Indians, Chinese to be 45 pc of world's middle class

"By 2030, citizens from China and India will have a combined share of 44 per cent of the global middle class," according the book 'Southern Engines of Global Growth'.

In 2000 while none of the Indian belonged to the global middle class, China accounted for 13.5 per cent of this group, it said.

Of the total 44 per cent, China will account for the majority at 38 per cent, while the remaining six per cent will be Indians. "Half of the total 740 million new entrants into the global middle class will be Chinese nationals," the book said.

The importance of China and India in the global middle class will depend on their economic and population growth rates and the changes in their within-country  income inequality.

The ascent of Indians, including Chinese, into the global middle class will produce a large group of people in the developing world who can afford, and will demand access to, the standards of living that were previously reserved mainly for residents of high-income countries, it said.

This would lead to two major implications. On one hand it would lead to rise in demand for international goods and services and on other hand it would increase in pressures for policies that favour global integration.