PHM-Exch> World population over age 65 to double within the next three decades

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crosspsted from: "[health-vn discussion group]" health-vn at anu.edu.au



Within the next 30 years, the number of people worldwide who are over age 65
years will double, according to a new report, "An Aging World: 2008."

Currently there are 506 million people over age 65; by 2040 there will be an
estimated 1.3 billion, representing 14% of the world population. Within 10
years, for the first time in human history, the number of people in the
world
aged 65 years and older will exceed that of children under five. The
implications for chronic diseases in developing countries are enormous.

The most rapid increases in the older population are in the developing
world,
where the current rate of growth of the older population is more than double
that in developed countries, and is also double that of the total world
population. As of 2008, 62% of people aged 65 and older lived in developing
countries; by 2040, 76% of the projected world total of people aged 65 and
over
will live in developing countries. The oldest old, people aged 80 and older,
are
the fastest growing portion of the total population in many countries.
Globally,
the oldest old population is projected to increase 233% between 2008 and
2040,
compared with 160% for the population aged 65 and over and 33% for the total
population of all ages.

In many countries, people 80 and older are the fastest growing portion of
the
population. Between 2008 and 2040, that segment of the population is
projected
to increase 233%, compared with 160% for those age 65 and older, and 33% for
the
total world population.

In 2008, nearly one-third of the population age 65 and older lived in China
and
India alone, where issues related to population aging are anticipated to be
especially acute.

Among the consequences of this trend, are increasing numbers of adults,
especially in developed countries, who do not have children and thus will
lack
familial support and care as they age.  Conversely, older adults can
potentially
contribute assistance to their adult children, whether financial or through
activities like household work and grandchild care.

"An Aging World: 2008" provide detailed information on life expectancy,
health,
disability, gender balance, marital status, living arrangements, education
and
literacy, labor force participation and retirement, and pensions among older
people around the world, and examines demographic and socioeconomic trends
accompanying this phenomenon. It was commissioned by the National Institute
on
Aging (NIA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health. It was
released
on 21 July 2009 by the US Census Bureau.

An Aging World: 2008
PDF (11.55 MB): www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p95-09-1.pdf
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20090726/38314620/attachment-0001.html>