Labor Force Projections for India and China by Age, Sex, and Highest Level of Educational Attainment, 2010 to 2060

I provide labor force projections by age, sex and highest level of educational attainment until 2060 for India and China. This will allow to not only compare the development of the labor force in terms of size and age-structure, but to additionally make it possible to show changes in the educational distribution within the economically active population. This is of particular interest since for China, the absolute size of the labor force is projected to decline by 2030, and the population is projected to age rapidly during the next decades. Some of the expected negative economic consequences of this development might possibly be compensated for by a more educated, more productive labor force. India, whose working-age population is not projected to decline, nor is its population aging as quickly, would still benefit greatly from a better educated labor force. It will be shown that depending on the assumed path of future educational expansion and of education-specific labor force participation, the labor force in both countries could develop along very different paths.