New Delhi: India is ageing. The Sample Registration System report for 2023 shows a growing proportion of the population now comprises the working-age group, a rise in the elderly population, a long-term decline in the share of the 0-14 age group, and a decline in the fertility rate.
According to the report, the 0-14 age group’s share has been declining gradually -- from 41.2 per cent to 38.1 per cent of the total population during 1971-1981, and 36.3 per cent to 24.2 per cent during 1991-2023.
This comes amid a decline in the country’s total fertility rate, from 5.2 in 1971 to 1.9 in 2023, SRS data of the Registrar General of India shows.
The report for 2023 contains estimates of various demographic, fertility and mortality indicators based on the data collected through the SRS sample survey. SRS in India is one of the largest demographic surveys in the world, covering about 8.8 million sample population.
“Data indicates that across all states and Union Territories, the percentage of males in the 0-14 age group is higher than that of females, except in the rural areas of Delhi, where the proportion of females exceeds that of males,” the report states.
It shows a steady increase in the proportion of the economically active group (15-59 years) in the total population -- from 53.4 to 56.3 per cent during 1971-1981, and from 57.7 to 66.1 per cent during 1991-2023.
The highest proportion of this population, also known as the working-age group, is in Delhi at 70.8 per cent, followed by Telangana at 70.2 per cent, and Andhra Pradesh at 70.1 per cent.
Bihar has the lowest share of this population at 60.1 per cent, Rajasthan has 63.4 per cent, and Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh both have 63.9 per cent.
Urban areas, being the hub of economic activities, attract this age group, which accounts for 68.8 per cent of the total population. In contrast, rural areas continue to have a smaller population of the working age group at 64.6 per cent.
Jammu and Kashmir has the highest proportion of rural females in the working-age group, accounting for 70.1 per cent of the total population. Assam tops the list in urban areas with 72.4 per cent.
Delhi has the highest percentage of rural males at 72.9 per cent in this group, whereas Assam ranks highest in urban males at 70.9 per cent.
The proportion of the elderly population has also shown an upward trend, with the share of individuals
aged 60 rising to 9.7 per cent in 2023.
Kerala has the highest percentage of the population in this age group at 15.1 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu at 14 per cent and Himachal Pradesh at 13.2 per cent.