Size, Growth and Composition of
Adolescent and Youth Population in
India
by
Dr. Sanjay Kumar
National Programme Officer,
UNFPA-India, New Delhi
COMMEMORATING WORLD POPULATION DAY 2014
Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
July 17, 2014
Relevance
 The adolescent and the youth population constitute
a critical segments, as the future demographic,
social, economic and political development depends
on them
 Therefore, investing in them seems to be the best
way to leverage the nation’s competitive advantage
for reaping the benefits of the demographic dividend
Definition
 Different countries define adolescent and youth differently.
 The lower bound ranges from 12 (Jamaica) to 18 (Bangladesh). The
upper bound ranges from 24 (Jamaica) to even 35 or 40 (Kenya,
Pakistan).
 While there are no universally accepted definitions of
adolescents and youth, for statistical purposes, without
prejudice to other definitions by Member States, the United
Nations considers –
 Adolescent Population: 10 – 19 Years
 Youth Population: 15 – 24 Years
Overlapping age category of 15 – 19 years
Outline of the Presentation
 Trends in size and % of Adolescents and youth
population
 Global perspective, India and its States
 Future prospects of adolescent and youth population
 Composition of adolescent and youth population by
 Gender
 Place of Residence
 Social groups
 Summing up
253 million
Adolescent population of India is more than the total
population of 18 Western Asian Countries in 2011
Adolescent
population
Source: Census of India, 2011, UN World Population Prospects, 12th Revision
Western
Asia
(236 million)
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Cyprus
Georgia
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
State of Palestine
Syrian Arab Republic
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
232 million
Youth population of India is nearly equal to the total
population of 18 Western Asian Countries in 2011
Youth
population
~
Source: Census of India, 2011, UN World Population Prospects, 12th Revision
Western
Asia
(236 million)
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Cyprus
Georgia
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
State of Palestine
Syrian Arab Republic
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Adolescent and Youth Population: Global Perspective
2010
Source: UN World Population Prospects, 12th Revision
Sl
World / Countries
Total Pop
Adolescent Population
(Million)
Youth Population
Numbers
%
Numbers
%
World
6916
1198
17.3
1223
17.7
1 China
1359
191
14.1
242
17.8
2 India
1205
236
19.6
229
19.0
3 United States of America
312
43
13.8
43
14.1
4 Indonesia
240
43
18.0
40
16.8
5 Brazil
195
33
17.3
33
17.2
6 Pakistan
173
39
23.1
37
21.5
7 Nigeria
159
35
22.3
30
19.2
8 Bangladesh
151
32
21.3
30
20.3
9 Russian Federation
143
15
10.6
21
14.8
127
11
9.4
12
10.1
10 Japan
 Around 36% of the world’s adolescents and 38% of its youth reside in China and India
 The proportion of adolescents population in India is higher than China
Annual Growth Rate of Adolescent Population in
Selected Countries (percent), 2000-2010
-4.61
Russian Federation
-2.36
China
-1.57
Japan
-0.53
-0.04
-0.01
Brazil
Indonesia
WORLD
0.45
0.54
0.68
USA
Bangladesh
India
1.55
Pakistan
2.22
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
Nigeria
3
 The highest negative annual growth rate during 2000-2010 was recorded in Russian
Federation, followed China, Japan and Brazil
 Nigeria and Pakistan recorded highest annual growth rate
Annual Growth Rate of Youth Population in Selected
Countries (percent), 2000-2010
Japan
-2.11
Russian Federation
-0.83
Indonesia
-0.52
Brazil
-0.31
USA
0.97
Bangladesh
1.05
1.18
WORLD
1.23
India
China
1.77
Nigeria
2.12
2.7 Pakistan
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
 Among youth population, Japan recorded the highest negative growth rate
 Similar to the case of adolescents growth rate, Pakistan and Nigeria had the highest
growth of young population during 2000-2010
Future Prospects of Adolescents and Youth Population,
India and China, 2010 - 2050
Adolescents
300
200
241
237
250
191
238
219
139
150
250
242
190
100
50
50
139
0
2010
2015
2030
2050
2010
China
2015
2030
2050
Youth Population (Million)
Adolescent Population (Million)
China
India
India
25.0
25.0
19.6
20.0
18.8
20.0
16.1
13.5
15.0
10.0
224
175
150
100
0
237
234
229
200
175
161
Youth
300
14.1
11.5
15.0
13.6
12.0
10.0
0.0
0.0
2030
% of Adolescent Population
China
13.8
17.8
10.0
5.0
2015
18.3
16.1
10.0
12.1
5.0
2010
19.0
India
2050
2010
2015
2030
% of Youth Population
China
India
2050
Growth of Adolescent and Youth Population in India, 1961 - 2011
300
250
250
200
100
154
150
73
 Corresponding increase in
youth population is from 73
million to 232 million during
this period
91
50
0
1961
 Adolescent population has
increased from 85 million in
1961 to 253 million in 2011
(in five decades)
121
116
85
232
190
178
150
253
1971
1981
Adolescents
1991
2001
2011
Youth
Net additions during successive Census years
 Unlike the decrease in the net addition
of adolescent population during the last
