Read the passage carefully and answer the questions based on the passage:
The demographic advantage or 'dividend' to be derived from the age structure of the population is due to the fact that India is (and will remain for some time) one of the youngest countries in the world. A third of India's population was below 15 years of age in 2011. In 2020, the average Indian was only 29 years old, compared with an average age of 37 in China and the United States, 45 in Western Europe, and 48 in Japan. This implies a large and growing labor force, which can deliver unexpected benefits in terms of growth and prosperity.
When does Demographic Dividend take place?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → When there is larger proportion of workers relative to non-workers.
Option (1) When the proportion between working age people is equivalent to non-working age people. — Incorrect. If workers and non-workers are equal in number, every worker still has to support one dependent. The dividend needs the share of workers to rise above that of non-workers, not merely to equal it.
Option (2) When relatively smaller proportion of working-age people carry the burden of providing for a relatively larger proportion of dependents. — Incorrect. This describes a high dependency ratio: few earners supporting many dependents. It is the reverse of the situation in which a dividend arises.
Option (3) When the difference is zero between birth rate and death rate. — Incorrect. Equal birth and death rates mean the population is not growing. That tells us about the rate of growth, not about how many people are of working age, which is what the dividend depends on.
Option (4) When there is larger proportion of workers relative to non-workers. — Correct. The ‘demographic dividend’ results from an increase in the proportion of workers relative to non-workers in the population. The working-age group (roughly 15 to 64 years) must support itself and the children and elderly people outside it, so the larger this group is, the lighter the load on each earner.
NCERT: Indian Society — Chapter 2: The Demographic Structure of the Indian Society (2025-26)
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