SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Countries with
the lowest shares
of young people
are likely to have
larger proportions of
older people by 2050
FIGURE 4.6:
Some countries still have a high number
of working-age people to support elderly
dependents
Source: Based on UN DESA 2015a.
FIGURE 4.7:
Older countries have fewer working-age people
per elderly dependent
Nam. Ratios for 12 countries and territories
will shrink to 3 or fewer persons. Traditionally,
families have been a major source of income
security and health care for older people, but
this role is becoming less reliable as more women
participate in labour markets, birth rates fall,
children move away from the homes of their
parents, people migrate from rural to urban
areas and cultural norms evolve. These forces
will increasingly leave older persons bereft of
the assistance they received in the past. Falling
support ratios do not take into account all of
these dynamics, and in reality, it is likely that
a significantly smaller number of working-age
people may be around to actually help and
care for older persons. A further challenge is
the estimated global shortage of 13.6 million
care workers. 7
OLDER SOCIETIES FACE
CHALLENGES—AND CAN
BUILD ON STRENGTHS
Rapid ageing in Asia-Pacific poses particular
issues in terms of human development, including
those related to health, housing, poverty and
gender. All older people have rights that must
be protected, and diverse needs and hopes that
should be respected. Many countries have begun
to tackle different dimensions of ageing, but
there is often scope for more comprehensive
understanding and action, including through
public policy that recognizes ageing touches
every area of life.
OLD AND IMPOVERISHED
124
Source: Based on UN DESA 2015a.
Meeting essential needs for the well-being of
older people is among the greatest challenges
of ageing, given the continuously decreasing
numbers of working-age people and growing
pressures on public funds. Poverty rates are
higher in many countries among older people, 8 a
strong justification for pension schemes, which
first emerged in highly developed countries, but
have since spread across the globe. 9
Vulnerability to poverty rises in later life
as earnings and employment opportunities