Population Ageing and the Need for Research on Ageing: Correcting a Misconception

Abstract

Population ageing has become an increasingly important demographic, social, and economic issue around the world, including developing countries in Asia. One of the concerns is the lack of a scientific data infrastructure that can inform key life domains at older ages, including health status and healthcare, work, economic resources, and the role of family support for older persons. Without such information, it is difficult or impossible to monitor the key changes in these life domains as people age as well as how these domains mutually influence each other (Smith, 2012). Such data inadequacy also prevents policy makers from formulating evidence-based policies to address the situation of older persons as it changes over time. We examined the extent that detailed information about the older populations was available in 19 low and middle income Asian countries with particular attention to whether or not any representative surveys had been conducted since 2000 that focused on the situation of older persons. 2 In 1975, persons aged 60 and older represented 6 % or less of the population in all but two of the 19 countries and in none did it reach 8 %. By 2015, for 12 of the countries the share of population aged 60 and older is estimated to have exceeded 8 % and in 5 to be above 10 %. 3 Thus population ageing increased rapidly in recent years. Moreover, the proportions aged 60 and older and are expected to grow even faster in the coming decades (United Nations 2015). Figure 1 shows the number of (nationally representative) ageing surveys by countries ranked from the highest percentages of persons aged 60 and older in 2015 to the lowest percentages. Just 10 of the 19 countries have such ageing surveys. While Thai-land and China have the two highest rates of population ageing at present (16 % and 15 % respectively) and are expected to age the fastest in the next few decades, they also have more existing ageing surveys than the other countries. Among the countries with ageing surveys, most have only one such survey conducted since 2000. Although two countries with relatively high proportions of older persons, Sri Lanka 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 % 2 % 4 % 6 % 8 % 10 % 12 % 14 % 16 % 18 %