3. Global Outlook on Ageing
The United Nations highlights that the growth in the number of older persons is a global phenomenon: it is expected that between 2017 and 2050, virtually every country in the world will experience a substantial increase in the size of the population aged 60 years or over. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of heterogeneity in the growth rates of the older population within regions and income groups. According to data from World Population Prospects: the 2019 Revision, by 2050, one in six people in the world will be over age 65 (16%), up from one in 11 in 2019 (9%). By 2050, one in four persons living in Europe and Northern America could be aged 65 or over. In 2018, for the first time in history, persons aged 65 or above outnumbered children under five years of age globally. The number of persons aged 80 years or over is projected to triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050.
Different countries take different approaches to both proactively tackle the challenges arising from this rising population group and meeting the needs of shifting demographics.
- Germany, one of the five super-aged societies of the world, has a comprehensive policy that involves leveraging digital technology, better community and social infrastructure, retirement reforms and creation of productive opportunities, and focus on healthcare and wellness.
- The UK and many countries in Europe use public health services to build awareness about healthy ageing, and also provide support and care for elders at the community level.
- Japan, which is considered a super-ageing society, has formulated the ‘smart ageing’ strategy to push forward active ageing among its old.
- Countries like Taiwan and Singapore have innovated on technology-enabled tools and inter-generational communities while helping retain their workers in the labor workforce for longer durations. Many of these countries also have highly active public and private institutions that support research, innovation and discussions among the larger public, around ageing and elder care.
- The United States has a federal administrative division for Ageing working closely with the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), an independent and private sector initiative, to formulates policy and support for this demographic.
Institutions focused on research, action and innovation in the space are not uncommon in the western hemisphere. For example, The Centre for Ageing Better in the UK is a charitable foundation supported by the National Lottery Community Fund with focus on improving employment, health, housing, financial planning and strengthening age-friendly communities. An important part of their work is to develop a more positive, realistic narrative around ageing to help shift negative attitudes towards ageing and older persons. In the US, academic institutions like Stanford and MIT have taken the lead in addressing the challenges from an ageing society. For example, researchers that are part of the Stanford’s Longevity Center work on three broad aspects of longevity, i.e., long life among the general population – mental health, physical fitness and financial security. Topics around mental health include understanding sensory changes, decision making abilities, cognitive health and engagement with the society while physical fitness research focuses largely on mobility with ageing, and how exercises, interventions to minimize sarcopenia (“muscle-loss”) and choice of an individual’s place to reside and make decisions around available services (like housing, amenities). Financial security research deals with having financial independence and security by redefining the traditional concept of “work” and “retirement”. Researchers at the MIT Ageing Lab drive their research agenda focused on consumer trend impacts due to the ‘longevity economy’ in the US. The Milken Center for the Future of Ageing advocates for a forward-looking vision around healthy longevity, financial wellness and dementia care, and impact on individuals, families, businesses, communities, and societies. All of these institutions communicate their research through reports, webinars, white papers, online communities and social media thus enhancing the ability for anybody around the world to access them without difficulty.
Outside these areas of research, one also notices investments by governments and private individuals in advancing biomedical research in understanding longevity (e.g., stem cell science), therapeutic breakthroughs for age-related diseases, brain research focused on age-related disorders and neurogenerative diseases, and much more. Many of these advanced research areas are long-term collaborative efforts between researchers, academic institutions and industry.
Outside these areas of research, one also notices investments by governments and private individuals in advancing biomedical research in understanding longevity (e.g., stem cell science), therapeutic breakthroughs for age-related diseases, brain research focused on age-related disorders and neurogenerative diseases, and much more. Many of these advanced research areas are long-term collaborative efforts between researchers, academic institutions and industry.
See below a quick snapshot of how private enterprises, investors, academic institutions and innovation networks in the US are coming together to create profitable business models in addressing these challenges.
In India, all policy related matters focused on senior citizens lie with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MOJSE), home to the National Policy for Senior Citizens. The role of the ministry is quite expansive and includes policies towards socially and educationally backward classes, persons with disability, aspects related to prevention of substance abuse and much more. Some of the schemes focused on senior citizens like the National Social Assistance Programme, which implements old age pensions for those below the poverty line, is implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development. One of the key roles of the ministry is also coordinating action plans with other line ministries and departments within the government, and with the private sector and civil society on the other end.