Elderly

Size and Growth of Elderly Population

In India, as a result of the change in the age composition of the population over time, there has been a progressive increase in both the number and proportion of aged people. The proportion of the population aged 60 years or more has been increasing consistently over the last century, particularly after 1951. In 1901 the proportion of the population aged 60 or over of India was about 5 per cent, which marginally increased to 5.4 per cent in 1951, and by 2001 this share was found to have risen to about 7.4 per cent. About 75% of persons of age 60 and above reside in rural areas.

The decadal growth rate of India’s elderly population and of the general population, for the period 1951 to 2001, as shown in fig. above, reveals once again that the aged population in India has grown very steadily since 1951 at a much faster rate as compared to that of general population all through during 1951 to 2001 and more so during the period 1961 to 1981. A decadal growth rate of 24 per cent recorded for the elderly population during 1951-61, increased to more than 33 per cent during the decades 1961-71 and 1971-81 as against around 25% decadal growth in general population during the period. However, since then there has been a steady decline in the decadal growth rate of aged population although it has outpaced the growth of general population.