Kerala must prepare to face future with increasing ageing population, says study

The study was done by the Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies in Kochi

Kerala needs to focus on the challenges posed by an increasingly ageing population in the midst of a demographic transition that has seen fertility level falling below the replacement level and life expectancy remaining at 75 years. The State must draw up long-term strategies to face a situation in which there is a decline in the working population or the young, says a recent study by the Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies in Kochi.

Kerala society is increasingly becoming an ageing society. The share of the young workforce (aged 20-34 years) in the working age population has come down from 50% in 1991 to 39% in 2011. Census-based population projections indicate that the downward movement will continue in the coming years. The decline in the young workforce leads to shortage of labour, especially for physical works as well as semi-skilled works.

Demographic transition means a significant change in the population composition of a community of people. Such a transition had an early onset in the State. Decadal population growth was 5 per cent during 2001-2011 period. The situation has created some unique challenges, says Baishali Goswami, associate fellow at CSES, who led the study.