SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

RECORD NUMBERS OF
WORKING-AGE PEOPLE
Asia-Pacific’s working-age population, comprising
58 percent of the global total, continues to
grow (Figure 2.1). China and India comprised
62 percent of the region’s share in 2015, with
1 billion and 0.86 billion workers, respectively.
But China’s share of working-age people is now
falling, while India’s continues to rise, expected
to touch a maximum of about 1.1 billion in 2050.
The region as a whole will reach its maximum
number of working-age people, at 3.1 billion,
in 2045.
Variations within the region mean that East
Asia reached its maximum share of working-age
people at a remarkable 73 percent in 2010, while
South-east Asia is peaking shortly at 69 percent
(Figure 2.2). South Asia’s share will continue to
rise until 2040. At present, the median ages in
East Asia, South-east Asia and South Asia are
38, 29 and 26, respectively, a disparity prompting
growing migration within the region. It has also
FIGURE 2.1:
Almost 60 percent of working-age people live in Asia-Pacific
A growing working-age
population opens a
window of demographic
opportunity
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Source: Based on UN DESA 2015a.