Why Ageing Population Seen as a Burden?

An increase in the over 60 percentage of the population is not a problem unique to Sri Lanka. But, if we look at our statistics first, 12.3% of Sri Lanka’s population is over the age of 60, making it the country with the highest proportion of people in that age group in South Asia. Soon, 12.3% of the population will be over 65. By 2030,  1 in 5 people will be over 60. By 2050, 21.5% of the population will be over 65. 

Is this a problem? Rather, is it an insurmountable problem?

It is a problem because health care bills, whether footed by individuals, or bodies private or state-run, will increase. 

When Classified Unemployable

Again, the work force declines when so many people are classified as unemployable. Countries from China to Germany are suffering from this problem.

Aged over 60 people can still work. There are 70 year old airline pilots flying jetliners. But obviously there is a drop in productivity in many sectors as people reach a certain age.

Older people drop out of the workforce because of debilitating medical conditions. But prejudice from employers expecting excessive input from employees is another crucial factor. People are retired prematurely and unnecessarily.  

Even in blue collar jobs where some degree of manual exertion is required, there are over 60s who can perform. In more cerebral, white collar jobs, a larger percentage of over 60s can work efficiently. But, as economic downturns occur and budgets tighten, employers (government and private both) start laying people off, and over 60s are the first category to suffer. Sri Lanka is a prime example.

Now let’s look at the situation worldwide. Everywhere, except in Africa, the numbers of over 60s have increased. 

As of July 2022, India’s population over 60 years old was 149 million, which is about 10.5% of the country’s population. By 2050, the number of people in India over 60 is expected to double to 347 million, or 20.8% of the population. This means that by 2046, the number of elderly people in India will surpass the number of children aged 0–14. As of 2023, China’s population aged 60 and older was nearly 297 million, which is 21.1% of the total population. This number is expected to grow to over 400 million by 2035, or more than 30% of the population.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that by 2030 there will be 73.1 million people over the age of 65 is 21% of the population. By 2040, the number of people 85 and older is expected to reach 14.4 million. By 2050, the number should be closer to 18.6 million Americans over age 85, according to US Census projections.

Just under one in five people in the European Union (EU) are aged 60 and over. As of January 2023, 21.3% of the EU’s population was aged 65 or older. The number of older people in the EU is projected to increase to 29.4% of the total population by 2050.

As of 2022, 13.4% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) was over 60 years old, which is about 88.6 million people. This is expected to increase to 16.5% by 2030.

Africa is the sole exception in this case. In 2020, only 5.6% of Africa’s population was 60 or older, making it the world region with the fewest older people. However, the population of older people in Africa is projected to grow rapidly. By 2050, and 235 million people in Africa are projected to be 60 or older. 

Human Created Burdens 

Governments are talking about the increasing burden of ageing populations. This mindset has to change. We must stop thinking of older people as burdens.

There are many other burdens to deal with, climate change is what comes immediately to mind. It’s people who have to deal with that and other human engineered burdens that threaten the very existence of the planet. People of all ages, from young to old, can contribute to this.

Health care is seen as a burden related to ageing. But some of the most damaging and deadliest diseases aren’t necessarily due to ageing. If we take diabetes, we can see this truth.

The most common is type 2 diabetes, usually in adults, which occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn’t make enough insulin. In the past 3 decades the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has raised dramatically in countries of all income levels. Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin by itself. 

About 830 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority living in low and middle income countries. More than half of people living with diabetes are not receiving treatment. Both the number of people with diabetes and the number of people with untreated diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past decades.

While diabetes is often seen as age related, it can occur even in children. In 2022, there were 1.52 million people under 20 years old living with the more dangerous type 1 diabetes globally. In 2021, there were an estimated 355,900 new cases of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents, with 56% diagnosed. By 2050, the total number of new cases is projected to increase to 476,700.

Cancers killed more than ten million people worldwide in 2021, and cancer isn’t always age related. The money that should be spent on medical research and medication for victims is spent on wars and military hardware. Many people can’t afford health care (this is true even in the United States) because drug companies control the market, making many essential medicines unaffordable to patients.

What over 60s people commonly suffer from are conditions such as  deteriorating eyesight, hearing, arthritis (though again not limited to over 60s) and osteoporosis. This is where older people have a responsibility for themselves. By adapting a healthy lifestyle and taking regular exercise, people can remain productive, and live longer and healthier. Let’s look at how this can be done in the next column.