If a country has a very large youth population but few higher-education institutions, what long-term problem may arise?

Correct answer: Shortage of skilled labour

A very large youth population can become an advantage only when young people receive appropriate education and skills. If higher-education institutions, vocational centres, and technical training facilities are too few, many young people may enter adulthood without specialised abilities. Employers may then find it difficult to obtain trained workers, while young people face limited access to skilled employment. This creates a mismatch between labour supply and labour-market needs.

Option A is correct because inadequate educational and training capacity can produce a shortage of skilled labour in the long term. The elderly population will not immediately disappear, child dependency will not become zero, and pension costs will not vanish. Those options do not follow from a shortage of higher-education institutions. Therefore, the central concern is insufficient skill formation among a large future workforce.