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Figure 1.7Population aged 60 years or over by development region, 1950-20502 5002 000Least developed countriesLess developed regions, excluding Least developed countriesMore developed regions1 500Millions1 0005001950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2013 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050Population ageing is taking off in the less developed regions…The proportion of the world’s population aged 60 years or over increased from 8 per cent in1950 to 12 per cent in 2013. It will increase more rapidly in the next four decades to reach 21 percent in 2050 (figure 1.8). The stages and speed of ageing are quite different between the moreand less developed regions. Ageing in the more developed regions started many decades ago, butit is just taking off in less developed regions, while it has yet to unfold in the least developedcountries.The proportion of the population aged 60 years or over in the more developed regions was12 per cent in 1950, rose to 23 per cent in 2013 and is expected to reach 32 per cent in 2050. Inthe less developed regions, the proportion of older persons increased slowly between 1950 and2013, from 6 per cent to 9 per cent; however, the increase in the proportion of older persons isexpected to accelerate in the coming decades, reaching 19 per cent in 2050. In the leastdeveloped countries, the proportion of older persons has remained fairly stable at about 5 percent for many decades, but this proportion is expected to double by 2050.Ageing also differs substantially within the more and less developed regions, which displaydifferent trends in their variance over time. While the more developed regions seem to bemoving as a group, at a similar pace across countries, in the less developed regions, there ismuch greater variability, including countries in a more advanced stage of ageing (Armenia,Argentina, Chile, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, Puerto Rico, Singapore and Sri Lanka)and those where the proportion of older persons is still very low and not yet increasing (allcountries in sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles and SaintHelena; many countries in South-Central Asia, South-Eastern Asia and Western Asia).United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs ǀ Population Division 11