外交部发言人针对联合国发布的这份报告作出了回应，他指出，最重要的不是一个国家的人口数量，而是它有能力最大限度地利用现有人口。

"The population is important," said Wang Wenbin.

“人口数量是很重要的，”汪文斌说。

"So is talent," he said, noting "quality" is more important than "quantity."

“人才也很重要，”他说，并指出“质量”比“数量”更重要。

I'm Dan Friedell.

丹·弗里德尔为您播报。