Demographic dividend and literate life expectancy: The case of Pakistan

Abstract

During the demographic transition from high mortality and fertility to low mortality and fertility, the age structure of a country changes, so that for a period the proportion of the population (which is of working ages) rises and then falls. This period during which the working-age population is relatively large is often termed the ‘demographic dividend’, a phenomenon which may be exploited by a country to accelerate economic development. The effectiveness with which a country may make use of the demographic dividend in this way, however, depends on the level of human capital of the working population, which determines its productivity. One way of measuring human capital is to use the so-called literate life expectancy, which is an estimate of the average number of years a member of the population spends in the literate state. This paper describes the calculation of the literate life expectancy for Pakistan, and compares the situation of Pakistan with that of other countries. Key words: Demographic transition, demographic dividend, human capital, life table, literate life expectancy.