CBSE Class 9 Answered

Age composition refers to the number of people that are included in different age groups. The population of a nation is generally divided into three broad categories. They are :

Children (below 15 years): This group is considered as unproductive and uneconomic as they have to be provided with food, clothing and medical care. They do not contribute towards the economy of the nation.

Working Age (15-59 years): This age group is economically productive as they are the working population of the country and contribute towards the economic growth of the country.

Aged (above 59 years): This age group is a retired workforce. However, they may be economically productive if they work voluntarily.

Children and aged affect the dependency ratio as they are not economically productive.

The age composition of the Indian population is as follows:

Children constitute 34.4% of the total population

Adults constitute 58.7% of the total population, and

Aged people constitute 6.9% of the total population

From the above statistics, it is clear that the adults constitute more than half of the population of India. This age group is economically productive and thus contributes towards the economic growth of the country. According to other statistics, Adolescent population( between 10-19 years) constitute one fifth of the total population which means that in coming years, India will benefit from a young work force compared to other countries like China and Japan which in coming years will have a ageing population.