- The WHO estimates that by 2030 one in six people in the world will be 60 years of age or older.
- Japan is currently the country with the highest percentage of elderly people.
- According to forecasts, by 2050 the first position will be for Hong Kong.
One of the greatest achievements of Medicine has been to increase life expectancy in the world population. Therefore, one of the direct consequences is that there are more and more elderly people. But as in other areas, the picture is not the same across the planet because in some nations this sector has a greater presence than in others.
Living longer does not always mean doing better
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), today most of the population has a life expectancy equal to or greater than 60 years. Although the truth is that living longer is not always synonymous with doing better.
With this in mind, now cancer and heart problems occupy the first places of mortality on the planet. Both have been around for centuries but have never caused as many deaths as they do today. One of the reasons is because age is one of the risk factors, although it is certainly not the only one.
As a person gets older, their risk of suffering from a large number of diseases and conditions also increases. If other aspects such as obesity, smoking, alcoholism and a poor lifestyle then the danger is imminent.
As part of this ageing, the WHO estimates that by 2030 one in six people in the world will be 60 years of age or older. At that time, the population group aged 60 and over will have risen from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion.
For its part, by 2050 the world population of people aged 60 or over will have doubled (2.100 million). The number of people aged 80 and over is projected to triple between 2020 and 2050, to reach 426 million.
Where are there more seniors?
This shift in the distribution of the population of countries towards older ages—known as population aging—began in high-income countries (in JapanFor example, 30% of the population is already over 65 years old). While the biggest changes are currently being seen in low- and middle-income countries.
On the other hand, according to the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the number of people over 65 is expected to double in the next three decades. With this, it could reach 1.6 billion in 2050.
After Japan meet Italy, Finland and Puerto Rico in the list of countries with the highest percentage of elderly people. While later they appear Portugal, Greece, Germany and Bulgaria.
Now, the forecasts for 2050 are quite different. It is expected that at that time Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan have the highest proportion of elderly people in the world.
Also read:
Chart of the day: Evolution in life expectancy in Latin America, where is it higher?
Having more general practitioners increases the life expectancy of the population
The evolution in life expectancy: In which countries do people live the most?