July 2024
24Jul

Ageing societies require holistic approach to fiscal policy making

Several Asia Pacific countries are ageing fast due to falling birth rates and people living longer because of access to better healthcare. This is not unique to the region and is part of a global megatrend. What is unique, however, is the speed at which these Asia Pacific countries are becoming aged societies. As a comparison, while France and Sweden took 115 and 85 years, respectively, to progress from being an ageing society (with 7-14 per cent of the population aged...

July 24, 2024
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22Jul

China to allow delayed retirement to combat population woes

 China will gradually raise its statutory retirement age, now among the world's lowest, to allow people to work longer, as it struggles to relieve soaring pressure on pension budgets, with many provinces already facing deficits. The reform is urgent, with life expectancy having risen in China to 78 years by 2021 from about 44 years in 1960, outstripping the United States, and is projected to exceed 80 years by 2050.   Sunday's announcement came in a key policy document that also rolled...

July 22, 2024
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19Jul

World Population Prospects 2024

By United Nations  The 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects is the twenty-eighth edition of official United Nations population estimates and projections that have been prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. It presents population estimates from 1950 to the present for 237 countries or areas, underpinned by analyses of historical demographic trends. This latest assessment considers the results of 1,910 national population censuses conducted between 1950 and 2023, as well as...

July 19, 2024
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19Jul

The Impacts of Raising the Public Pension Eligibility Age on the Lifestyles of Elderly People: Evidence from Japan

By Shinya Inukai With many countries facing rapid population aging, the sustainability of public pensions has become a pressing issue. I evaluate the impacts, including both employment and time allocation, of public pension reform on the lifestyles of the elderly. In Japan, all residents aged 20 or older are covered by the public pension, with eligibility determined mechanically based on age. I focus on the reform raising men's eligibility age from 60 to 61 in 2001 and estimate its impact...

July 19, 2024
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18Jul

Demographic crisis looms: UN warns S. Korea’s population to halve by 2089

The United Nations predicts South Korea’s population will shrink drastically to 25.85 million in 2089, roughly half its current 51.71 million. According to the UN’s latest population report released on July 17, South Korea’s population, currently at 51.71 million, will decline to 21.85 million by 2100, which is 42% of its present level. The UN forecasts that South Korea’s population will drop to the 40 million range by 2037, the 30 million range by 2060, and the 20 million range by...

July 18, 2024
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17Jul

What immigration means for economies as populations get older

Projections by the Census Bureau predict that within 10 years, the number of people 65 and older in the U.S. will be larger than the number of people under 18. Populations getting older is a global trend for the long-industrialized countries — something with sweeping effects on economics, social safety nets and immigration. Marketplace’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell has been looking into this. He spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio and the following is an edited transcript of their conversation. David...

July 17, 2024
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16Jul

Singapore faces increasingly aging society with dropping birth rate

The number of elderly Singaporean residents living alone in households more than doubled from 35,160 in 2013 to 78,135 in 2023, according to the Family Trends Report issued by the Ministry of Social and Family Development on Monday. The number of residents aged 65 and above living in resident households increased from 413,117 in 2013 to 708,656 last year. More than 80 percent of the elderly people lived with their families. People aged 65 and above accounted for 19.1 percent of...

July 16, 2024
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15Jul

Over 60% of Hong Kong elderly with children living abroad at ‘high risk’ of social isolation, survey finds

Feelings of loneliness among elderly people who have children not living in Hong Kong were common, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Christian Service (HKCS). A total of 63 per cent were at high risk of social isolation, while close to 50 per cent showed signs of depression. The figures were an improvement from last year, when almost 80 per cent were found to be at high risk of social isolation, and nearly 70 per cent showed signs...

July 15, 2024
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15Jul

World population projected to peak at 10.3 billion in 2080s, new United Nations report says

The world's population is expected to grow to an estimated 10.3 billion people in the mid-2080s, according to a new report from the United Nations. That's up from the current global population of 8.2 billion people. The United Nations report identified the following population trends: The estimated size of the world’s population at the end of the century (2100) is now expected to be 6% smaller than estimated a decade ago. Across the globe, one in four people lives in a country...

July 15, 2024
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12Jul

South Asia’s ‘youth bulge’ masks aging population

Zahirul Islam, a 52-year-old cafe manager in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has worked all his life supporting his family, with little to save for old age. Facing retirement at 59, Islam expects to work for another seven or eight years before holding down a job becomes unfeasible. "Then, it may not be possible to continue working," he said in an interview with VOA. In eight years, Islam turns 60, joining Bangladesh's growing population of older people. With little savings and no pension plan, he...

July 12, 2024
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