India Population - the age structure

Topic : Demographics (Prelims)/ Population and associated issues (Mains GS Paper I)

While the last article spoke about population growth, here we discuss about the composition of Indian population. We will be doing the analysis with the help of the available statistical data. If for the last article we used the Sample Registration System, here we will depend upon the Census - 2011. The main idea of this article would be the age-based classification of Indian population and the related implications.

On the basis of age, the population can be classified into three :

• Child population
• Working age population
• Old age population

Child population

Age : 0 - 14 years.

Percentage of total population(Census 2011)  - 31%

But this is very high in the Northern states of Bihar (40%) and Uttar Pradesh (36%), This generally follows from the high birth rate (CBR) in the above states. 

Concerns :

1. Child mortality - The Under 5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) in India is 49, short of the MDG goal of 42. The EAG + Assam are the worst performers while the South and the West are showing better indicators. The details of this issue given in the previous article.

2. Health and nutrition- A majority of health and malnutrition issues stem from the lack of proper care during pregnancy, birth and the infant stage. Hence health includes the reproductive health of the mother and the child health ie Reproductive and Child Health (RCH).

Another issue is marriage at a very young age, leading to pregnancy during the adolescent age. Adolescent Fertility Rate (AFR) or the number of births per 1000 women in the age-group 15-19 years is 32.45 according to a World Bank report of 2013.

On malnutrition, the National Family Health Survey(NFHS) gives the most authentic data. But the latest data (NFHS-4) is yet to be released. But the provisional data available with the Ministry of Women and Child Development indicates that India has drastically reduced the number of under-weight, stunted and wasted children from the 2005-06 levels. Also the number of infants below 6 months who are exclusively breastfed has dramatically shot up.

Data	2005 – 06	2013 - 14
Under-weight (< 5 yrs)	43.5	30.1
Stunted (< 5 yrs)	47.9	38.8
Wasted  (< 5 yrs)	20	15
Infants exclusively breastfed	46.4	71.6

Stunted - Shorter than standard height identified by WHO.

Wasted - low weight for height.

4. Drinking water and sanitation - Lack of proper sanitation facilities and contaminated water is leading to diseases like tropical enteropathy and diarrhoea. This leads to lack of proper absorption of food. Thus, even though nutritious food is given, the child may suffer from malnutrition.

5. Education - includes Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) followed by Primary Education.
Early childhood is defined as the period from conception through eight years of age. It is during the early years that children develop the cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills that they need to succeed in life. In India, particular focus is given to children in the age group 0 - 6 years.
After this comes the primary education, that is for children in the age group of 6 - 14 years.
The concern here are the poor facilities and a low quality of primary education. The Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) has outlined substandard learning level among children in primary schools.

Programmes/policies:
Here are a few initiatives to plug the gaps in this sector.

• Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) - under NRHM - Infant and young child breast feeding
• Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) - Nutrition for both children and pregnant mothers. Pre-school education in the category 3-6 years.
• Swachh Bharath Abhiyaan - to achieve complete sanitation and clean drinking water.
• Right to Education Act - Free and compulsory education for all children in the age group 6 - 14 years.
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan - Universalisation of primary education ie from Class I to VIII, and ensuring nutrition of children.

Working age population

Age : 15 - 64 years
Percentage of total population(Census 2011)  - 64%
(some latest official documents refer to the working age as 15 - 59 years and the corresponding proportion is 62%)
This includes the population involved in economic activity. India has the greatest number in this class. In other words, we can tell India currently has a good demographic dividend.
Demographic dividend - The proportion of the working age population among the total.
As per the UNFPA it means the economic growth potential that can result when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age share of the population (14 and younger, and 65 and older).
Youth population - Current median age (or the average) of India is 24 years and India is assumed to have the largest youth population by the year 2020. Again region-wise differences exist. Median age in Northern states is 21 while in Southern states like Kerala and TN it is around 31, almost a 10 year age gap. The northern states seems to have a younger population including children.

Concerns :

1. Education  - Low enrollment and lack of quality in secondary (Class IX - XII) and higher education ( graduation and above).
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) - It denotes the total enrollment in higher education among the population in the age group of 18 - 23 years. India currently has a GER is 20.4 (according to the All India Survey on Higher Education by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development) that is very low.

2. Skill development - Majority of youth population is uneducated and unskilled. They end up in the informal sector like construction. This large section need to be given formal education and training.
Among the formally trained people, 63% from Southern and Western states like Kerala, Maharashtra, and TN according to  the "State of urban youth of India 2012" report.

Programmes/policies:

• Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) - providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017.
• Rashtriya Uchhathar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA) - Improving the GER (in higher education) to 30% by 2020.
• National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015( otherwise known as "Skill India") - to remove the disconnect between the demand and supply of skilled man-power under a separate ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Old age population

The Census has considered those above 60 years (rather than 65 years) as old aged. This is in line with the retirement age in formal employment.
Age group - Above 60 years.
Percentage of total population (Census 2011) - 8.5%
Again there are state-wise differences. Kerala with an elderly population of 13% tops the list while the Northern states figure at the end. According to the "Report on the Status of Elderly"  compiled jointly by the UNFPA and HelpAge India International, people aged above 60 yrs in India is currently 100 million and this would become 323 million by 2050, constituting one-fifth of the total population by then.

Concerns:

1. Health - Lack of facilities - both clinical and community - to treat age-related problems.

2. Social protection - Lack of finance post working age, due to absence of pension. The current pension schemes (old-age pension, widow pension, disability pension) involves very low amounts and are not properly targeted. The old-aged are further subjected to harassment by their relatives or others. The women are at a greater risk, since majority of them are dependent on their male counter-parts throughout their life-time.

3. Isolation - This need to be read together with the nuclearisation of families. Census 2011 point out that the number of households has increased substantially in the last decade, and the number of persons per household has come down substantially. There is no emotional support for the old-aged in such a situation.

Programmes/policies :

• Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act, 2007 - to claim monthly maintenance for parents and senior citizens.
• National Programme for the Health-Care of the Elderly (NPHCE) - to provide preventive, curative and rehabilitative services to the elderly persons at various level of health care delivery system of the country.
• Atal Pension Yojana - for citizens in the unorganised sector after 60 years of age. The earlier Swavalamban scheme to be merged.

In short, the Government has its task cut out for transforming a favourable demographic dividend into a grand success. This requires timely interventions in all the age-groups. Thus the current situation presents both a crisis and an opportunity. A well handled crisis becomes an opportunity while a mis-handled opportunity becomes a crisis. Hence it is up to us to choose among these.