India is most populated country in the world,  but what's little alarming is the Elderly population in India is expanding at an unprecedented rate and could surpass the children's population by mid-century, a new UNFPA report said, underlining that the young India will turn into a rapidly ageing society in the coming decades.

At the national level, the share of the elderly (60+ years) population is projected to increase from 10.1 per cent in 2021 to 15 per cent in 2036 and 20.8 per cent in 2050, according to the UNFPA's 'India Ageing Report 2023'.

A distinguishing feature of ageing in India is the significant interstate variation in absolute levels and growth (and hence, share) of the elderly population, given the varying stages and pace of demographic transition across states.

Consequently, there are considerable variations in the age structure of the population, including the ageing experience.

Most of the states in the southern region and select northern states such as Himachal Pradesh and Punjab reported a higher share of the elderly population than the national average in 2021, a gap that is expected to widen by 2036, the report said.

While states reporting higher fertility rates and lagging in demographic transition, such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, expect to see an increase in the share of the elderly population between 2021 and 2036, the level will remain lower than the Indian average, the report said.

The report pointed out that India has witnessed moderate to high pace of decadal growth in elderly population since 1961 and evidently, the pace was slower before 2001 but is expected to increase sharply in coming decades.

The report said that there are 39 older persons per 100 children in India, according to 2021 population estimates.

The ageing index measures the number of elderly (60+ years) per 100 children population (below 15 years) and the index score increases as the population ages.

The UNFPA said the population projections indicate that in 2021, there were 16 older persons per 100 working-age persons in India, with significant variations across regions.