Dominicans getting older

A report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) entitled "Growing Old in the 21st Century: a Celebration and a Challenge," suggests that Latin America and the Caribbean are beginning to move in the same direction as developed nations and a quarter of the population will be over 60 by the middle of this century. The report said that at the moment the figure is only 10% (942,000 people over the age of 60), but this is set to treble over the next 38 years, resulting in 2,875,000 people over 60.

Those countries that will have the highest percentage of the population over 60 in 2050 will be the Dominican Republic (39.2 %), Puerto Rico (31.5 %), Chile (30.3 %), Costa Rica (29.8 %) and Brazil (29%).

People aged over 80 are predicted to be 5.5% of the population in 2050 compared to 1.6% today. The DR currently has 157,000 people over the age of 80, but this will increase to 637,000 by 2050.

"The population aged 60 or over is growing at a faster rate than the total population in almost all world regions. Globally, the population aged 80 years or over is growing faster than any younger age group within the older population. The population of centenarians, those aged 100 years or over, is growing fastest," says the report. It adds: "Population aging is occurring because of declining fertility rates, lower infant mortality and increasing survival at older ages."

Vitalija Gaucaite, an expert from the Economic Commission of the United Nations for Europe (UNECE) who helped produce the report, said that the main reasons for the aging population in the region were the decline in the birth rate, migratory movements and a better standard of living.

The report states that governments need to look at pensions and healthcare as well as the other needs of elderly people, especially as generally speaking, many people in Latin American and Caribbean countries do not currently have access to a pension.

www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12232;jsessionid=0FC07C0451F51E586A8928511B16A32D.jahia02
http://unfpa.org/ageingreport
www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2012/10/1/249269/RD-esta-entre-los-paises-de-AL-cuya-poblacion-en-el-2050-tendra-mas-de-60

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