World population ageing 2009

This report provides a description of global trends in population ageing and includes a series of indicators of the ageing process by development regions, major areas, regions and countries. This edition includes features on ageing in rural and urban areas, the coverage of pension systems and the impact of the 2007-2008 financial crisis on pension systems.The authors argue that the financial and economic crisis that began in 2007 and unfolded in 2008 and 2009 has put additional pressure on pension systems and on the prospective pension benefits of many workers nearing retirement age.

The report highlights four major findings:

• population ageing is unprecedented, a process without parallel in the history of humanity -at the world level, the number of older persons is expected to exceed the number of children for the first time in 2045. In the more developed regions, where population ageing is far advanced, the number of children dropped below that of older persons in 1998
• population ageing is pervasive since it is affecting nearly all the countries of the world - population ageing results mainly from reductions of fertility that have become virtually universal. The resulting slowdown in the growth of the number of children coupled with the steady increase in the number of older persons has a direct bearing on both the intergenerational and intragenerational equity and solidarity that are the foundations of society
• population ageing is profound, having major consequences and implications for all facets of human life - in the economic area, population ageing will have an impact on economic growth, savings, investment, consumption, labour markets, pensions, taxation and intergenerational transfers. In the social sphere, population ageing influences family composition and living arrangements, housing demand, migration trends, epidemiology and the need for healthcare services. In the political arena, population ageing may shape voting patterns and political representation
• population ageing is enduring - since 1950, the proportion of older persons has been rising steadily, passing from 8 per cent in 1950 to 11 per cent in 2009, and is expected to reach 22 per cent in 2050. As long as old-age mortality continues to decline and fertility remains low, the proportion of older persons will continue to increase

The report also argues that In most countries, older women greatly outnumber older men. In many cases, the difference is so large that the concerns of the older population should in fact be viewed primarily as the concerns of older women.