Choose the correct statements related to demographic dividend:
A. Higher dependency ratio means that the population is young.
B. Lower dependency ratio creates the potential for generating growth.
C. The total dependency ratio fell from 79 in 1970 to 64 in 2005.
D. Age-based dependency ratio in India is projected to fall to 50 by 2050.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → B, C and D only
A. Higher dependency ratio means that the population is young. Incorrect. The dependency ratio compares the dependents, children who are too young to work and elderly people who are too old to work, with the people of working age (15 to 64 years). A high ratio can come from many old people as well as from many children; a rising ratio is in fact a worry for countries with an ageing population. So a higher ratio does not by itself mean that the population is young.
B. Lower dependency ratio creates the potential for generating growth. Correct. When the ratio falls, there are more workers for every non-worker. The demographic transition lowers the ratio and so creates the potential for generating growth; this is the demographic dividend. The potential turns into actual growth only if the new workers are educated and find jobs.
C. The total dependency ratio fell from 79 in 1970 to 64 in 2005. Correct. These are the very figures given for India: the total dependency ratio fell from 79 in 1970 to 64 in 2005.
D. Age-based dependency ratio in India is projected to fall to 50 by 2050. Correct. The age-based ratio is projected to fall to 48 in 2025, as the share of children keeps falling, and then to rise to 50 by 2050, as the share of the aged grows. Compared with 64 in 2005, a ratio of 50 in 2050 is still a fall, which is how the statement puts it.
Note: Statement D is loosely worded. NCERT (2025-26) projects the age-based dependency ratio to fall to 48 in 2025 and then rise to 50 by 2050; the statement says only that it falls to 50 by 2050. Read against the 2005 figure of 64, the ratio of 50 in 2050 is lower. Without statement D no option fits, since ‘B and C only’ is not given; so statement D is taken as correct, as per the NTA answer key.
NCERT (2025-26): “Common Concepts and Indicators … The dependency ratio is a measure comparing the portion of a population which is composed of dependents (i.e., elderly people who are too old to work, and children who are too young to work) with the portion that is in the working age group, generally defined as 15 to 64 years. The dependency ratio is equal to the population below 15 or above 64, divided by population in the 15-64 age group. This is usually expressed as a percentage. A rising dependency ratio is a cause for worry in countries that are facing an ageing population, since it becomes difficult for a relatively smaller proportion of working-age people to carry the burden of providing for a relatively larger proportion of dependents. On the other hand, a falling dependency ratio can be a source of economic growth and prosperity due to the larger proportion of workers relative to non-workers. This is sometimes refered to as the ‘demographic dividend’, or benefit flowing from the changing age structure. However, this benefit is temporary because the larger pool of working age people will eventually turn into non-working old people.”
|
