Teaching Global Aging

Abstract

Many, if not all, societies are or will shift to what is considered to be an aging society—one in which 10% of the population is over age 60 or 65 (depending on how the older population is defined in a country). The percentage of older people (aged 60 years or over) in the world is expected to increase from 11.7% in 2013 to 21.1% by 2050 (United Nations, 2013). This means that the number of older persons is expected to more than double, reaching over 2 billion in 2050, and will for the first time ever in 2047 exceed the total number of the world’s children. Population aging is likely to have a very big impact on developing countries. Although about two-thirds of the world’s older persons currently live in developing countries, this number is increasing much faster in those nations than in the developed countries. The United Nations (UN) projects that by 2050, nearly 80% of the world’s older population will live in those less developed regions (United Nations, 2013). Rising life expectancy and declining fertility rates are two major reasons for the shift in the population structure. For example, in the next 40 years, life expectancy at age 60 is projected to increase by two years on average in less developed regions and three years in developed regions. Fertility rates are expected to decrease from 2.5 children per woman now to 2.2 or possibly 1.8 (depending on the projection variant) by 2050 (United Nations, 2013). While developing nations tend to have a higher fertility rate compared to developed nations, the total fertility rates in developed and developing countries are expected to eventually narrow the gap to only 0.4 children (United Nations, 2013). Two other factors that also have contributed to population aging, albeit on a smaller scale, are migration and decreased infant mortality.