China on Wednesday sought to downplay India overtaking it as the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, saying that it still has a "quality" workforce of close to 900 million people to provide a strong impetus for development.

According to the latest United Nations Population Fund data, India surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people. China which has a population of 142.57 crore has now become the second most populous country, the UN world population dashboard showed.