Seniors

WHAT'S NEXT?: Between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population aged over 60 will double from about 11 per cent to 22 per cent.

• [New] In 2083, Bangkok will have the highest proportion of working-age population, while the northern region will have the most elderly population, but the South is expected to see a higher proportion of young population than other regions.
• [New] The elderly dependency ratio (the elderly population as a share of the working-age population), which was 44% in 2015, is projected to spike to 73% by 2050.
• A recent projection predicted that the proportion of elderly people aged 60 and over will increase from 14.9% in 2016 to 19.1% in 2020, and will go on to rise to 32.1% in 2040 (NSO, 2017), while the median age of Thai population is 38.1 years as of 2018.
• The aging of Ontario's population will accelerate over the next 20 years as baby boomers begin to enter their senior years starting in 2011: By 2031, all baby boomers will be seniors.
• Pew forecasts that US pension fund portfolios will experience a median return of only 6.4% a year for the next decade, taking into consideration GDP growth and interest rates.
• Robots should be used to provide care for America's elderly people since it is estimated that there will be a need for 3.5 million additional healthcare workers by the year 2030.
• Many countries are at an earlier stage of population ageing, due to the 'youth bulge' and earlier trends of high fertility rates, the rate of ageing will be considerable by 2050.
• Elderly goes digital: China's senior population is expected to reach 255 million by next year and the government has introduced programs to get them more in-tune with the digital age.
• For the first time in nearly 40 years, US Social Security will begin drawing down its assets to pay retirees their promised benefits.
• Global trends towards smaller families and ageing populations are evident in Southwest Asia, but a number of countries may still have substantial youth populations by 2050.
• By 2050 the UK's ageing population will exert pressure on public finances with large increases in spending on pensions and healthcare.
• Even basic social protection entitlements such as old age pensions and disability benefits are absent for the majority of the population in many countries, despite the expectation that over 17% of the Asian population will be aged 60 and above by 2030.
• The current Chinese pension deficits would increase to CNY 52.83 trillion in 2070 with 28.83% less than the Baseline Scenario, while the accumulated pension deficits would arrive at CNY 1,218.72 trillion, 28.09% less than the Baseline Scenario.
• On average in OECD countries, the expected longevity for people aged 65 has increased by 5 years since 1970, and it is projected to increase by an additional 4 years by 2060.
• Driven by the ageing population, advancements in technology, and the consumerisation of healthcare, the medical device manufacturing market is expected to exceed $600 billion by 2025.
• With about 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 in America every day, seniors are expected to outnumber children within the next 15 years.
• According to the ONS population projections, while the number of older people aged 65-74 in the UK will increase by 20% between 2019 and 2040, the number of older people aged 85 and over will increase by 114%.
• Spain will have to raise spending on health care, elder care, and pensions by ten percent of GDP between 2004 and 2050.
• Demand for healthcare and retirement living property is predicated by an ageing UK population, with statistics showing that the number of adults aged 65 and over is forecast to increase by 50% by 2041.
• While, in some countries, the relative size of the working-age population is set to decline because of population ageing - leading to labour shortages in some sectors in some economies - in others, the relative size of the working-age population is projected to increase over the coming decades.
• 15 million people in the UK are expected to be living in poverty in 2020 including 2 million pensioners and over 4 million children.
• The health impacts of climate change are likely to be exacerbated by ageing populations in emerging economies, with the global population of people aged over 65 expected to explode by 2050, effectively doubling the proportion of older people in the global population.
• Retiring baby boomers and rising life expectancy will lift the share of the population aged 65 or over to almost 30% by the 2050s, a faster rate of ageing than most OECD countries.

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Last updated: 19 February 2020