International Perspectives on an Aging Population

International Perspectives on an Aging Population
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International Perspectives on an Aging Population
The population in many regions across the globe are significantly growing older thus continually raising concerns in the 21st century. This unprecedented phenomenon showcases the changing dynamics in human populations that point to a myriad of changes going into the future (Bayar, 2021). With this trend expected to continue, more people in both developing and developing countries are expected to grow older. As a result, significant changes are foreseen to cope with the aging population including aspects of employment, economic growth (Magnus, 2012). The changes in population can thus be attributed to aspects of behavioral changes and other demographic shifts that ultimately lead to the need to revise policies and the overall outlook of populations.
The Concept of Population Aging
With an increase in population, the demographics are expected to change based on present situations in different regions across the globe. Therefore, an increase in the age structure of populations leading to an increasingly high representation of the elderly is called population aging (Magnus, 2012) (Khan, 2019). In this case, older populations grow at a faster rate as compared to other age groups. The United Nations estimates that the population of people aged over 60 years will grow by 56% to reach 1.4 billion people by 2050 from the present 901 million (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2015). This phenomenon has significantly far-reaching consequences not only to individual families but to entire economies especially due to the dependency burden. An increasingly older population thus shifts the social connections in the world with all sectors affected.
Industrialized countries are the hardest hit by population aging with global publicization showing an increasingly higher elderly population. Europe and North America have continually showed this trend with their absolute numbers doubling over short periods (Khan, 2019). The advanced aging seen in developed countries shows the differences in demographics that affect population growth and aging. Consequently, the phenomenon is expected to increase in developing countries as they rise and achieve higher economic growth rates.
Theories of Population Aging
A decrease in fertility rates has significantly impacted the shift in population aging across the globe. This decrease has led to a demographic transition with fewer children born starting from the 19th century in regions such as North America and Europe. The United Nations highlights that fertility rates have dropped from approximately 5 children per woman in the years 1950 to approximately 2.5 children per woman in 2015 (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2015). This shows a decline in fertility rates by half thus showing the huge impact on new births across the period. Consequently, the trend is likely to continue thus leading to fewer younger populations as older populations continue to age and increase in number.
Apart from that, the increas...