Data Sheet

Second National Transfer Accounts Data Sheet, August 2016

The second NTA data sheet is available for download as a pdf file at NTA Data Sheet 2016.

An Excel version of the data sheet is available at NTA Data Sheet 2016 excel.

Summary: NTA's second data sheet provides estimates of 23 variables for 59 countries in Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Europe. Estimates cover per capita consumption by children and the elderly, support ratios, an index of fiscal support ratios, human-capital spending, labor income of young adults, and sources of economic support for children and the elderly.

Major findings: Data columns one through six compare per capita consumption by young people (age 0-24) and the elderly (age 65+) with consumption by working-age adults (age 25-64). Two types of consumption are distinguished—private consumption and public consumption, which includes government-provided education and healthcare. In general, private consumption is considerably lower for young people than for working-age adults, while private consumption by the elderly is similar. Public consumption is generally higher for both children and the elderly than for working-age adults, although it is lower for the elderly in several African countries.

The support ratio is an important indicator of population age structure that measures the effective number of producers relative to the effective number of consumers. Columns seven through nine give support ratios for 2015 and estimates for 2035 and 2055. In the early stages of development, the support ratio can reach very low levels because there are so many children, for example in Ghana, where there were only 41 effective producers in 2015 for every 100 effective consumers. This ratio is projected to increase to 52 producers per 100 consumers in 2055 with favorable benefits for the economy. The support ratio is rising throughout Africa and in some countries of South and Southeast Asia. Eventually, as large groups of workers reach retirement age, the support ratio will go down again. China, for example, had 53 producers for every 100 consumers in 2015, projected to decrease to 39 in 2050. In East Asia, Europe, North America, and most countries of South America and the Caribbean, the support ratio is projected to decline for the foreseeable future.

The fiscal support ratio, in columns ten and eleven, measures how changes in population age structure will influence government budgets if current age-profiles of taxes and benefits remain constant. Projected values are expressed as a percentage of the ratio in 2015. The fiscal support ratio is projected to rise over the next two decades in Africa (although data are available for only three countries) and South and Southeast Asia, meaning that tax revenues will increase relative to public benefits, but in all other regions, the fiscal support ratio will decline, putting pressure on government budgets.

Columns 12 through 14 give public and private human-capital spending per child, which includes spending on education and healthcare. Total human-capital spending ranges from nearly five times the average annual labor income of a prime-age adult (30–49) in East Asia to only two times annual labor income in Africa.

Column 15 gives a sense of earning opportunities for young workers by comparing the per capita labor income of young adults (age 20-29) with labor income for adults in their prime working years (age 30-49). At the two extremes, young adults in Africa earn 46 percent of the income of prime-age adults, while young adults in South and Southeast Asia earn 65 percent.

The last eight columns (16-23) show the economic resources available to children and the elderly. These two age groups rely on four sources to support their consumption: labor income, public transfers, private transfers, and income from assets. In the countries where data are available, children are supported primarily by private transfers, while the elderly tend to rely on public transfers and asset income.

First National Transfer Accounts Data Sheet, July 2011

The first NTA data sheet is available for download as a pdf file at NTA Data Sheet 2011.