A glance at the silvers and how they are growing.

1. THE WORLD
Age composition
Proportion of world population
A greying world
Today marks World Health Day, a global campaign led by the World Health
IN SINGAPORE
Age composition
Proportion of residents aged 65
by age group (2010) and over rose from 7.2 per cent
Organisation to raise awareness of key health issues. With the numbers of those in 2000 to 9.3 per cent in 2011
65 and above reaching old age rapidly increasing worldwide, this year’s focus is on helping
15-64 years people add life to their years. The Straits Times takes a look at the ageing world 65 and above
0-14 years 15-64 years
%
100
8 16
Today %
0-14 years
90 100
7.2 8.1 9 9.3
6 3
80 90
70 80
60 70
65 67 64 56
50 60
70.9 71.9 73.7 73.9
40 50
41
30 40
30
27 30
20
17 20
10 Percentage 21.9 20.1
17.4 16.8
0 aged 60 10
or over 0
■ World 0 to 9 2000 2005 2010 2011
■ Developed nations
10 to 19
■ Less developed
■ Least developed 20 to 24 Drop in old-age support ratio
25 to 29
Living longer 30 or over
Life 20
No data
Rank Place expectancy* 17
UN projection
1 Monaco 89.68 Old-age support ratio 13.8
2 Macau 84.43 15
■ This ratio is a rough indicator of the number of potential
9:1
3 Japan 83.91 11.8
providers of support per potential elderly dependant. It is
4 SINGAPORE 83.75 calculated as the number of working-age people from ages 9.9
10
8 Hong Kong 82.12 15 to 64 divided by the number of persons aged 65 or older 8.2 7.9
9 Australia 81.90
By 2050
10 Italy 81.86
5
30 Britain 80.17
50 United States 78.49 2
95 China 74.84 0
113 Thailand 73.83 1970 ’80 ’90 2000 ’10 ’11 ’50
128 Vietnam 72.41
147 Bangladesh 70.06 Growing numbers
160 India 67.14
221 Chad 48.69 ■ By 2030, one in five will be 65
years and above
NOTE: *Estimated figures for 2012 taken ■ The population’s median age
from CIA World Factbook
rose from 34 years in 2000 to
38 years in 2011
Old-age diseases ■ Today, 20,000 residents aged
As lives lengthen, people are 60 and above are living with
vulnerable to certain illnesses Percentage dementia. This will increase to
about 53,000 by 2020
■ Mental illnesses aged 60
or over
■ Sensory Meeting needs (by 2020)
impairments 0 to 9
■ Senior activity centres will serve
■ Cardiovascular 10 to 19 more seniors, from 18,000 to
diseases 20 to 24 48,000
25 to 29 ■ Day-care and rehabilitation
■ Diabetes
30 or over services will triple their capacity
■ Cancer from 2,100 to 6,200
No data
■ Number of nursing home beds
■ Incontinence for seniors without family support
Old-age support ratio will be increased by 70 per cent,
■ Musculoskeletal
■ By 2050, the ratio for from 9,000 to 15,600
problems one working-age adult ■ The ratio will be
the world is projected
4:1
per elderly person below five in more ■ More home caregivers will serve
to decline by more than 10,000 patients, up from 4,000
half, and Japan will have ■ No country will have than half of the
the lowest ratio of only a ratio above 20 world’s countries
Sources: GRAPHICS:
UN POPULATION AGEING AND DEVELOPMENT 2009, WHO, SINGAPORE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, POPULATION REFERENCE BUREAU 2010 WORLD POPULATION DATA SHEET MIKE M DIZON and AMELIA TENG