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TopDemographic Profile Of Young Population Of India
India accounted for 17.8% of the world population in 2010 and it has been projected to be 17.9% of global population by 2030. As per Census of India, 2011, the total youth population of the country stands at 333 million, which has increased continuously from the level of 26.6% in 2001 to 27.5% in 2011 (Table 1) and the rural youth population in the age group of 15-29 years stands at 223 million with 116 million (51.87%) males and 107 million (48.13%) females (Table 2). Since India is on the verge of demographic dividend phase, achieving high rate of youth employment is of paramount importance for economic growth of the country.
Youth is often indicated as a person between the age where he/she may leave compulsory education, and the age at which he/she finds his/her first employment. National Youth Policy, 2014 has defined ‘youth’ as persons in the age-group of 15-29 years and therefore, this age group has been taken into account in order to maintain uniformity throughout the study.
Table 1. Youth population (15-29 years) and their share in total population of India
| Year | Population in (000) | Proportion to total population |
| Male | Female | Persons | Males | Females | Persons |
| 2001 | 141819 | 131584 | 273402 | 26.6 | 26.5 | 26.6 |
| 2011 | 172911 | 160453 | 333365 | 27.7 | 27.3 | 27.5 |
| 2021* | 193258 | 173627 | 366885 | 26.6 | 25.7 | 26.1 |
* Population projections by World Bank
Note: 2001 figures excludes Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur
(Source: Youth in India, 2017, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India)