evidence: In 1971, China and India had nearly identical levels of total fertility, with just under 6 births per woman over a lifetime. Fertility in China fell sharply to fewer than 3 births per woman by the end of the 1970s (figure 3). By contrast, the fertility decline in India has been more gradual: it took three and a half decades for India to experience the same fertility reduction that occurred in China over just seven years in the 1970s. In 2022, at 1.2 births per woman, China had one of the world’s lowest fertility rates; India’s fertility rate, at 2.0 births per woman, was just below the "replacement" threshold of 2.1, the level required for population stabilization in the long run. According to the United Nations’ latest projections, India’s population is expected to reach its peak size around 2064 and then to decline gradually.