SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

WHAT’S BEEN LEARNED
IN CHINA, JAPAN AND
THAILAND?
Three countries in Asia-Pacific have already
passed their labour force peak: China, Japan
and Thailand. Looking at their experiences
can help in understanding how having a larger
working-age population can accelerate economic
growth and human development. Did they make
the most of their demographic dividends?
While the working-age population peaked in
2010, China has skilfully used its era of a strong
labour supply by creating large numbers of jobs
and boosting economic output, realizing a large
demographic dividend in the process.
Economic, trade and financial policies
were instrumental in creating more jobs. Since
1978, China has implemented reforms that were
pro-market and pro-employment. Liberalization
of trade policies opened up the economy, and
trade grew much faster than any country has ever
CHINA: JOB CREATION KEY TO
MAXIMIZING THE DEMOGRAPHIC
DIVIDEND
China’s working-age population rose from 56
percent of the total population in 1960 to 74
percent in 2010, and increased in number from
363 million to 996 million people. During the
same period, China experienced stellar economic
growth rates of 6.3 percent in the 1970s, 9.4
percent in the 1980s, and 10.5 percent during the
1990s and first decade of the millennium. Many
factors influenced these high rates, including the
influx of people into the workforce (Figure 2.12).
FIGURE 2.12:
China’s economy grew through the highly
productive use of its workforce
Source: Based on UN DESA 2015a, World Bank 2015a and ILO 2015a.
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