AGEING CHINA : CHALLENGES

AGEING CHINA : CHALLENGES  IN BBC NEWS (VIEW INFOGRAPHICS IN SITE)
China's population is ageing. By 2050 more than a quarter of the population will be over 65 years old and younger generations face an unprecedented burden of care. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the government advocated a "later, longer, fewer" lifestyle, encouraging people to marry later, have wide gaps between children and fewer children overall. It also instated the controversial one-child policy. These were attempts to curb population growth in a bid to help modernise the economy.

Chinese women are having fewer children, but having a smaller generation follow a boom generation - and longer life expectancies - means that by 2050, it is expected that for every 100 people aged 20-64, there will be 45 people aged over 65, compared with about 15 today 

THE GREYING POPULATION IN BRITAIN

THE GREYING POPULATION IN BRITAIN IN RGS-IBG

With widespread fall in fertility rates and significant rises in life expectancy, the median age of Britain’s population is rising. Today, for the first time in history, Britain’s over-65s now outnumber people under the age of 16. This ageing population trend is being made worse by the inevitable retirement of the so-called baby boom generation over the coming decades. The baby boomers were born during a period of rapid population growth and social change between 1946-64, with 17m births  recorded in Britain alone during this period. Those born at this time are now beginning to reach retirement age and are set to have a dramatic effect on the people, society and the economy of Britain.

There are currently 4 people of working age supporting each pensioner in Britain, by 2035 this number is expected to fall to 2.5, and by 2050 to just 2. The number of people of working age in relation to retirees is known as the ‘dependency ratio’. This ageing of populations is a global phenomenon, being witnessed not only in Britain but in such developed countries as Italy, Spain, Germany and Japan.

NOT SO GOLDEN YEARS FOR ELDERLY IN SG

NOT SO GOLDEN YEARS FOR ELDERLY IN SG IN STRAITS TIMES

According to a new Active Ageing Index, the elderly in Singapore fall short in three areas: health, financial security and community engagement.

Just 5 per cent of those aged 65 to 69 who were polled scored high for active ageing. That figure declined to 3.4 per cent for those aged 70 to 74, before falling to 1 per cent for those aged 75 and above. Overall, however, the majority – about 80 per cent – achieved a “medium” level of active ageing. The index, constructed by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), measures three dimensions of active ageing as defined by the World Health Organisation: health, community participation and security.

Singaporeans fall particularly short on community participation. Just 5.5 per cent take part in clubs or group activities, and just 23.8 per cent participate in the workforce, whether for paid or unpaid work. Relating to the poor score in active ageing is another sobering figure: One in five feels that he or she does not have sufficient income for living.

ELDER ABUSE IN SG

ELDER ABUSE IN SG IN TODAY ONLINE

SINGAPORE — With the number of people here in the above-65 age bracket projected to triple by 2030, moves to better protect the elderly, as well as those with special needs, from abuse and neglect are in the works.

Strengthening the service and legal frameworks to deal with such cases as well as intervening earlier are measures being looked at, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) yesterday in its response to the President’s Address. Social workers and lawyers whom TODAY spoke to welcomed such reinforcements, saying the move was a timely one. Last year, more parents applied for Personal Protection Orders against their children for physical or financial abuse, among other reasons.

HOW AGEING POPULATION WILL CHANGE WORLD

HOW AGEING POPULATION WILL CHANGE WORLD (SEE VIDEO)

The number of people across the world over 65 years old will triple by 2050, drastically altering some countries' demographic make-up, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

Perceptions of this shift vary widely across the globe, the report says.

While 87% of Japanese believe the ageing population poses a problem to the country, only 26% of Americans agree.

The survey of 21 countries found that most people believe governments should be responsible for the care of their older populations.

These demographic shifts may adversely affect economies, as more elderly people depend on working-age men and women   

OLD AGE SHOULD NOT BE APPROACHED WITH HORROR

OLD AGE SHOULD NOT BE APPROACHED WITH HORROR IN GUARDIAN

Ageing is a strange and foreign country described mostly in negative terms in guide books for those whom, much to their surprise, find themselves lost in its hinterland, often unsuitably dressed and without a compass. A youth-obsessed society that makes a mint from mining the alleged horrors of growing older – all sag and no sagacity – has locked us into a set of taboos that means millions of us are moving from middle age into possibly decades of allegedly unproductive, dependent, parked-up old age without sufficient armament or attitude of mind to challenge prevailing prejudices. Except that today we may literally have been thrown the semblance of a lifeline.