Workers and participation

People work to earn a living, but also for a sense of worth. Economic activities are those that contribute to the gross national product (GNP: GDP plus net earnings from abroad). Everyone engaged in economic activities is a worker: not only those paid by an employer, but also the self-employed and those who help in a family farm or business.

India's workforce is about 545 million (2022-23). About two-thirds of the workers live in rural areas.

The worker-population ratio (WPR) shows what share of the population is working:

WPR = number of workers ÷ total population × 100.

For example, in a village of 1,000 people with 400 workers, the WPR is 40. India's WPR in 2023-24 (Table 6.1) was 43.7 overall: 45.6 in rural areas and 38.9 in urban areas. For women, it was 30.7 (34.8 rural, 20.7 urban).

Why do more rural people work? Many rural families are poor and cannot afford to stay out of work; everyone who can, helps on the farm. In cities, young people study longer, and many wait for a job that matches their education.

Women's work is underestimated. Much of the work women do, cooking, fetching water and fuel, helping on the family farm without pay, is not counted as economic activity, so the official figures show fewer women workers than there really are.