Policy Brief

The demographic dividend is the potential growth in a country’s economy, resulting from a change in the age structure of its population. The smaller share of children enables greater investment per child, particularly for health care, nutrition, education and skills. The future entrants to the labour force will have better productivity, which is likely to boost per capita income. This can also lead to increase in savings that can be used for new investment for added returns. However, realisation of benefits is not automatic. Considering the huge population size and profound demographic diversity in India, a differential planning approach is needed to reap the benefits of demographic dividend.