Final answer:
The assertion that the lower class makes up roughly 40% of the population is not universally true and depends on regional, economic, and sociological factors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the lower class consists of about 40 percent of the population can be false, as class divisions and percentages of the population within each class can vary greatly between different countries and over time. For instance, in the United States, class is often broken down into upper, middle, and lower class, with subcategories within each. Sociologists differ in how they categorize these groups, and an economist like J.D. Foster would consider the lower 20 percent of earners as 'lower income' and the remaining 60 percent as middle class according to some definitions.
Moreover, in other countries such as China or Mexico, the distribution of class can be even more diverse, reflecting different socio-economic structures and demographic transitions.Ultimately, determining what percentage of the population falls into the lower class is not a straightforward answer and can be dependent on the definitions and methodologies used by various researchers or institutions.