10 most populous nations that don’t have birthright citizenship: list
1. India
The most populous country on earth, with approximately 1.47 billion people, the Republic of India does not have birthright citizenship, though this wasn’t always the case.
According to a 2020 piece published by the Paris-based think tank Institut Montaigne, India gradually moved away from the concept over the course of the 20th century.
“Traditionally, as evidenced by the Citizenship Act of 1955, citizenship in India was acquired by birth on Indian soil (jus soli) or by descent (the son or daughter of Indian citizens are themselves an Indian citizen, even if they were born abroad),” wrote Christophe Jaffrelot of the Institut.
“The reforms which took place from 1987 onwards tended to fully replace the old jus soli by a form of jus sanguinis as at least one of the parents had to be born Indian (and after 2003, the other parent should not be considered as illegal at the time of birth).”
