World Population Day is observed on July 11 every year and the theme for World Population Day 2022 is “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all”.

There have been growing concerns over the dynamics of the world’s population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2050, the world’s population aged 60 years and above will double to about 2.1 billion people. Due to people worldwide living longer with many of them expected to live beyond sixty years of age, countries worldwide are experiencing growth in both the size and proportion of older persons in their population.

The report by WHO also found that between 2015 and 2022, the world’s population that is aged above 60 years will double from 12% to 22%. In 2050, 80% of older people will belong to low and middle-income countries. Moreover, the number of people aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 202o and 2050 to reach nearly 426 million.
How an older population will impact society

A rapidly ageing population means that there are fewer working-age people in the economy. As a result, there are supply shortages of workers who are qualified to perform given tasks, which can affect businesses negatively. There can be a potential decline in productivity, higher labour costs, delayed business expansion and reduced international competitiveness. In certain cases, because there is a supply shortage, the wages rate for each worker can rise, thereby causing inflation and creating a harmful cycle of a wage-price spiral, the economic theory that explains the cause and effect relationship between rising prices and rising wages.

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