The world’s societies are slowly aging where the population contains more of elderly people aged 60 and above.  Statistics suggest that by the end of the 21st century, the demographics will show a declining birth rate and a stabilization in the population.  Literature suggests that Asia and Asia Pacific countries have 2/3^rd of the world’s elderly population of 2050, which would be a staggering two billion elderly people aged over 60 years. By 2050, 10% of the world’s population would be over 80 years of age, and will make up about 379 million in numbers.  The European demographic will contain 12% elderly people by 2060, which will be around 62.4 million. The concept of “Graying America” is already a hot topic as it is estimated to put a lot of pressure in the healthcare sector. It is estimated that by the year 2030, 20% of the US population, which would approximately be 72 million people, would be over the age of 65 years. The exception to these demographics is the African population, which will remain young with 1/3^rd of its population still under 15 years of age.

The main drivers of population aging are increased longevity and decreased fertility. Longevity has increased primarily due to healthy living, prevention of diseases, senescence prevention and excellent medical care. Studies also show that the population of older people is directly proportional to the high income status of the country. Reduced fertility rate is observed in 2/3^rd of the world’s population, and is thought to be due to personal choices and shift in paradigm associated with childbearing and childrearing.

An aging society will have a negative effect on the country’s economy since older people cannot contribute to the economic growth.  Decreased fertility rates would lead to economic and demographic deficits and reduced labor availability.  The ability of a country to finance its public welfare program in case of increased longevity will put a lot of financial pressure on the government.

Some of the ways to tackle this scenario would be to increase labor force by supporting immigration, increase fertility rate by providing incentives to the parents and increase age of retirement.

 Xu Yuan Ming