Data and numbers

    Between 2020 and 2030, the percentage of the planet's population over the age of 60 will increase by 34%.
    Currently, the number of people aged 60 or over exceeds that of children under the age of five. In 2050, the number of people aged 60 and over will exceed the number of adolescents and young people between 15 and 24 years of age.
    In 2050, about 65% of older people will live in low- and middle-income countries.
    The pattern of population aging is much faster than in the past.
    All countries face significant challenges in ensuring that their health and social systems are prepared to deal with this demographic change.

General view

Today most of the population has a life expectancy equal to or greater than 60 years. Every country in the world is experiencing an increase in both the number and proportion of older people in the population.

At that point, the population group aged 60 and over will have risen from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion. By 2050, the world population of people in this age group will have doubled (2.1 billion). The number of people aged 80 and over is projected to triple between 2020 and 2050, to 426 million.

This change in the distribution of the population of the countries towards older ages - what is known as population aging - started in high-income countries (in Japan, for example, 30% of the population is already older than age 60), but the biggest changes are currently being seen in low- and middle-income countries.
understand aging

leading to a gradual decline in physical and mental abilities, increased risk of disease and ultimately to death. However, these changes are not linear or uniform, and their relationship with a person's age in years is rather relative. The diversity that is appreciated in old age is not a matter of chance. Beyond biological changes, aging is often associated with other life transitions, such as retirement, moving to more suitable housing, and the death of friends and partners.
Common conditions associated with aging

Common conditions of older age include hearing loss, cataracts and refractive errors, back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, depression and dementia. What's more, as you get older you are more likely to experience multiple conditions at the same time.

Old age is also characterized by the appearance of several complex health conditions that are commonly known as geriatric syndromes. They are usually the result of multiple underlying factors including, but not limited to, frailty, urinary incontinence, falls, delusions, and pressure ulcers.
Factors that influence healthy aging

Extending life expectancy offers opportunities, not only for older people and their families, but also for society as a whole. In those additional years of life, new activities can be undertaken, such as continuing studies, starting a new profession or taking up old hobbies. On the other hand, older people contribute in many ways to their families and communities. However, the scope of those opportunities and contributions depends largely on one factor: health.

The evidence indicates that the proportion of life spent in good health has remained roughly constant, implying that additional years are marked by ill health. When people are able to live those extra years of life in good health and in a supportive environment, their ability to do what they value most is barely distinguishable from that of a younger person. Instead, if these extra years are dominated by decline in physical and mental ability, the implications for older people and for society become more negative.

Although some of the variation in the health of older people is due to genetics, the most influential factors have to do with the physical and social environment, particularly housing, neighborhood and community, as well as personal characteristics such as age. gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. The environment in which one lives during childhood -or even in the embryonic phase-, in combination with personal characteristics.