Quick Facts About Aging Around the World

General Population Data

By 2050, the worldwide population over 60 will reach 2 billion people. Three fourths of them will be residents of developing countries. [14]

Japan had the highest percentage of elderly people (65 years old or more) in the year 2008. With 22 percent of all its citizens in this age group, it surpasses Italy which previously held this distinction. [2]

In the 25 years from 2002 to 2027, the 65+ population of Poland will increase by 50%. In China, the same population will increase by 100%, from 7% to 14% of its total population. [1]

In addition to having the world's largest total population, China has the largest elderly population as well, at 106 million people in 2008. [1]

The population over age 60 in Sub-Saharan Africa (50 countries) will increase by over 90% from 2006 to 2030. [10]

Socioeconomic Facts

Worldwide, four out of five people have no access to a pension. In most African countries, fewer than one in ten older persons receives a pension. [13]

Longevity

The growth rate of the world's "oldest old" population (people 80 and over) is greater than for the 65 and over population. [2]

With the highest life expectancy at birth among major countries, the average Japanese baby born in 2010 can expect to live for just over 82 years. [3]

In the two countries ranked lowest for life expectancy, the figure is less than 40 years. The difference in life expectancy between the highest and lowest ranked countries is more than 50 years. [3]

An adult male in Lesotho is 10 times more likely to die before age 60 than an adult male in Sweden. A man in the Russian Federation is 6 times less likely to reach age 60 than his Swedish counterpart. [8]

Gender Issues

Worldwide, older women are more likely than older men to be illiterate. Although illiteracy rates in developing countries have declined in the past 20 years, most of the literacy gains have been among males, with an increase in the literacy gender gap. [1]

In general, elderly women outnumber elderly men in developing countries. [5]

There are more widows who have not remarried, than widowers who have not done so, in virtually all countries. All of these factors are responsible: women live longer than men; women typically marry men older than themselves; and men are more likely than women to remarry after the divorce or death of a spouse. [2]

Health & Welfare

In all regions of the world, adults over the age of 70, particularly females, have significantly higher fall-related mortality rates than younger persons. [7]

In the aftermath of natural disasters, the elderly may not receive appropriate relief care. This occurs in part due to erroneous assumptions about the availability of family members or dedicated agencies to attend to the special needs of older persons. [6]

It is estimated that between 4% and 6% of older persons worldwide have suffered from a form of elder abuse - either physical, psychological, emotional, financial or due to neglect. [4]

Worldwide, the incidence of dementia is projected to triple from 2008 to 2050, and a large portion of that increase will occur in residents of developing countries. [11]

Intergenerational Facts

The percentage of elderly people living alone in Asian countries, such as the Philippines, is one fourth that of European countries, Canada and the U.S. [1]

Historically, children under the age of 5 outnumbered elderly people (65 and over) in almost all nations of the world. It is now projected that before the year 2020, older people will outnumber children for the first time in history.[2]

The number of grandparents caring for AIDS orphans in developing countries has doubled over the last ten years. Up to half of the world's 15 million AIDS orphans are being cared for by a grandparent. [9]

Workforce

In developed countries, work patterns of both men and women have affected labor force participation rates of workers 55 and older. [2]

As of 2004, in Mexico, Korea and Japan the effective retirement age was well above the official retirement age, while in most European countries the opposite was true. [12]

Most poor older women and men in developing countries work in the informal sector and are excluded from contributory pension programs. [13]

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Sources:

1. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. World Economic and Social Survey 2007: Development in an Ageing World. (IOA Library HC59.7 .A169 2007)

2. U.S. Census Bureau International Population Reports. An Aging World, 2008.

3. CIA World Factbook, 2010 Estimates.

4. World Health Organization. (2007). WHO Fact File: 10 Facts on Ageing and the Life Course".

5. United Nations. World Population Ageing 2007. Summary tables.

6. HelpAge International. (2009). Six Myths About Older People in Emergencies.

7. World Health Organization. (2002). The injury chartbook: A graphical overview of the global burden of injuries.

8. World Health Organization. Working together for health: The world health report 2006

9. World Health Organization. (2010). Impact of HIV/AIDS on older people in Africa.

10. US Census Bureau International Population Reports. (2007). Population Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa: Demographic Dimensions 2006.

11. Alzheimer's Disease International. World Alzheimer Report 2009: Executive Summary.

12. Torres, Raymond. (2006). Older workers: Evidence from OECD countries. Presented at the session, "An Older Workforce: Learning from Foreign Experience," at Older and Out of Work: Jobs and Social Insurance for a Changing Economy, the 18th annual conference of the National Academy of Social Insurance, January 19-20, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2010 from http://www.nasi.org/sites/default/files/research/Torres_Presentation.ppt

13. HelpAge International: Pension Watch. (accessed June, 2011). Why social pensions?.

14. United Nations. (2010). World population aging 2009.

created August 2010