More than half of the world’s population above 60 years old are in Asia and this is expected to grow to 1.3 billion people by 2050. Across the region, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore are the “advanced agers” with the older population making up 14% or more of their populations.
These are some social, economic and political implications identified by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the region, as a result of an ageing population.
- Income insecurity due to a lack of social protection and accumulated assets.
- Older women are more vulnerable to poverty than older men due to a combination of relative disadvantage throughout their lives such as lower educational level and limited participation in the formal sector.
- Gradual weakening of family and community support for older persons due to changing family structures (reducing number of adult-children as potential support in old age) and migration resulting in increasing need for caretakers and other care-related services.
- Increasing need for age-friendly environments, including housing, infrastructure and public facilities, to enable older persons to remain active members of society and the economy.
What are the implications for businesses?
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