Table 1.
Demographic and Socio-economic characteristics of sample elderly population in India
| India | Sample size (N) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Age (years) | 67.5 | 42,762 |
| Age group (years) | ||
| 60–69 | 66.1 | 27,769 |
| 70–79 | 25.9 | 11,235 |
| 80 and above | 8.0 | 3758 |
| Place of Residence | ||
| Rural | 67.1 | 23,599 |
| Urban | 32.9 | 19,163 |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 49.1 | 21,902 |
| Female | 50.9 | 20,858 |
| Marital Status | ||
| Never Married/ divorced/ separated | 0.9 | 395 |
| Currently married | 64.7 | 29,324 |
| Widowed | 34.4 | 13,043 |
| Surviving Children | ||
| At least one surviving child | 95.7 | 41,409 |
| No child | 4.3 | 1353 |
| Social Groups | ||
| ST | 6.2 | 3913 |
| SC | 17.4 | 6133 |
| OBC | 42.3 | 16,519 |
| General | 34.3 | 16,197 |
| Education | ||
| Illiterate | 54.1 | 20,194 |
| Up to primary | 21.1 | 9375 |
| Up to secondary | 14.3 | 7752 |
| Above Secondary | 10.5 | 5441 |
| Household occupation | ||
| Self employed | 48.1 | 20,986 |
| Regular Wages | 15.5 | 8536 |
| Casual Labourer | 20.0 | 6709 |
| Others | 16.5 | 6531 |
| Economic quintile-Rural | ||
| Poorest | 19.1 | 3773 |
| Poor | 19.0 | 3945 |
| Middle | 21.0 | 4651 |
| Rich | 19.5 | 4949 |
| Richest | 21.3 | 6281 |
| Economic quintile-Urban | ||
| Poorest | 21.7 | 4776 |
| Poor | 18.0 | 3614 |
| Middle | 20.9 | 3696 |
| Rich | 22.0 | 3537 |
| Richest | 17.3 | 3540 |
Source: Authors’ computation from unit records of NSSO 75th Round 2017–18