Indian Living Standards Soar - in the Last Twenty-Five Years:

Thought for the day

Indian Living Standards Soar
in the Last Twenty-Five Years

19 April 2024

GDP per capita growth outperforms the Asia-Pacific region and Emerging Markets.

India's GDP per Capita Growth
Index: 1998=100

Indian Living Standards Soar - in the Last Twenty-Five Years

* GDP in Purchasing Power Parity terms with added estimates for the size of the informal economy and adjustments for out-of-date GDP base year data.

Real GDP per capita in India has risen by 219% since 1998 and has only fallen once in 2020. India, now the world’s third-largest economy, is potentially favoured by a demographic dividend (in contrast with many Asian and Western countries) with the proportion of young people under the age of 15 standing at 38% of the total population. A second burst of GDP growth might come if India’s currently low figure for the employment to population ratio of 42.8% was raised closer to the 65% level prevailing in China.

One of the most significant negative factors of the Indian economy’s performance remains the relatively high number of people still classed as living in poverty at 22.5%. This can be sharply contrasted with China where inclusive growth has reduced the poverty ratio to only 0.1%.