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Posted on 03/01/2002 7:45:00 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 28 — While many countries worry about a bulge in the number of restless young people with no jobs and too much time on their hands, the United Nations said today that the world's population is in fact steadily getting older everywhere.
"The changes that are going on are not paralleled in any century before the 20th century," said Joseph Chamie, an American demographer who directs the United Nations population division. "We will see this trend accelerating in the 21st century."
Mr. Chamie introduced figures show aging as pervasive — not just confined to rich countries — and likely to have profound implications on economies in all regions.
If there were fears of instability generated by the idea of large numbers of unemployed young people becoming ready recruits for militancy or criminal activities, an older population raises other concerns.
As the United States has already discovered, pressures mount on health care systems, health insurance plans and social security as well as private pensions. In poorer countries, some of these safety nets do not now exist. Sri Lanka, for example, has a rapidly aging population and free health care — but no social security and few pension plans outside government service.
The United Nations found that in richer countries, people over 60 now account for one-fifth of the population. Predictions indicate that the proportion will reach one-third by 2050. In poorer countries, only 8 percent of the population is over 60 now, but that is expected to rise to 20 percent by 2050.
With more people living longer and families getting smaller in most countries, the fastest-growing age group in the world are people over 80, the United Nations found. That group is growing at 3.8 percent annually.
United Nations demographers are riveted on a statistic they call the "potential support ratio": the number of people 15 to 64 who are available as workers to sustain the retirees. In 1950, the ratio was 12 to 1; in 2000, it was 9 to 1. By 2050, there may be only four working-age people for every person over 65 worldwide.
On Tuesday, Secretary General Kofi Annan released a report on the abuse of the elderly, in advance of a conference in Madrid in April on issues facing the aging. It mentioned practices like ostracism, which occurs in some societies when elderly women are used as scapegoats for natural disasters, epidemics or other catastrophes. "Women have been ostracized, tortured, maimed or even killed if they failed to flee the community," the report read.
It also asserted that while physical, financial, emotional and sexual abuse of older people is "grossly underreported" generally, studies done in the United States, Argentina, Australia, Britain and Canada show that the problem is found in richer as well as poorer nations.
"On Tuesday, Secretary General Kofi Annan released a report on the abuse of the elderly, in advance of a conference in Madrid in April on issues facing the aging."
Remember what the answer to child abuse was? Abortion.
What will the answer to elder abuse be?
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The world's population is aging rapidly with the percentage of people over 60 expected to double in the next 50 years, the United Nations reported Thursday.
The older population is itself aging, and currently the oldest of the old -- the group 80 or older -- is the fastest growing. Twelve percent of people who have lived beyond 60 are 80 or older, according to a U.N. Population Division study.
The number of people reaching age 100 will be 15 times higher at mid-century than today, the study said.
``This is unprecedented in human history,'' Joseph Chamie, director of the U.N. Population Division, told a news conference. ``The changes that are going on are not paralleled in any century before the 20th century.''
Today, one in 10 people in the global population of 6.1 billion is 60 or older (629 million people). In 2050, it will be one in five (2 billion people). By 2150 the survey projected one-third of the world's population would be over age 60.
By contrast, in 1950 just 8 percent of the world population was 60 or older, compared to 10 percent today.
In 2050, the number of people over 60 will outnumber children -- defined as those up to 14 years of age, the study projected.
``Demographically, we are living in an age that is without precedent. It affects everyone, all regions of the world, every country,'' Chamie said. ``Its implications are profound with an impact on economic growth, savings, labor markets and pensions.''
Chamie said the reasons for the aging of the population depended not only on longer lives and decline rates of death, but also on declining birthrates.
``We are getting greater and improved control over birth and death,'' Chamie said. ``The world went through a transformation of being able to reduce death rates, which in my view is the single greatest achievement of humanity.''
For decades, he said, demographers, sociologists and economists have been saying that the world is aging, but what is new today is the pace.
Japan, for example, is the oldest country with a median age of 41, and it is continuing to experience rapid aging.
Germany, Italy and Switzerland have a median age of 40.
In some regions of Germany, Chamie said, 40 percent of women are childless.
Women still are outliving men.
Of those reaching 60, men can expect to live 17 more years. The figure is an additional 20 years for women at 60.
For every 100 women age 60 in the world, there are only 81 men. At age 80, the ratio is 100 women for every 53 men.
``If you are one of the fortunate few that makes it to 100, there will be four women for every single male,'' Chamie said.
It appears that a committee was formed to determine that, now get this, amazing as it may seem...
As time passes, people age. that means they get older. No, really.
And, it's pervasive, too. It's happening everywhere!
Lord, what would the world do without UN studies...
These are the countries that give foreign aid to the of the third world. No young people in Western lands means no tax base, therfore no $$. And third worlders do not create wealth, but more third worlders.
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