The world is struggling to manage its ageing population
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The world’s population is ageing. How are we to pay for the pensions and healthcare of a burgeoning number of elderly?
By Bernd Debusmann
Call it baby bust and oldster boom – two trends that signal a demographic transformation without precedent in human history.
In much of the world, declining birth rates and longer life spans are combining to create a phenomenon demographers call global ageing. It brings both problems and opportunities that are hard to fathom and require rethinking the way societies are organized and economies are run.
The world’s population of people over 65 is forecast to double by 2050. By that time, a quarter of the people in developed countries will be that age or older. No country has fully figured out how to cope with steadily rising expenditures for the pensions and healthcare of the swelling ranks of senior citizens.
According to United Nations projections, the age group most in need of support – those over 80 – will triple by 2050.
‘Unlike other long-term...
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