decade, the net addition of youth
population in each subsequent decades
has always been higher since 1961
Decades
Adolescents
Youth
1971-81
33.8
30.9
1981-91
27.7
32.0
1991-2001
47.7
36.5
2001-1011
28.2
42.0
Trends in Percentage of Adolescent and Youth Population in India,
1961 - 2011
30
25
20
15
19.4
21.2
16.7
16.5
1961
1971
22.6
21.2
21.9
20.9
18.3
18.3
18.5
19.2
1981
1991
2001
2011
10
5
0
Adolescents
Youth
 Since 1971, the proportion of adolescent population has remained around 21%
 The proportion of youth population has increased steadily from 16.7% in 1961 to 19.2% in
2011
Adolescent and Youth Population: State Ranking, 2011
(Million)
Rank
States
Adolescent
Population
% to Total
Population
States
Youth
Population
% to Total
Population
INDIA
253.2
100
INDIA
231.9
100
1
Uttar Pradesh
48.9
19.3
Uttar Pradesh
40.6
17.5
2
Bihar
23.3
9.2
Maharashtra
21.7
9.4
3
Maharashtra
21.3
8.4
West Bengal
17.8
7.7
4
West Bengal
18.2
7.2
Bihar
17.5
7.6
5
Andhra Pradesh
16.2
6.4
Andhra Pradesh
16.2
7.0
 Uttar Pradesh ranks first in terms of both adolescent and youth population in the country,
accounting for 19.3% of total adolescents of the country and 17.5% of India’s youth
 Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are among top five states in terms
of both adolescents and youth population, with varying ranking for the two segments,
though all these four states each accounts for less than 10% of the share of adolescents
and youth population of the country
Adolescent Population: in India, 2011
Percent of Adolescent Population, State wise, 2011
Percent of Youth Population, State wise, 2011
Trends in Adolescents Sex Ratio in Selected Countries, 2000-2010
 Among top 10 populous
counties of the world, drastic
declines in Sex ratio among
adolescent population during
2000-2010 has been observed
in case of China and India and
also in Indonesia
Sex ratio is defined as females per thousand males
Trends in Youth Sex Ratio in Selected Countries, 2000-2010
 In case of sex ratio among
youth population, China
showed drastic decline of 36
points during 2000-2010
 India’s youth sex ratio has
declined by 8 points during this
period
Sex ratio is defined as females per thousand males
Trends in Adolescents, Youth and Overall Sex Ratio in India, 1961 – 2011
Females per 1000 males
1000
990
980
960
940
941
930
920
900
935
898
880
884
860
934
927
927
925
895
892
887
882
1981
1991
2001
933
943
908
898
840
1961
1971
2011
Census Years
Adolescent
Youth
Overall
 Based on Census data, the adolescent sex ratio in India has been low – with the lowest at
882 in 2001 to the highest at 898 in 2011
 The youth sex ratio declined sharply from 990 in 1961 to 935 in 1971, and thereafter it fell
in subsequent four decades, it fell continuously and during 2011 Census, it improved by 13
points (at 908)
Sex ratio is defined as females per thousand males
Top and Bottom Five States in terms of Adolescent and Youth Sex Ratio in India, 2011
Top five states/UTs
Adolescent Sex
Ratio
Top five states/UTs
Youth Sex Ratio
Lakshadweep
1053
Puducherry
1040
Arunachal Pradesh
983
Meghalaya
1011
Odisha
981
Kerala
1008
Meghalaya
979
Odisha
1006
Chhattisgarh
972
Tripura
1003
Bottom five
states/UTs
Adolescent Sex
Ratio
Bottom five
states/Uts
Youth Sex Ratio
Haryana
805
Haryana
834
Punjab
791
NCT Delhi
829
Dadra & N Haveli
775
Chandigarh
749
Chandigarh
756
Dadra & N Haveli
627
Daman & Diu
584
Daman & Diu
406
Size of Adolescent and Youth Population by Place of Residence
in India, 2011
(Million)
Total
Rural
Urban
Percentage Distribution
Rural
Urban
253
181
72
71.5
28.5
232
158
74
68.1
31.9
 72% of the total adolescents in India resides in rural areas (181 million)
 In case of youth population, 68% live in rural areas
Trends in Percentage of Adolescent and Youth Population by Place of Residence in
India, 2000-2011
RURAL AREAS
25
21.9
URBAN AREAS
25
21.7
18.9
17.7
20
20.5
20
15
15
10
10
5
5
0
21.9
19.7
19.2
0
2001
2011
Adolescent
Youth
2001
2011
Adolescent
Youth
 Percent of adolescent population in urban areas declined from 21.9% in 2001 to 19.2% in
2011, while in rural areas it remained more or less same
 The reverses is observed in case of percent of youth population. In rural areas, it
increased from 17.7% in 2001 to 18.9% in 2011, while in rural areas it remained more or
less same
Social Composition of Adolescent and Youth Population in India, 2011
(Population size in Million)
Adolescent
INDIA
Youth
SC
% to
total
adol
ST
% to total
adol
SC
% to total
youth
ST
% to total
youth
44
17.5
23
9.2
40
17.1
20
8.6
 44 million adolescents belong to Scheduled Caste category, comprising 17% of the total
adolescent population of the country
 23 million adolescents belong to Scheduled Tribe category, comprising 9% of the total
adolescents in the country
 Among youth, 40 and 20 million belong to SC and ST respectively
Summing Up
• The current and future prospects of
adolescent and youth population, as well as
diversity, provides denominators for
programme planning
• It is up to us to take cognizance of the huge
size and invest properly for the future
development of our nation
Thanks