Older people in Chile: The new social, economic and health challenge for the 21stcentury

Abstract

Ageing will be one of the most significant social transformations of the 21stcentury worldwide. In the last 40 years, Chile has tripled its older adult population. As a result, by 2050 the country will have the highest proportion of older adults in Latin America. This remarkable growth reinforces the need to identify their current situation and to revise what is the society doing to maintain older people as active members. In this context, this narrative revision aimed to describe the sociodemographic, epidemiologic and sociocultural profile of the older Chilean adults. Besides, programs and public policies focused on the improvement of their quality of life were identified.