CNN原文：

India is set to surpass China as the world's most populous nation, with almost 3 million more people by the middle of this year, data released by the United Nations on Wednesday showed. Based on the projections, India's population by mid-year will reach 1.4286 billion, compared to China's 1.4257 billion – 2.9 million fewer – according to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) "State of World Population Report" for 2023.

联合国周三公布的数据显示，印度将超过中国，成为世界上人口最多的国家，到今年年中，印度人口将增加近300万。根据联合国人口基金会发布的《2023年世界人口状况报告》，基于这些预测，到今年年中，印度人口将达到14.286亿，而中国的人口为14.257亿，比印度少290万。

1.surpass sb. as ... 超越某人成为……（surpass v.超过；胜过）

2.the world's most populous nation 世界上人口最多的国家（populous adj.人口稠密的）

3.United Nations Population Fund 联合国人口基金会

UN officials have said it is not possible to determine the exact date for the shift, due to "uncertainty" about the data coming from China and India. India's last census was in 2011 and most recent, scheduled in 2021, was delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic. By 2050, eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania, according to the UNFPA report.

联合国官员表示，由于来自中国和印度的数据存在“不确定性”，无法确定印度人口具体会在哪一天超过中国。印度上一次人口普查是在2011年，最近一次定于2021年进行的人口普查因2019新冠疫情而推迟。根据人口基金会的报告，到2050年，八个国家将占全球预计人口增长的一半：刚果民主共和国、埃及、埃塞俄比亚、印度、尼日利亚、巴基斯坦、菲律宾和坦桑尼亚。

4.census n.（官方的）统计；人口普查；人口调查

5.the projected growth in global population 全球预计人口增长（projected adj.计划的，推断的）

【拓展】

6.demographic dividend 人口红利

例句："A country's demographic dividend depends not only on the total number, but also on the quality; not only on the population, but also on the talent," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters Wednesday when asked about the latest UN projection.

“一个国家的人口红利不仅取决于人口总量，而且取决于质量；不仅在人口上，而且在人才上。”周三，在被问及联合国的最新人口预测时，外交部发言人汪文斌告诉记者。